Asian and Southeast Asian Games gold medallist Vanessa Sarno continued to show class and consistency as she lifted her way to three gold medals while closing in on her Olympic dream at the close of the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
It appeared so easy for the Bohol-born Sarno as she lifted 100kg in snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk for a very conservative total of 230kg to claim the Junior women’s 71kg. title.
Sarno, who holds the Philippine and Southeast Asian Games record in the category, had plenty to spare but settled down comfortably, fully aware that the three-gold haul was all wrapped up.
She said she is reserving for the incoming international qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sarno had her personal bests in Snatch at 104 kg (2022, NR and MR), Clean & Jerk at 135kg (2022, NR and MR), and a total of 239 kg (2022, NR and MR).
Sarno is looking to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France to follow the path of her idol Hidilyn Diaz, the 2022 Tokyo Olympic weightlifting gold medalist.
In the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi last May, Sarno listed three new records in snatch (104kg.), clean and jerk (135kg.), and total (239kg.) to win the gold medal.
The 5-foot-4 Sarno was crowned champion at the 2021 Asian Championships, also held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She pocketed a silver medal in snatch (101kg.) but took the gold medal in clean and jerk (128kg.) and total (229kg.).
Mighty performance
Sarno’s three-gold performance capped a mightly performance by Team Philippines on the way to a total haul of 15 gold medals, on top of two silver and bronze medals. It was the best performance thus far by the country in the tournament that gathers the best young Asian lifters.
Interestingly, Sarno’s victorious lift coincides with the celebration of Bohol Day, her home province.
Earlier, Zamboanga pride Rosegie Ramos, 18, and 15-year-old Rosalinda Faustino bagged three gold medals each junior women’s 49kg and women’s youth 49kg division.
Angeline Colonia, a 15-year-old Zamboangena with an Olympian pedigree, kicked off the country’s campaign on a high note after striking two gold medals in record-breaking fashion in the youth women’s 40kg category on opening day.
The nephew of Rio Olympian Nestor Colonia bagged the gold in the snatch with a lift of 62kgs, breaking the old Asian and World record of 61kgs set in November 2018. Colonia also took the silver in the clean and jerk with a 72-kg performance for a total of 134 kilograms which gave her the second gold medal.
Sarno clinched two golds (overall and snatch) and one silver (clean and jerk) in the 71-kg division of the 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Championships in North Korea
She also joined the 2020 IWF Online World Youth Championship hosted by Peru where she won three gold medals (snatch, clean and jerk, and overall) in the 71-kg division
At the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarno clinched the gold medal in the -71kg category, and also won two small medals; gold for the clean and jerk and a silver for the snatch.