Slot to Tokyo Olympics within reach
MANILA, Philippines — Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines lifted her way to three gold medals in the Roma Weightlifting World Cup Tuesday night in Rome, Italy to move closer to the Tokyo Olympics in July.
Diaz had a total lift of 212 kilograms, 93kg in the snatch and 119kg in the clean and jerk, of the women’s 55kg division in a performance that further boosted her chances of qualifying to Tokyo.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist will clinch the slot if she ends up in the top 10 in her weight class.
She is currently ranked fourth behind four Chinese lifters but Olympic rules allow only one athlete per country to Tokyo, which makes her technically at No. 2.
Diaz’ Olympic qualification will be made official if she comes through with another strong performance in the Asian Championship in Kazakhstan in April.
If she advances, Diaz will join world champion gymnast Caloy Yulo and pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who both booked Tokyo slots last year.
Ukraine’s Kamila Konotop was second with 196kg followed by Nouha Landoulsi of Tunisia with 194kg.
Earlier, Diaz’s countryman, John Fabuar Ceniza, came through with his best performance so far, snatching a bronze in the men’s 61kg class.
The Cebu native and silver medal winner in the last Southeast Asian Games lifted a total of 269kg, 117kg in the snatch and 152kg in the clean and jerk.
Vietnamese Kim Tuan Thach (288kg) and Georgian Shota Mishvelidge (286kg) won the gold and silver, respectively.