Vanessa Sarno makes early exit in Olympic debut

Vanessa Sarno of the Philippines competes during the women’s 71kg weightlifting event, at Paris Olympics 2024, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara,Pool)

Vanessa Sarno’s first Olympic stint ended right in the snatch early Saturday morning after the former Asian champion missed all her three attempts there in the women’s weightlifting 71kg class in the Paris Olympics at South Paris Arena.

Sarno’s exit ended the bid of the country’s weightlifting squad, the best team of the Philippine delegation in the Tokyo Games, where Hidilyn Diaz (now Diaz-Naranjo) won the gold medal of the women’s 55kg division.

LIVE UPDATES: Team Philippines at Paris Olympics 2024 August 10

John Ceniza, also competing in his first Olympics, likewise missed out on all his snatch attempts while Tokyo Games campaigner Elreen Ando walked away with a personal best in clean and jerk but did not make the podium.

Sarno missed her first two attempts, putting a lot of pressure on her third lift. Coaches tried to ease that pressure backstage but she looked tense as she took the stage for the third try.

Unlike other major weightlifting tournaments, the Olympics awards medals only for total. That means if a participant misses on all three snatch attemps, they no longer progress to the clean and jerk.

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The Philippines will remain at its current medal count, with Carlos Yulo winning two golds for the country and a bronze each contributed by Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.

Sarno’s exit means the Philippines is down to two campaigners in the Paris Olympics—golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina.