Steiner wins after promising wife

Beijing: German weightlifter Matthias Steiner won the super-heavyweight gold and held up a picture of his late wife Susann on Tuesday, choking back tears over the promise he made to her that he would keep their Olympic dream.

"She is always with me, in the hours before the competition, she's there," said Steiner, who made the pledge to Susann at her bedside in hospital while she lay dying after a car crash in July 2007.

"I'm not the superstitious type, don't believe in higher powers, but I hope she saw me. I wish," said the 25-year-old.

Steiner, who won with a total of 461kg, claimed the title of strongest man in the world with a last-ditch lunge for gold.

He snatched 203kg, a weight far below his closest competitors, but raised his weights dramatically for his final lift in the clean and jerk and hoisted up 258kg to claim the title.