KRISTEL MACROHON settled for two bronze medals at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent on Thursday, a performance that validated her potential to shine in the continental level.
Macrohon won gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games but competing in the Uzbek capital in the highly competitive women’s 76-kg category, the bronze medals she claimed in clean and jerk (126 kgs) and total lift (225 kgs) were enough for her to send a strong message about her capability.
And she has her late grandmother as inspiration in her Asian championships journey.
“I dedicate this achievement to my late grandmother, Domelita,” Macrohon said. “She took care of me during my younger years.”
Macrohon’s grandmother passed away last April 6 in Zamboanga City. She was 74.
She missed the podium in the snatch with 99 kgs, only 1 kilo lighter than South Korea’s Kang Yeounhee’s effort.
China’s Zhang Wangli swept all three gold medals—115 kgs in snatch, 148 kgs in clean and jerk and 263 kgs total lift. South Korea’s Kim Suhyeon settled for silver medals in the snatch (106 kgs), clean and jerk (138 kgs) and total lift 244 kgs.
Seven Filipinos, including Tokyo Olympics-bound Hidilyn Diaz, vied in the Tashkent tournament with four of them—Vanessa Sarno, Mary Flor Diaz, Erleen Ando and Macrohon—going home with medals.
Sarno won two gold medals and a silver in the 71-kg class, Hidilyn Diaz’s cousin Mary Flor Diaz snatched three silvers in the 45-kg category and Ando bagged two silvers and a bronze in the 64-kg division.
Diaz was fourth in the 55-kg class but her goal was merely to compete to officially claim her ticket to Tokyo for her fourth consecutive Olympics. Also unable to snatch any medal in the team coached by Nick Jaluag and Gary Hortelano were Margaret Colonia (59 kgs) and Ellen Rose Perez (49 kgs).
Hidilyn and her team flew back to Malaysia on Friday while the others could only return to Manila on Wednesday because of limited flights.
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