UC sends delegation to cheer for lifters at Paris Olympics

CEBU, Philippines — A very important trip for a very important task.

University of Cebu Athletic Director Jessica Jawad-Honoridez and college basketball coach Atty. Kenneth Kernn Sesante flew all the way to the glitzy French capital of Paris as part of the UC delegation that will be cheering for its prized weightlifters Elreen Ann Ando and John Febuar Ceniza who are competing at the Olympic Games in a sport that is an embodiment of human strength and courage.

Joining soon with Honoridez and Sesante in the famed “City of Light” are Atty. Maricar Joy Tallo, special assistant to UC President Candice Gotianuy, and Atty. Ria Lidia Espina, the dean of UC School of Law.

The 26-year-old Ceniza, who hails from Barangay Pasil, Cebu City, will be the first to lift barbells loaded with plates on August 7 under the men’s 61kg category.

The following day (August 8), it’s the turn of the 25-year-old Ando from Barangay Carreta to  strut her wares in the women’s 59kg class.

Ceniza, a two-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games silver medalist, and Ando, who bagged gold medal at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games and a silver at the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last February, want to give their all, with Gotianuy earlier promising a P1 million cash incentive for a podium finish.

Ceniza and Ando are among the three lifters in the 22-man Philippine team taking part in the quadrennial sporting extravaganza showcasing the world’s top athletic talents.

The other is Boholana Vanessa Sarno from Tagbilaran City. She is set for action on August 10 in the women’s 71kg category.