August 8 ------ Filipino weightlifter John Ceniza's campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympics ended early, after a subpar performance in the men's 61kg division of weightlifting. Ceniza, competing in his first Olympics, failed to make a lift in the snatch during competition at the South Paris Arena. The 26-year-old thrice failed to lift 125kg. He has officially been marked a DNF (Did Not Finish) in the event.
Ceniza was one of four lifters who registered DNFs in the snatch, along with Italy's Sergio Massidda, Vietnam's Trinh Van Vinh, and Bulgaria's Ivan Petkov Dimov. China's Li Fabin retained his gold medal after lifting an Olympic record of 143kg in the snatch and 167kg in the clean-and-jerk for a total of 310kg. Surprisingly, the Chinese star faltered twice in the clean-and-jerk, failing to lift 167kg in his first try and 172kg in his second try. Still, his total was seven kilograms more than Thailand's Theerapong Silachai, who lifted a total of 303kg for silver. Silachai went six-of-six in the competition, registering 132kg in the snatch and 171kg in the clean-and-jerk.
Young American Hampton Morris took bronze with a total of 298kg from 126kg in the snatch and 172kg in the clean-and-jerk. It was a disappointing outcome for Ceniza, who has a personal best of 131kg in the snatch and was hoping to contend for the podium. Ceniza is the first member of the Philippine weightlifting team to compete in Paris, with Elreen Ando set to go into action on Thursday evening, and Vanessa Sarno on Saturday.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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