Phuket, Thailand, April 4, 2024: Filipina weightlifter Elreen Ando outshined compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz to book a return trip to the Olympics after a strong showing in the women’s 59kg event at the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand on Wednesday, April 3.
The 25-year-old Ando, who competed at Tokyo 2020 in a higher weight division, 64kg, tallied a personal best 228kg after posting 100 kilos in the snatch and 128kg in the clean and jerk.
It was 6kg better than the combined effort by Diaz, the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines in the 55kg event in Tokyo.
Ando’s achievement meant the end of the road for Diaz, who entered the World Cup ranked higher than her teammate in the Olympic Qualification Ranking system and had been hoping to book her ticket to her fifth Olympic Games. Diaz debuted at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
A country may send only one athlete per weight class in the weightlifting competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In Tokyo, Diaz had competed in the women’s 55kg class, and had struggled to cope with the rise in weight at the World Cup, the final qualifying event for Paris 2024.
An elated Ando said: “I am so happy because all my training paid off. I made a lot of sacrifices, and I have a lot of confidence in myself. I told myself I had already lifted 128kg in training."
The first to congratulate Ando were Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino and the President of the Philippines Weightlifting Federation, Monico Puentevella.
Diaz, 33, was left heartbroken. “I love this sport, I don’t want to stop. But what I have to do now is to take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life. I’ve given a lot to this sport and it’s given a lot to me. Today was not my day. Paris was not to be.”
The Philippine Olympic Committee, posting a dedication to Diaz on social media, said: “Let’s give a round of applause to Hidilyn Diaz as well as for her unwavering competitive spirit and sportsmanship. Mabuhay Kayo!”
Meanwhile there was a new total world record for China's winner Luo Shifang, who recorded 248kg (108kg and 140kg) in the 59kg class.
