The Philippines now has two gold medals from the ongoing 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The two glints were earned by Boholana weightlifter Vanessa Sarno, who reigned in the Women’s 71-kilogram (kg) category.
The 17-year-old lifter clinched the gold in the Clean and Jerk Event after registering a 128-kg record. She also got silver in the Snatch Event after listing a 101-kg lift, second to gold winner Gulnabat Kadyrova of Turkemenistan who lifted 102-kg.
The 229-kg total lift executed by Sarno was enough to earn overall first place in her division, followed by Kadyrova of Turkmenistan with her 223-kg total lift and Yekaterina Bykova of Kazakhstan who bore a total of 213 kilograms.
Watch this report from Khay Asuncion for more details:
Kadyrova and Bykova brought home the silver and bronze medals in both divisions.
According to Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas Head Coach Tony Agustin, Sarno is one of the weightlifters whom they trained to follow the trail of 2016 Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
“Like si Hidi (Diaz), noon kasi nakita namin na promising din si Vanessa, so ‘yong (plan) namin, let Vanessa compete and compete parang kay Hidi. Kahit hindi pa nananalo, pinapalaro na namin para masanay sa international platform. Ganoon ‘yong goal d’on kay Vanessa,” Agustin said.
[We saw how promising Vanessa was back then, like Hidi, so our (plan) is to let Vanessa compete and compete just like Hidi. Even she has not been winning, we let her join the international platform so she can get used to it. That is the goal for Vanessa.]
While Sarno is not among the five Olympic hopefuls of the Philippine squad for the 2020 Tokyo Games, the Asian stint is considered a good training ground for her to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Mahaba kasi ‘yong proseso ng Olympics. Kumbaga hindi niya naabot ‘yong umpisa ng (Olympic) qualifying. ‘Yong (goal) namin, ipa-projection na si Vanessa sa 2024 (Paris Olympics),” Agustin added.
[The process to reach the Olympics is long. She was not able to start the (Olympic) qualifying. Our goal is to project Vanessa’s direction to 2024 (Paris Olympics).] – Report by Khay Asuncion/ JBB-jlo
