Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Elreen Ando saved her best lift for last as she tallied 228 kilograms in the women’s 59-kg event of the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand Wednesday evening.
25-year-old Ando lifted 100 kgs in snatch, and 128 in the clean and jerk for seventh place, eclipsing her previous best lift of 222 kgs at the 2023 IWF World Championships in Riyadh last September.
She also surpassed Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, whose best lift in the qualifying period was 224 kgs in the World Championships.
Meanwhile, Diaz only managed 222 kgs behind a snatch of 99 kgs and a clean and jerk of 123 kgs for 11th place, likely ending her quest for a fifth consecutive appearance in the Summer Games.
Diaz competed in four editions of the Olympics and captured a silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and a gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The International Weightlifting Federation will formalize the results after the 28 April deadline as the Olympic rankings have yet to be updated as of writing.
