Spain’s Lidia Valentin Perez competes in the women’s 87kg weightlifting competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo on August 2, 2021. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP)
TOKYO – Spanish weightlifter Lidia Valentin Perez, a gold medalist at the 2012 London Games, retired from the women’s 87kg competition at the Tokyo Games on Monday after her first clean and jerk lift, citing “physical issues.”
“I was thinking whether or not to compete today because of these issues,” Valentin said through an interpreter, adding she would aim to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 36-year-old, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games and silver in 2008, was this time competing in Group B, where lifters have registered lighter weights. Medals and world records are typically the domain of Group A.
Valentin tied with South Korea’s Kang Yeoun-hee to occupy first place after the snatch event. She withdrew after her first clean and jerk at 122kg.