Young Pinay weightlifter wins 2 golds

MANILA – Vanessa Sarno put Tashkent on notice on Wednesday as she ruled the women’s 71-kilogram category of the Asian Weightlifting Championships.

The 17-year-old Bohol native lifted a total of 229 kilograms to take home the overall gold in the event.

Sarno also lifted the heaviest in the clean and jerk (C&J) routine with 128 kg, giving her another gold.

Only Gulnabat Kadyrova of Turkmenistan had a better lift than Sarno in the snatch as the former lifted 102 kg. against the latter’s 101.

However, Kadyrova struggled a bit in the C&J as she only lifted 121 kg., just good for third place, giving her 223 kg. in total.

Overall, Kadyrova still got the silver as Kazakhstan’s Yekaterina Bykova, despite having a heavier C&J lift at 122 kg, could only lift a 91 in the snatch for 213 in total and settled for the bronze.

Last year, Sarno won the IWF Online World Cup, making her a prospective gold medal hauler in the Olympics down the road.