updated 9:14 a.m. ET Aug. 24, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - The Greek faithful came to see if their 35-year-old star of Olympics past could give them one last thrill. They left having witnessed the new breed of lifting.

Bulgaria’s Milen Dobrev — a sleek 24-year-old whose freshly shaved head, wide eyebrows and thick neck give him a striking resemblance to the advertising icon Mr. Clean — lived up to his top seeding and took the gold medal in the 207-pound (94 kg) division of the Olympic weightlifting tournament Monday night.

Dobrev, the reigning world champion, made clean lifts on each of his first five tries. He failed on his sixth and final attempt, but just laughed and kissed the weights, knowing his total of 898 pounds (407.5 kg) already had clinched first place.

Junior world champion Khadjimourad Akkaev, a 19-year-old from Russia, took silver with a total of 893 pounds (405 kg). Fellow Russian Eduard Tjukin got the bronze.

Missing from the medal stand was three-time Olympic champion Kakhi Kakiasvilis, a Russia native who became a Greek citizen in 1994 after discovering that his mother and grandmother were from Greece.

Kakiasvilis didn’t even finish with a legal total. After failing on his first lift, he loaded extra weights on the bar to try catching up quickly. The plan backfired as he was successful only once.

“This was the most important moment of my career, but also the most bitter,” Kakiasvilis said. “It’s the first time my legs didn’t support me. This has made be more stubborn and I’m not giving up.”

Already the oldest lifter in the field, Kakiasvilis proclaimed he wants to try again in Beijing in 2008, when he’ll be 39.

“I’ll try and see what happens,” he said.

A sellout crowd of 5,000 fans, many thinking they’d seen his last performance, began chanting “Ka-khi” as soon as the medal ceremony ended, eventually luring him out for a quick wave from the platform. They kept cheering until he went up again, even moving a little farther out, but he refused to approach the medal platform as they had hoped.

“I wanted to give something to my lovely crowd, but I didn’t,” he said. “I didn’t have the power.”

Kakiasvilis joins fellow Greek Pyrros Dimas and Naim Suleymanoglu, the Pocket Hercules from Turkey, as those who’ve won three straight golds and returned to try for a fourth. Dimas took bronze on Saturday, while Suleymanoglu never came close four years ago in Sydney.

Dimas, another Greek transplant, is more popular in their adopted homeland than Kakiasvilis, as evidenced by the 15-minute standing ovation he received after his bronze performance. But this lifting-loving nation showed it has plenty of affection to go around.

Fans chanted lustily even before the finals began and were never dismayed by Kakiasvilis’ failures. They also were highly supportive of another Greek, Nikolaos Kourtidis, who at age 18 finished 11th.

Of the dozen or so signs taped to the walls, there was even one supporting Leonidas Sampanis, who was stripped Sunday of his bronze medal 137-pound (62kg) category for doping. “Sampani, we are on your side,” it read.

Dobrev was very businesslike in his approach, especially compared to the pensive, waggle-filled lifts by Kakiasvilis.

The Bulgarian set a tone with his first lift, walking straight to the bar and wasting no time before snatching 397 pounds (180 kg) over his head. He then walked off quickly, as if he’d picked up something half as heavy.

He showed a little more effort on his next four turns, but the result was always the same. He began to realize it was his day after his third lift, when he kissed his hands and waved to the crowd, a gesture he repeated later.

“I was well prepared for the Olympic tournament,” Dobrev said.

Akkaev, also a fast worker, kept pace with Dobrev’s first two lifts, but failed on his third snatch try. That ended up being the difference between gold and silver as both lifted 485 pounds (220 kg) on the clean and jerk.

“I’ve done my best,” he said.

Kakiasvilis’ only legal lift was 397 pounds (180 kg) on his second try. Trailing Dobrev by 16.5 pounds (7.5 kg) going into the clean and jerk, he opened at 485 (220 kg) — higher than anyone else attempted on a first lift. He got it to his shoulders on his first attempt, but couldn’t get it any higher. He didn’t even come that close on his next two tries.

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