BACK-TO-BACK Olympic Games veteran Elreen Ann Ando bagged three silver medals in the women’s 64-kilogram division Sunday night in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jiangshan, China.
An outstanding product of the grassroots program of former Cebu City Sports Commission chairman and current PSC Commissioner Ed Hayco, Ando, 26, gave hometown favorite Li Shuang a bit of a fight in one of her strongest finishes on the Asian stage.
The Cebuana bagged second behind Li in the snatch with a lift of 102 kilos on her second try and 130 kilos in the clean-and-jerk on her first attempt for a total lift of 232 kilos, with the Chinese sweeping all three golds with lifts of 105, 134 and 239 kilos, respectively.
South Korean weightlifter Mun Min-hee settled for a trio of bronzes with lifts of 94, 120 and 214 kilos, respectively, in the continental tournament, where the old weight classifications of the International Weightlifting Federation will be used for the final time before the new ones are enforced by the world weightlifting body starting June 1.
It was a better outing for Ando than the previous edition held last year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where she copped two silvers in the women’s 59kg class, hoisting 120 kilos in the clean-and-jerk and a total lift of 213 kilos.
