John Ceniza turned in new milestones in his career after putting up personal best lifts, en route to an eighth-place finish in the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships’ men’s 61 kg weight class, Thursday at the Uzbekistan Sports Complex.
The 30th Southeast Asian Games silver medalist set a new mark in the clean and jerk at 150 kilograms and upped his total to 265. The new mark saw him finish first in the second group, a clear seven kilos ahead of Chaturanga Lakmal of Sri Lanka.
Ceniza started his campaign with 115 kg on snatch but could not add on to the said weight after failing to lift the bar three kilos heavier.
Nonetheless, the Cebuano standout regrouped heading into the clean and jerk. He eventually captured the said weights of 150 and 265. He earlier began this portion of the competition with 145, before adding three more kilos for his second at 148.
Shin Rok dominated the event after bagging all the three gold medals at stake. The South Korean upstart took the world title off a total of 288 kg, with 132 coming from snatch and 156 by way of clean and jerk.
Shota Mishvelidze of Georgia captured the silver for the total at 286. He also brought with him the silvers from snatch (131) and clean and jerk (155).
Saudi Arabia’s Seraj Al Saleem completed the main podium with 282 kg.
