Elreen Ando is determined to bring more glory to the country following her back-to-back stint in the Summer Olympics.
Ando said she is pumped up and ready to compete against the best lifters in the world when she sees action in the World Weightlifting Championships in October in Norway and the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand this December.
The Cebu native finished seventh in the women’s 64-kilogram event of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before landing sixth in the women’s 59-kg event of the Paris Olympics last in 2024.
Prior to seeing action in the Paris Games, she derailed the Olympic return of Hidilyn Diaz, whom she beat in a dramatic showdown in the IWF World Cup in Thailand for the right to represent the country in the 59-kg class.
Ando said seeing action in the past two Olympic Games is just the tip of the iceberg.
“My goal is to win a medal and I will do my best to do it,” said Ando, looking to test her mettle against powerhouse lifters from North Korea, China and Europe.
“Weightlifters from North Korea, China, and Europe are going to be challenging.”
Ando assured that she will put on a show regardless of what weight category she will be competing in the biennial meet.
After all, in her previous SEA Games stint in Cambodia, Ando set new meet records in the 59-kg category with 98 kgs in snatch and 118 kgs in clean and jerk for a total lift of 216 kgs.
“I don’t know what weight category I will compete in the SEA Games but whatever I did back then, I will try to do it better,” Ando said.