By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
VANESSA Sarno rewrote several of her national marks but still came up short in her medal bid along with Kristel Macrohon in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar over the weekend.
Sarno, a 2020 Asian Champion and two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, missed the podium after finishing fifth with a total lift of 249 kilograms in the women’s 71kg event.
It was actually her best performance to date as she improved her record by 10 kilos which she tallied in winning the silver medal at the 2023 Asian Championships in Jinju, South Korea last May.
But the competition was so intense as Song Kuk Hyang of North Korea lifted an astonishing 269 kilos for the gold medal, followed by reigning Asian champion China’s Liao Guifang (264) and United States’ Olivia Lynn Reeves (262).
Katherine Vibert of the United States was fourth, just five kilos heavier than Sarno’s performance.
Sarno, one of the lifters being eyed to qualify in the 2024 Paris Olympics, already trailed in snatch after finishing seventh with a 108-kilo lift ˗ 12 kilos lighter than Song.
That, however, enabled her to rip her old mark of 107 kilos set in the last Asian Championships.
The 20-year-old gave it all in clean & jerk, first lifting 135 kilos, then 138, before settling for a personal-best 141 kilos on her final attempt for fifth place, but her competitors were too much to handle.
Still, her clean & jerk performance erased her previous record of 135 kilos at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam last year.
Meanwhile, Macrohon also settled for ninth in total with a lift of 234 kilos. She posted 104 in snatch for 10th place and 130 in clean & jerk for 11th place.
Overall, Team Philippine collected four silver medals in the event courtesy of three from Rosegie Ramos and one from John Febuar Ceniza.
