Heavy load on Philippines lifters’ shoulders

PARIS – Down to the last five days of the 2024 Olympics, the weightlifters take the spotlight, with 61kg bet John Febuar Ceniza kicking off the medal quest for the three-strong Philippine team at the South Paris Arena Wednesday.

Elreen Ando takes the stage for the women’s 59kg competition on Thursday then Vanessa Sarno in women’s 71kg on Friday.

Like the rest of the remaining Philippine bets in the heat of action, the three weightlifters are inspired and motivated by the incredible feat of gymnast two-gold winner Carlos Yulo.

Of course, another inspiration is Tokyo gold winner Hidilyn Diaz.

The weightlifters, Yulo and boxer Aira Villegas were together for breakfast the morning after Yulo’s first gold triumph.

It was a blast that they hope to repeat with a medal from the weightlifting hall.

Ceniza, Ando and Sarno, however, are not promising anything but to go all out in the competition.

“Mahirap ang laban, at lalaban lang ng todo ang mga bata,” said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella.

“We’ll never predict, we’ll just give it to the Lord, and the Lord will do the rest,” Puentevella added.

But it’s really a tough battle for each Philippine lifter, considering their ranking and the weights they’re lifting in the run-up to the tourney.

Ceniza is ranked joint No. 4 with Indonesian Eko Irawan, and he’s got some catching up to do versus top seed Li Fabin of China, No. 2 Morris Hampton Miller of the United States and No. 3 Sergio Massidda of Italy.

Others in the roster are Kirabati’s Kaimauri Erati, Bulgaria’s Ivan Petkov Dimov, Thailand’s Theerapong Silachai, Malaysia’s Mohamad Aniq Bin Kasdan, Vietnam’s Van Vinh Trinh and Papua New Guinea’s Morea Baru.