Elreen Ando’s final lift secures sixth place at Paris Olympics

Filipina weightlifter Elreen Ando might have finished outside of the podium but she set a pair of personal-best marks in the women’s weightlifting 59kg division at South Paris Arena 6 on Thursday, August 8 (Manila time).

In her return to the Olympic stage, Ando registered a total lift of 230kg, with 100kg from the snatch and 130kg from the clean and jerk, both personal bests, to finish in sixth place among 12 competitors.

The 26-year-old Ando eclipsed her previous records of clean and jerk and total lifts of 128kg and 228kg, respectively, which she achieved at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in April in Thailand.

She also equaled the national snatch record of 100kg, which she set at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh last September. 

Ando finished the Summer Games in sixth place, improving from her seventh-place finish with 222kg in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 64kg category. 

Reigning world champion Luo Shifang of China smashed all of the Olympic records in the division with a 107kg snatch, 134kg clean and jerk, and 341kg total as she bested two Tokyo gold medalists. 

Canada’s Maude Charron took the silver with a total of 236kg, while Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Hsing-chun secured the bronze with a total of 235 kg.

The Philippines' youngest Asian champion, Vanessa Sarno, will aim to end the weightlifting team’s campaign on a high note on Saturday, August 10, in the women’s 71kg category.