Lasha Talakhadze will be making his return to competitive return after winning gold in Rio at the European Under-23 Championships in Eliat, Israel. ©Getty Images

The difference between the highest and lowest totals lifted by the men’s super-heavyweights at the European Under-23 Championships could be 150 kilograms – because the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion will be competing.

Lasha Talakhadze, from Georgia, whole also currently holds the world and European titles, set a record total of 473kg when he won Olympic gold in memorable style in August and as soon as he left the stage in Rio de Janeiro, he said that he was targeting a return to competition in Eilat,which hosts Europe’s Junior and Under-23 Championships over seven days from tomorrow.

At the time, his coach raised his eyebrows and later said he did not believe Talakhadze would bother with an under-23 contest after winning the biggest prize in the sport. 

But Talakhadze, who was 23 this year, said, “" don’t have that title. 

"I want it."

True to his word, he is due to arrive on Tuesday (December 6) and compete in the over 105kg category next Saturday (December 10). 

His preliminary entry total of 440kg is already 130kg higher than his lowest-ranked rivals from Hungary and Finland and he has shown he is capable of far more than that. 

He seems sure to break the European under-23 record of 435kg set by Russia’s Ruslan Albegov.

The previous two super-heavyweight Olympic champions returned to competition in the Asian Games and the European Championships, so Talakhadze’s decision to compete in an age-group event on his return is believed to be unprecedented.

Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze with the Olympic gold medal he won at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images
Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze with the Olympic gold medal he won at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

One of the unluckiest lifters at Rio 2016 will be going for gold in the Junior women’s 53kg. 

Rebekah Koha, the 18-year-old from Latvia, missed a medal by two kilograms at the Olympics, where she lost one of her lifts. 

She was timed out when she thought she had a minute to make her first attempt but, after a change of weight by her coach, she had only 35 seconds.

About 400 competitors from 34 countries will be competing here, with 200 to 220 in the Juniors and 170 to 180 in the under-23s. 

The youngest entry is the junior super-heavyweight Enzo Kuworge, of the Netherlands, who was 15 in August.

Among those 34 competing nations are seven, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Ukraine and Moldova, who will soon be banned from the sport. 

All nations who tallied three or more positives in the recent International Olympic Committee-led retesting of samples from the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics are subject to a one-year ban. 

However, the bans cannot start until all results and appeals have been officially closed, a process which is expected to be complete by the end of January.