Young lifters target Bahrain worlds

The Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas is eyeing to have Paris Olympians Vanessa Sarno, Elreen Ando and John Ceniza bring their acts to this year’s IWF World Championships in Bahrain.

Weightlifting chief Monico Puentevella told DAILY TRIBUNE that there will be a tryout for those wanting to compete there, including the weightlifters in the recent Summer Games.

Despite not reaching the medal rounds, Puentevella lauded their efforts as this batch of weightlifters is being groomed for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Ceniza, who competed in the men’s 61-kilogram event, and Sarno, who joined the women’s 71-kg event, both registered a DNF (did not finish) on their respective Olympic debuts.

Meanwhile, Ando finished at sixth place in the women’s 59-kg event after setting a new national record in clean-and-jerk 130kgs and a new national record of 230kgs in the total lift.

“There’s a world championship in December. We will have a tryout first,” Puentevella said.

Puentevella also cited Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, who also took more than a decade before finally getting a silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.

Diaz finished 10th in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and also got a DNF in the 2012 London Games.

“They tried their best but this is the Olympics where the best athletes compete. This is their first time,” Puentevella said.

“Hidilyn also suffered the same fate before until she reached the third and fourth Olympics, where she excelled.”

The Filipino lifters are set to come home with the rest of the delegation on Tuesday and would give them some time to rest and recover, especially Ceniza and Sarno.

Ceniza looks to recover after suffering a shoulder injury while Sarno could seek psychiatric help after her mental toughness wavered in her Olympic debut.

Puentevella said the weightlifters now need to train harder after getting a taste of Olympic action.

“We just have to train harder from now on for the next four years,” Puentevella said.