Two bronze medals for Macrohon in Rome
Kristel Macrohon couldn’t help but feel bothered despite a fascinating podium performance on the world’s biggest stage in weightlifting that positioned her for a stint in the Tokyo Olympics later this year.
In her pursuit to follow the path of Hidilyn Diaz, the 23-year-old bagged two bronze medals in the clean and jerk discipline and total of the women’s 71-kilogram division during the 2020 Weightlifting World Cup in Pala Pellicone in Rome, Italy.
“I’m thankful for a good finish, but it was way below my previous performance in the clean and jerk,’’ Macrohon said in Filipino, who claimed the Southeast Asian Games gold medal with a 123kg lift in the clean and jerk.
Facing her possible rivals if she indeed makes it to the Olympics, Macrohon hoisted 115kg in the clean and jerk for a 209kg total, giving the Zamboanga lifter those pair of bronzes that upped Team Philippines’ medal tally to three gold and three bronze medals in Rome.
Diaz accounted for the triple-gold output in the women’s 55kg while John Febuar Ceniza got the other bronze in the total of the men’s 61kg.
“To be honest, I got the motivation from them (Diaz and Ceniza) as well as from my other teammates who also sacrificed a lot in training to make our country proud,’’ Macrohon said.
Macrohon shared the podium with American Meredith Alwine, who assembled a total lift of 237 to capture the gold while Italian Alessia Durante picked up the silver with 210kg.
Macrohon ranks 18th in her weight category, but could be No. 12 based on an Olympic rule that allows only one entry per country.
There are four Americans, three Koreans, two Russians and two Colombians ahead of Macrohon in the world rankings.
The top eight after the Asian Championship in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, this April will earn automatic spots to Tokyo while one slot each will be awarded to the finest lifters from Asia, Americas, Europe, Africa and Oceania.
The final berth will be given either to the host country or by invite to complete the 14 participants from each weight class. INQ
