New Asian champion Vanessa Sarno on the podium for ruling the 71kg event of the Asian Weightlifting Championships. IWF SCREENGRAN
MANILA, Philippines–Filipino weightlifter Vanessa Sarno ruled the women’s 71-kilogram division of the 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships, plucking two golds and a silver medal on Wednesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Sarno lifted her way to the top of the podium with a total of 229 kg, besting Turkmenistan’s Gulbanat Kadyrova (223 kg) and Kazakhstan’s Yekatarina Bykova (213kg) in the overall count.
The 17-year-old from Tagbilaran, Bohol dominated the clean and jerk portion of the competition with a lift of 128 kg. She finished second behind Kadyrova in snatch, registering 101 kg and kilogram less than the top finisher.
The Philippine Anthem played at the medal ceremony as Vanessa Sarno wins gold in the 71kg division of the Asian Weightlifting Championship. IWF Screengrab
Widely seen as heir to Hidilyn Diaz’s throne as the country’s weightlifting queen, Sarno last year won three gold medals in the International Weightlifting Federation Online World Youth Championship in Peru.
A year before that, she also took home two golds and a silver medal in the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in North Korea.
Sarno is the third weightlifter from the Philippines to bring home the medal in the Asian Championships after Erleen Ando in the women’s 64kg-division and Mary Flor Diaz in the 45kg-division.
Diaz, meanwhile, failed to make it to the podium but secured her slot to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just by her participation.