By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina star Elreen Ando concluded her Paris Olympics stint with an impressive sixth-place achievement in the women’s 59kg weightlifting event on August 8, 2024, at the South Paris Arena 6.
Despite missing out on a podium finish that would’ve ended the PHL weightlifting team’s elusive medal in Paris, Ando still put up a fight and improved from her seventh-place finish during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It was an entirely different vibe for Ando after competing in a different weight class compared to her Tokyo Olympic debut where she joined the 64kg category.
Entering the tournament five kilos lighter than what she was used to, the young Filipina still flaunted her skills after lifting a total of 230kg which was enough to help her clinch the sixth spot out of the 12 participants.
Ando had a rough start in the snatch after failing in her first attempt but bounced back when she completed the 100kg.
For her final attempt in the snatch, Ando had a great preparation stance but faltered on her way up, officially ending the category in eighth place.
Just when everyone counted her out, Ando redeemed herself in the clean and jerk as she successfully raised the 130kg bar in her final attempt.
Ando’s 130kg score in the clean and jerk landed her sixth and boosted her final spot as the sixth-best weightlifter in the women’s 59kg event.
Luo Shifang of China came out on top and nabbed the gold medal with a stellar performance, lifting a total of 241 kg followed by Canada’s Maude Charron with 236kg and Kuo Hsing-chun of Chinese Taipei who tallied 235kg.
Vanessa Sarno, the remaining weightlifter of the PHL national team, will aim to halt the country’s medal drought on August 10, 2024, in the women’s 71kg event.
