HIDILYN Diaz is unlikely to get a shot at a second Olympic gold medal in Paris after she was left in the shade by compatriot Elreen Ando, who laid claim to a spot in the women’s 59kg division in weightlifting.
Ando lifted a total of 228 kilograms at the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket, Thailand on Wednesday to surpass Diaz's 222kg, putting her in line to punch a ticket to the Paris Games. Only one lifter can compete in Paris per country.
Ando, a Southeast Asian Games champion and a product of University of Cebu, finished seventh overall in the event won by Luo Shifang of China, with Diaz ending up at 11th.
With the result, Ando is expected to finish in the Top 10 of the Olympic Qualification Ranking at the end of the month, pending official word from the IWF.
Under the Olympic qualification procedure, only one athlete per NOC (National Olympic Committee) is eligible to be in the OQR, which is the highest-ranked athlete per NOC.
Ando on Wednesday was able to eclipse the previous high of 224 kilograms set by Diaz during last year’s World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - a mark that Diaz failed to reach by two kilograms at the World Cup.
Diaz misses out
Diaz now faces the possibility of missing the Paris Olympics altogether after moving up in weight when the 55kg category where she won in Tokyo in 2021 was scrapped.
That forced Diaz to compete for an Olympic spot with Ando at 59kg.
On her way to a possible ticket to the Olympics, Ando surpassed Diaz’s qualification best when she registered 125kg on her second lift in the clean and jerk. She also succeeded in lifting 128kg to finish with a 228.
Diaz, on the other hand, was unsuccessful at 127kg on her second and third attempts in the clean and jerk.
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