The Philippine weightlifting team will go home empty-handed after Vanessa Sarno and Kristel Macrohon failed to make a dent in the women’s 71-kilogram event Wednesday in the 2023 IWF World Championships at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Sarno, one of the top weightlifting prospects being eyed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, wound up unranked after not making a single lift in the clean-and-jerk despite a 100-kg snatch.
Macrohon, on the other hand, ended at 19th place after a snatch of 97 kgs and a clean-and-jerk of 128 kgs for a total lift of 225 kgs.
China’s Liao Guifang won the event with a total lift of 273 kgs while Colombia’s Angia Paola Palacios Dajome settled for the silver with a total lift of 255 kgs.
Olivia Reeves of the United States finished in third place with a total lift of 253 kgs.
None of the seven Filipino weightlifters were able to make it to the podium in the tournament that also gives out qualifying points for next year’s Summer Games.
Southeast Asian Games silver medalist John Ceniza had the highest finish for the Filipinos in this tournament: fifth place in the men’s 61-kg event after a total lift of 296 kgs.
Rosegie Ramos, a SEA Games bronze medalist, came in seventh in the women’s 49-kg event with a total lift of 188 kgs while 32nd SEA Games silver medalist Lovely Inan finished unranked after failing to complete a snatch in the tournament.
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz placed seventh in the women’s 59-kg event after a total lift of 224 kgs while Elreen Ando, a SEA Games champion, got eighth place with a total lift of 222 kgs.
Samahang Weightlifting Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella hopes his wards will make the grade for the Paris Games with two more qualifiers left.
“With God’s help, we’ll probably have three to four lifters in the Paris Olympics. With two more qualifying legs to go, it’s Rosegie Ramos, Hidilyn Diaz, Vanessa Sarno and John Fabuar Ceniza,” Puentevella said.
The weightlifters now shift their focus for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October.
Diaz, Ramos, Ceniza, Sarno and Ando will only have a short time to rest and recover before competing in the Asiad.
