Rosegie Ramos and Lovely Inan kicked off Team Philippines’ campaign at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships on a positive note by resetting their respective national records in the women’s under-49 kg category on Tuesday at the Ministry of Sports Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The World Championships are a mandatory event for those aiming to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Ramos, the reigning back-to-back Asian junior champion in this weight class, surged to the top 8 of the world rankings with a total lift of 188 kg. The top 10 lifters at the end of the qualification period next year will secure a place in the Olympics.
Ramos received a boost from her new national record of 86 kg, which was two points higher than her previous one set just a few months ago at the Asian Championships. Although she nearly lifted 104 kg in the clean and jerk, setting a new PH record in the process, she ultimately finished with a 102 kg lift.
Inan took the opportunity to reset her clean and jerk record with a new mark of 106 kg, three kilograms more than her result at the Asian Championships. This accomplishment compensated for her three missed attempts at the snatch, where she lifted 80 kg.
China’s Jiang Huihua maintained her lead in the world rankings and secured her back-to-back title in record-breaking fashion, surpassing her compatriot Hou Zhihui. Jiang elevated India’s Mirabai Chanu Sakhom’s clean and jerk world record from 119 to 120 kg, resulting in a new total world record of 215 kg, two kg more than Hou’s total.
USA’s Jourdan Dela Cruz earned the clean and jerk and total bronze medals with lifts of 112 kg and a total of 200 kg, respectively, while Romanian Mihaela Cambei secured third place in the snatch with a lift of 90 kg.
John Ceniza will seek to solidify his own Olympic campaign on Wednesday evening (Philippine time) when he competes in the men’s under-61 kg Group B.
