IN their rematch in more than a year since the IWF World Cup in 2023, back-to-back Olympic veteran Elreen Ann Ando bested Tokyo Games gold medalist Hidylin Diaz-Naranjo anew to rule the women’s 63kg division of the National Weightlifting Championships in Dumaguete, Negros Occidental last Wednesday.
Ando, who foiled the celebrated Diaz-Naranjo for a coveted fifth straight Olympic appearance by finishing better than her in the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand in April 2024, swept the golds, lifting 95 kilos in the snatch, 125kg in the clean-and-jerk for a total lift of 220 kg.
In her first competition since the IWF World Cup, the last Olympic qualifying tournament, Diaz-Naranjo, the 34-year-old pride of Zamboanga City, who also coached the HD Team from Jalajala in the meet, settled for runner-up honors with lifts of 87 (snatch), 115 (clean-and-jerk) and 202 (total), respectively.
A Cebuano grassroots program product of former Cebu City Sports Commission chairman Edward Hayco, now a current commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission, Ando finished sixth in the French capital last August in the 59kg class with a combined lift of 230 kilos.
Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella, who witnessed the showdown at the Dumaguete National City High School gym, said the national meet was the first time that the new weight classes mandated by the International Weightlifting Federation were enforced locally.
The new IWF weight divisions for future international meets, including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympiad, are 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, 110kg, +110kg for men and 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, +86kg, according to Puentevella.
He added that the National Championships hosted by Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo serve as part of the national tryouts for the PH weightlifting squad that will represent the country in the 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December.
