Elreen Ando dug deep to complete her final lift but still finished out of the podium in the women’s 59-kilogram division of weightlifting in the 2024 Paris Olympics at the South Paris Arena on Thursday, August 8.
Ando lifted a total of 230 kilograms, which put her in sixth place among 12 competitors.
The Filipina weightlifter faltered in her first attempt of 100 kilograms in the snatch, before getting a good lift in her second try at the weight.
However, she again faulted on her third attempt, this time at 102 kilograms.
Her mark was good for eighth place in the snatch, with China’s Luo Shifang setting a new Olympic record of 107 kilograms to pace the competition.
Ando couldn’t get the bar off the platform in her first attempt at the clean and jerk, at a weight of 130 kilograms.
On her second attempt, she got the clean but faltered at the jerk, failing to get the bar over her shoulders.
But she came through in her sixth and final lift of the night, getting a good lift at 130 kilograms for a strong finish to her campaign in the Paris Olympics, while also registering a new personal best in the clean and jerk.
China’s Luo won the gold medal in record-breaking fashion. After setting a new Olympic record in the snatch, she also set a new standard in the clean and jerk with a lift of 134 kilograms, and her total of 241 kilograms is also a new record.
Maude Charron of Canada took the silver, going 6-for-6 in her lifts for a total of 236 kilograms.
Kuo Hsing-Chun of Chinese-Taipei, who won the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, settled for bronze this time around with a total lift of 235 kilograms.
Ando, 25 years old, is making her second Olympic appearance.
She competed in the now-defunct 64-kilogram weight class in Tokyo, where she ended up in seventh place.
She qualified for the Paris Games after the IWF World Cup in Thailand, where she emerged with a better ranking than iconic Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who had given the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
Ando is the second Filipino weightlifter to go into action in Paris, after John Ceniza in the men’s 61-kilogram class on Wednesday, August 7.
Unfortunately for Ceniza, his campaign ended early after no-lifting three times in the snatch.
The third member of the weightlifting team, Vanessa Sarno, will take the platform in the women’s 71-kilogram division. (ABS-CBN News)