Sarno botches Olympic debut with no lift

MANILA, Philippines -- Vanessa Sarno had a disappointing Olympic debut in Paris, heading to an early exit in the women’s 71kg after being unable to lift in three snatch attempts early Saturday morning (Manila time).

Sarno, whose personal best is at 110kg in snatch, failed in all her three attempts at 100kg.

The 20-year-old Filipina seemed rushing in her attempts. She was able to put the bar on top of her head but could not complete the lift.

Before her third and last try, the crowd cheered for Sarno. But this did not give her the needed boost, putting her at did-not-finish (DNF) in the competition.

Sarno is the second Filipino weightlifter to register a DNF, following John Ceniza in the men’s 61 kg division.

USA's Olivia Reeves brought home the gold medal after notching an Olympic record of 117 kg in snatch and 145 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 262 kg. 

Colombia's Mari Leivis Sanchez was the silver medalist with a total of 257 kg, while Angie Paola Palacios Dajomes came in third with 256 kg. 

With this, the Philippine delegation in Paris is now down to two -- golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan.

The other Philippine bet in weightlifting, Elreen Ando, finished sixth in the women’s 59 kg weightlifting on Thursday.