Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo is set to compete in her fifth consecutive Summer Games, and she may be joined by rising weightlifting star Vanessa Sarno. Another athlete, John Febuar Ceniza, has the potential to make weightlifting history for the country in the upcoming Olympiad.
According to Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) president Monico Puentevella, the Philippines could send three lifters to the Paris Olympics if they consistently rank high enough in the qualification tournaments. Ceniza, who competes in the men’s 61-kilogram division, is currently within the Olympic qualification range after finishing fifth in the 2023 Asian championships and 10th in the 2022 world championships. He needs to maintain his ranking in the next three qualifying tournaments to secure his spot in the Games and make the SWP the first national sports association to send three athletes to the Olympics.
Ceniza expressed his determination, saying, “I want to be in the Olympics. This is my chance, so I’m working doubly hard in training.” Alongside Diaz-Naranjo and Sarno, Ceniza will compete in the upcoming IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is their third qualifying meet out of the five required tournaments for Paris.
Diaz-Naranjo, who won the nation’s first Olympic gold in Tokyo 2021, has moved up to the 59-kilogram weight category from her usual 55-kilogram category. Sarno, a 19-year-old weightlifter, recently won a silver medal in the women’s 71-kilogram division at the Asian championships.
The remaining mandatory tournaments for Olympic qualification are the 2024 Asian championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand. The qualifying window closes on April 28, 2024.
If all three lifters succeed in securing their spots, it will be a significant achievement for Philippine weightlifting.
