By PR | 07:26 PM April 09, 2024
Boholana weightlifter Vanessa Sarno secured her spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sarno accomplished the feat when she finished strongly in the top 10 Olympic qualifying rankings in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup last April 7 in Phuket, Thailand.
She competed in Group B of the 71kg category and set a new Philippine record in the snatch by lifting 110kg in her third attempt. She then cleared 135 in her second clean & jerk for 245kg.
Sarno paid a courtesy visit to the Capitol last year with her coaches and met Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado, who committed to support Boholano athletes in the regional, national, and international quests, as part of the Capitol’s holistic youth development programs through sports as aligned with its Strategic Change Agenda.
The 20-year-old pride of Bohol, who placed fifth, paved the way for the Philippines to field its biggest weightlifting contingent in the Olympics in nearly four decades.
Sarno will compete with the world’s best in Paris with some of the biggest names in Philippine sports including Ej Obiena, pole vaulting; Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan, artistic gymnastics; Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, and Aira Villegas, boxing; and John Ceniza and Elreen Ando, weightlifting.
A reigning Southeast Asian Games champion, Sarno’s remarkable achievements include the gold medals in the women’s 71kg at the 2023 Cambodia Southeast Asian Games and the 2021 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games.
Her participation in the IWF World Cup is one of the two mandatory events for Paris hopefuls, aside from the 2023 World Championships, which were held on Sept. 2–17, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The final and official Olympic ranking list will be published on April 28.
In 2021, Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made a historic performance at the Tokyo Summer Games after she won the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal. (PiMO/JSS)
