Briken Calja

Briken Calja

Personal information
Born	(1990-02-19) 19 February 1990 Elbasan, Albania
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	69 kg (152 lb)
Military career
Allegiance	Albania
Branch	Albanian Armed Forces
Service years	2022–
Rank	File:ALB-Army-OF-5.svg Colonel
Sport
Country	Albania
Sport	Weightlifting
Event	69 kg
Medal record World Championships Silver medal – second place 2021 Tashkent -73 kg European Championships Gold medal – first place 2018 Bucharest -69 kg Silver medal – second place 2019 Batumi -73 kg Silver medal – second place 2021 Moscow -73 kg

Briken Calja (born 19 February 1990, Elbasan) is an Albanian weightlifter, Olympian, and European Champion competing in the 69 kg category until 2018 and 73 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories. He won the silver medal in the men's 73 kg event at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Career

Calja competed for Albania at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he finished 9th in his weight class after lifting a total weight of 320 kg. In 2013 Calja was suspended for two years for using androsterone.

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in 69kg division where he finished in 5th place after lifting 326 kg. In 2018 Calja became European champion in the 2018 European Weightlifting Championships in Bucharest.

Major results

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total	Rank
			1	2	3	Rank	1	2	3	Rank
Representing Albania
Olympic Games
2012	London, United Kingdom	69 kg	143	146	146	8	173	174	177	6	320	6
2016	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	69 kg	145	151	151	7	175	181	184	5	326	5
2020	Tokyo, Japan	73 kg	151	151	155	7	184	188	190	4	341	4
World Championships
2006	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	62 kg	110	115	116	24	140	145	145	29	256	28
2010	Antalya, Turkey	69 kg	135	140	145	13	167	172	173	14	307	11
2011	Paris, France	69 kg	140	140	145	15	170	170	172	19	312	15
2015	Houston, United States	69 kg	143	143	143	12	177	183	187	7	326	7
2017	Anaheim, United States	69 kg	142	145	146	4	175	180	180	5	317	4
2018	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan	73 kg	148	153	157	6	181	186	189	7	339	6
2019	Pattaya, Thailand	73 kg	151	156	—	3rd place, bronze medalist(s)	181	190	190	13	337	5
2021	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	73 kg	152	154	156	1st place, gold medalist(s)	182	186	190	2nd place, silver medalist(s)	342	2nd place, silver medalist(s)
European Championships
2008	Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy	69 kg	125	130	135	10	160	160	160	14	295	13
2009	Bucharest, Romania	69 kg	130	133	137	9	157	163	—	13	290	10
2012	Antalya, Turkey	69 kg	140	145	146	4	170	175	177	8	315	6
2013	Tirana, Albania	69 kg	142	142	142	—	173	174	177	3rd place, bronze medalist(s)	—	—
2016	Førde, Norway	69 kg	142	145	147	3rd place, bronze medalist(s)	177	178	178	—	—	—
2017	Split, Croatia	69 kg	145	145	145	—	170	175	178	3rd place, bronze medalist(s)	—	—
2018	Bucharest, Romania	69 kg	141	143	146	1st place, gold medalist(s)	171	175	175	1st place, gold medalist(s)	321	1st place, gold medalist(s)
2019	Batumi, Georgia	73 kg	152	156	160	1st place, gold medalist(s)	183	183	188	2nd place, silver medalist(s)	339	2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2021	Moscow, Russia	73 kg	152	157	157	3rd place, bronze medalist(s)	183	184	188	2nd place, silver medalist(s)	336	2nd place, silver medalist(s)