“HOW they qualified for Paris” reaches its fourth stop as The Manila Times explains in this seven-part series the pathways that Filipino athletes took to make the Paris Olympics.
It opened with players who are the lone representatives of their respective national teams — rower Joanie Delgaco, fencer Samantha Catantan, and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe.
Vanessa Sarno wins gold in weightlifting 71kg during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO
Golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina came second while Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch’s path to the Olympiad was the third part.
Now, it’s time to discuss how the weightlifting trio of Vanessa Sarno, Elreen Ando, and John Ceniza qualified for the Paris Olympics.
Sarno made it by finishing fourth in the women’s 71kg Olympic Qualification Rankings, where the top 10 finishers in each weight category advanced to the Olympics.
Dubbed as heir apparent to the first-ever Filipino Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, Sarno hosted her best lift of 249kg — 108kg in snatch and 141kg in clean and jerk — at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Grand Prix 2 last December in Doha, Qatar
Sarno last competed in the IWF World Cup women’s 71kg class in Phuket, Thailand in April, when she established a new national standard in snatch (110kg) on top of her 135 in clean and jerk for a total of 245kg.
Elreen Ando in weightlifting 59kg at National Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ando breaks the Southeast Asian Games record for Snatch event. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO
Ando, meanwhile, dramatically claimed her Olympic berth after beating Diaz to it as she topped the latter at the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand.
Ando hoisted 228kg — 100 in snatch and 128 in clean and jerk — to eventually place seventh in the women’s 59kg Olympic Qualification Rankings, booting out Diaz of the top 10 in the process.
Diaz, who was previously inside the quota, could only raise a total of 222kg as she struggled to gain in her new weight class after ruling the 55kg in Tokyo three years ago.
John Ceniza lifts during the weightlifting competition of the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China. PSC PHOTO
Last but not the least is Ceniza who punched his Paris ticket by finishing fifth in the men’s 61kg class where the top 10 gained Olympic berths.
Ceniza’s best lift in the qualifiers was 300kg and among the three Filipino weightlifters in Paris, he has the most realistic medal chances.
American Hampton Miller Morris and Italian Sergio Massidda, the second and third placers in Ceniza’s division, just lifted three and two kilograms, heavier than Ceniza.
Sarno and Ando, meanwhile, have their work cut out for them as they trail the third-ranked players in their respective divisions by significant margins.=
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