Alex Eala advances to Round of 16 after rainy Oeiras comeback
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Vanessa Sarno ends Olympic stint with no lift
Filipina weightlifter Vanessa Sarno capped her Olympic debut in disappointment after logging a DNF (did not finish) at the Paris Olympics women’s weightlifting 71kg class at the South Paris Arena early Saturday (Manila time).
What looked like a promising Paris Games campaign came to a quick halt as the 20-year-old Sarno used up all her three snatch attempts at 100kg, 10kg lower than her previous personal and national record, to no success.
PHOTO COURTESY: REUTERS
“What happened was really unexpected,” said Sarno in Filipino in an interview with OneSports. “Somehow, I still fought for the Philippines in the Olympics. I fought and tried until the last attempt when my coaches were telling me that they trust me that I could do it.”
Sarno suffered the same fate as teammate John Ceniza, who also tallied a DNF in the men’s 61kg category after being unable to make a successful life in the snatch round.
Only Elreen Ando out of the three Filipino weightlifters who qualified for the Olympics went all the way as she finished sixth in the women’s 59kg event on Thursday, August 8.
USA’s Olivia Reeves brought home the gold medal after notching an Olympic record of 117kg in snatch and 145kg in clean and jerk for a total of 262kg.
Colombia’s Mari Leivis Sanchez was the silver medalist with a total of 257kg, while Ecuador’s Angie Paola Palacios Dajomes nabbed the bronze with 256kg.
Sarno promises to be back in the Olympics in Los Angeles 2028.
