Sarno favored in Paris Games

Vanessa Sarno will be entering the Paris Olympics as one of the best weightlifters in Asia.

In the list of qualified lifters released by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Sarno was ranked fourth in the women’s 71-kilogram with her best total lift at 249 kilograms last December in the IWF World Grand Prix 2 in Doha.

Aside from Sarno, the Asian Weightlifting Federation also cited Hou Zhixhi (49-kg), Luo Shifang (59-kg), and Li Wenwei (+81-kg) of China and Kim Suhyeon (81-kg) of South Korea as top Asian weightlifters in the Summer Games.

Right now, Sarno is in Germany training along with John Ceniza, who will compete in the men’s 61-kg event, and Elreen Ando, who is slated to vie in the women’s 59-kg.

The Tagbilaran, Bohol native is seen as the heir to Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz as she ruled the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent and captured the gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in 2022 in Vietnam and 2023 in Cambodia.

But getting a podium finish in her first trip to the Olympics will be easier said than done as she will be facing a tough field bannered by the likes of world champions Loredana Toma of Romania and Neama Said of Egypt as well as Tokyo Games bronze medalist Chen Wen-huei of Chinese Taipei.

Still, Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella said he isn’t pressuring Sarno to get a medal in her first stint in the Summer Games, which will be held at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles on 10 August at 1:30 a.m. (Manila time).

“We will still try our best. Let God do the rest but no promises,” Puentevella said.