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Doha, Day 9: Hard work brings home win for Meso – and a big move up the Paris rankings

Meso Hassona won in his home country, totalled 400kg for the first time since winning Olympic gold in Tokyo, and defeated the Chinese leader in the Paris 2024 rankings at 102kg. Not bad for a night’s work at the IWF Grand Prix in Qatar - but he wanted more. Meso went for a world record clean and jerk of 232kg. Like all the other seven athletes, he failed with his final attempt. “I’m feeling OK but I could have done better, I wanted the world record,” said Meso, who competes under his formal name of Fares Elbakh. “The joy of winning and of hitting that 400 just made me take it too easy. Fares Elbakh/Meso Hassona (QAT) “I’ve been training hard for two months, working harder than I can remember for this. It was good for a comeback. I’m in my home country and it had to be done, I couldn’t have lost here. Now I’m going to go for a nice steak. “Hopefully at the Asian Championships or in Thailand (the last two qualifiers in February and April) I’ll get that world record and a much bigger total than this.” Meso made 176-224-400, improving his best qualifying total by 9kg and moving up four places to second in the rankings. As usual, he changed his uniform in the interval, this time from the maroon and white colours of Qatar in snatch to blue for clean and jerk. “It’s my thing,” he said. “Next time I’m going to go for something bright, something noisy – maybe purple.” Liu Huanhua, who leads the rankings on 404kg, made 176-222-398 after missing two attempts. Garik Karapetyan from Armenia followed up his junior world title three weeks ago with a third-place finish in Doha on 180-211-391 but made no gain in the rankings. The men's 102kg podium Two others who would have improved their ranking but for failing with their final lift were Yauheni Tsikhantsou and Don Opeloge. Tsikhantsou, the Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus, was fifth on 177-210-387. Clean and jerk bronze medallist Opeloge, from Samoa, was sixth on 170-216-386, equalling his best qualifying total. Tudor Bratu made a huge jump up the rankings in the B Group with a six-from-six 175-215-390. The Moldovan started the day in 24th place and ended it in the top ten, finishing fourth on total. “I’ve had a back injury and a heel injury this year, and I wasn’t properly fit,” said Bratu. “A lot of electro massage helped me to recover and I was able to prepare properly for two months for this. I also felt good mentally, and the lifts kept coming. I’m very happy with that.” There were world records for China and Japan in the women’s 81kg, in which Liang Xiaomei extended her lead at the top of the rankings. Her 123-161-284, which would place her fifth in the super-heavyweight list for Paris, leaves Liang 16kg clear of second-placed Sara Samir from Egypt, who along with other contenders Solfrid Koanda from Norway and Tamara Salazar from Ecuador, did not compete here. Liang Xiaomei (CHN) Liang, 26, retired after her fifth good lift had given her victory and world records in clean and jerk and total. Liang’s team-mate Wang Zhouyu, the 87kg Olympic champion, was beaten into second place once again. Wang failed with a world record clean and jerk attempt on 160kg and finished 120-148-268. Eileen Cikamatana from Australia was a popular, and noisy, bronze medallist. After opening at a career high 112kg in snatch, Cikamatana whistled, stamped and screamed her way to three good lifts for 112-149-261, a gain of 1kg on her best total in qualifying. Her trademark whistle before she makes a lift, in the warm-up room and on the platform, makes Cikamatana stand out from the crowd. After Cikamatana had visited every platform in the warm-up room to congratulate all her fellow competitors at the end of the session, which led to a few “selfie with Eileen” photos being taken, one of the medal presenters asked for tips on how to whistle. Eileen Cikamatana (AUS) One of Australia’s younger lifters has perfected the art. Teenager Taj Marsh sounded just like Cikamatana when he lifted at the World Juniors in Mexico last month. “I didn’t teach Taj, he saw me on a video and copied it,” said Cikamatana.   The Japanese teenager Wakana Nagashima set two youth world records at the Asian Championships in Korea in May on her international debut. Today she bettered her own total record despite missing her final attempt. Nagashima, 17, whose mother lifted at the World Championships in 1998 under her pre-marriage name of Hiromi Fujiwara, finished 105-131-236. Aremi Fuentes, an Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, fell further behind in the Paris lists when she made a lower ranking total of 224kg, which was 2kg lower than her best and 12kg shy of team-mate Lizbeth Nolasco, who finished fifth on 236kg. Weronika Zielinska from Poland was all set for a big gain but missed her last two attempts and her 239kg total was up only 2kg, about 10kg short of what she is likely to need to make the top ten. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

Doha, Day 8: “We showed the world how strong we are” says team manager after PRK signs off with ninth victory

DPR Korea ended a highly successful trip to Qatar by claiming a ninth victory at the IWF Grand Prix. They have no entries in the final three days at the Aspire Zone in Doha. The entire team gathered for a photo session on the platform at the end of day eight after Jong Chun Hui embellished PRK’s place at the top of the medals table by winning the women’s 76kg. Turkmenistan also celebrated in large numbers on the platform after teenager Shahzadbek Matyabukov won the men’s 96kg, in which Yang Tae Bong took bronze for PRK. PRK’s final medal tally on total was nine golds, three silvers and one bronze. Ri Suk was the star performer, claiming a senior clean and jerk world record in the women’s 64kg and bettering junior world records seven times in five lifts. Kim Il Gyong also broke a junior world record at 59kg. Of all the weight categories in which they competed, the only one where they failed to win a medal on total was the men’s 89kg, in which Ro Kwang Ryol finished fourth. Jong Chui Hui (PRK) “Of course we expect to do well,” said Jang Son Nam, the PRK team manager. “Our target was to win more than 20 gold medals, and with three more today we have won 26. “China and DPRK are always challenging in competitions. Our team is very strong and we showed our abilities in front of the world.” PRK had more athletes than any other nation in Doha, seven men and nine women, and were the only team whose athletes cannot qualify for Paris 2024, because they joined the qualifying pathway too late. PRK withdrew from the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games during the Covid pandemic, and did not end a four-year absence from international competition until October, when they topped the medals table at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Jang said that PRK would send teams to the two remaining qualifying events, the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan in February and the IWF World Cup in Thailand from March 31 to April 11. Jong lifted alone after everyone else had finished. She missed her last two clean and jerks in making 115-135-250, and still finished 25kg clear of second-placed Gintare Brazaite from Lithuania, who made a six-from-six 100-125-225. Gintare Brazaite (LTU) “I’m very happy with that, it’s time to celebrate,” said 31-year-old Brazaite. “It’s my first six-from-six in an international competition, and I’ve been in weightlifting for 11 years.” Alexia Gonzalez from USA was third on 93-114-207 in her first international competition. Polina Guryeva, who became Turkmenistan’s first Olympic medallist in any sport when she took silver at 59kg in Tokyo, is making a comeback after becoming a mother. She made 82-109-191 in fourth place. Alexia Gonzalez (USA) The entire Turkmenistan team had celebrated loudly three hours earlier when teenager Matyakubov overcame a recent illness to win the men’s 96kg. Tuesday is a major holiday in Turkmenistan, the Day of Neutrality, and Matyakubov’s victory was “a gift to our country”, said national coach Mansur Rejepov. Three weeks ago Matyakubov, 19, was struck by flu symptoms at the World Juniors in Mexico. He was unable to make his final lift in Guadalajara when he finished second to the Iranian Alireza Nassiri, and was still ill for a week on his return home. Shahzadbek Matyakubov (TKM) Despite his shortened preparation he made a bigger total in Doha. Matyabukov had a nervous wait during a jury review of his final attempt, but the lift was a good one and that meant six-from-six and a career high of 167-204-371. Davit Hovhannisyan had to make his last attempt on 205kg for a sweep of golds but he failed, finishing 170-200-370, clear of Yang on 161-201-362. Petr Asayonak, the Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus who is in the top ten of the 89kg rankings, was below his best in clean and jerk after taking snatch bronze, finishing sixth on 162-190-352. Davit Hovhannisyan (ARM) There was an impressive international debut in the morning session, the women’s 81kg B Group, by the former track and field athlete Ilke Lagrou from Belgium. “I only started weightlifting in September last year when I switched from hammer throwing, and I really like it,” Lagrou said after making five good lifts for 101-121-222. Lagrou, a physiotherapist who trains five to six times a week, did power training in her throwing career, which gave her a head start. She lives near the home gym of Nina Sterckx, Belgium’s biggest name in weightlifting, so she headed there to train alongside her and learn from coaches Tom Goegebuer and Bieke Vandenabeele. “Now I will go to the European Championships in February,” Lagrou said. “I really look up to Solfrid Koanda (Norway’s multiple champion at 81kg) and it will be nice to meet her and compete with her. It went really well today. This total was enough to qualify me for the World Championships next year. My big dream for the future is to try for the Los Angeles Olympics.” By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

IWF launches Refugee Team programme for 2024

After a very positive first experience in 2023, the IWF is happy to announce the renovation of its IWF Refugee Team programme for the year of 2024. The applications for potential candidates to be part of the project were sent today, while the deadline to receive the proposals is January 31, 2024. On February 28, the IWF decides on the final constitution of the IWF Refugee Team for 2024. The new programme stipulates that a minimum of four athletes (two male, two female) will be part of the team – any IOC Refugee Scholarship holder will be automatically added to this number. As in 2023, a coach/manager will also be appointed to supervise the team’s activities, while next year’s novelties include the nomination of a physiotherapist. Monique de Araujo, member of the 2023 IWF Refugee Team In terms of eligibility, athletes must be officially recognised as refugees in their country, in accordance with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and may be entered in IWF events. Asylum seekers are not accepted in the programme. Moreover, lifters are required to have a travel document and must comply with article 5.5.16 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules, by which whereabouts information of the athletes shall be submitted at minimum three months prior to the event. Finally, all athletes and support personnel must complete the WADA ADEL online course before competing and present their certificate to the IWF/ITA. In accordance with article 17.2.2 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules, the IWF may also decide to request that athletes complete education activities before and/or during their participation in selected events as a condition of such participation. The 2023 IWF Refugee Team at a training camp The 2024 IWF Refugee Team programme will be effective until the conclusion of the IWF World Championships, next December in Manama (BRN). While these athletes are not part of the Olympic Qualification system, they will be able to attend IWF competitions throughout the year and will be invited to take part in at least one training camp during the upcoming months. Aline de Souza, a happy lifter at the 2023 IWF World Championships “It is a very important project, leading to the inclusion in our IWF family of athletes that otherwise could not have any opportunity to compete in the sport they love. We have now some experience from this year’s programme and the challenges we may have encountered are known and we will try to minimise them in 2024,” confessed Florian Sperl, IWF Executive Board member and co-ordinator of the project. “We will do our utmost to ensure that lifters on the team will have all the possibilities to compete at international level. All of them have gone through extremely difficult moments, but they never abandoned weightlifting. It is now our turn to reward them for their perseverance and devotion,” concluded Mr Sperl. Part of the 2023 IWF Refugee Team at the EWF Cup The IWF President Mohammed Jalood is also very optimistic about the outcome of this important initiative: “Following the IOC’s guidance on this project, the IWF is now proud of having a consolidated Refugee Team programme. The lifters who are part of this project bring an additional dimension of universality and inclusion to our Sport,” Mr Jalood considered. “I will never forget the happy faces of the two refugee team lifters that were able to compete at the 2023 IWF World Championships last September in Riyadh. Both of them were incredibly thrilled to be back to this cherished family of weightlifting! Moreover, they produced quite solid results, demonstrating that despite the challenges they keep their devotion and willingness to perform well,” the IWF President added. Relevant documents: 2024 IWF Refugee Programme Policy 2024 IWF Refugee Team Application Form 2024 IWF Refugee Team Coach and Manager job description 2024 IWF Refugee Team Physiotherapist Application Form IWF

Doha, Day 7: Bulgaria’s Nasar and USA’s Reeves in sensational form on record-breaking day for juniors

Two athletes still young enough to compete as juniors made day seven of the IWF Grand Prix in Qatar the most exciting day yet. Bulgarian teenager Karlos Nasar claimed a senior world record for the fifth time in the men’s 89kg category, where three athletes who had not featured on the Paris 2024 ranking list at the start of competition jumped straight into the top ten. In the women’s 71kg, the 20-year-old American Olivia Reeves set seven junior world records in five lifts to enhance her ranking position. Song Kuk Hyang from PRK finished first ahead of the Olympic rankings leader Liao Guifang from China, but the most exciting contest was a USA head-to-head between Reeves and the Olympic 76kg silver medallist Kate Vibert, who finished third and fourth. Kate Vibert (USA) Despite dropping down to 71kg and making a career-high total that exceeded her Olympic performance by 5kg, Vibert finds herself in a worse position in the rankings because of Reeves’ run of success. Nations can send only athlete per weight category and USA now has two in the top four on the extended list after Reeves made 115-147-262, setting junior world records across the board, and Vibert finished 112-142-254. Olivia Reeves (USA) Reeves has made 12 from 12 in the past two qualifiers and aims to keep going. “I intend to compete in all seven qualifiers because it gives me the most chances,” she said. “I never think about the numbers. Take a breath, make a snatch, take a breath, make a clean and jerk, all I focus on is making the lift. It works.” Asked if she felt sorry for Vibert, Reeves said, “I wouldn’t say sorry exactly. I’m just glad that we’re friends, that we have that dynamic between us. I look up to Kate and I’m excited to see what she can put on the bar too.” Song failed with a world record attempt on her last lift. She made 120-149-269 while Liao finished 116-148-264, which is 9kg below her best qualifying total. Song Kuk Hyang (PRK) Others who made big gains in the rankings were Vanessa Sarno from the Philippines, up 10kg to 249kg, and Olympic bronze medallist Chen Wen-Huei from Chinese Taipei, up 8kg to 243kg. Mun Minhee from Korea made a 7kg gain in the B group, finishing 1kg behind Eyglo Sturlodottir from Iceland, who made 104-127-231 to move within striking distance of the top ten. “It was harder to prepare this time because I have my finals for my bachelor’s degree,” said Sturlodottir, who is trying balance long-term medical studies with her weightlifting career. “My second final should be on Tuesday but I’ll be travelling and I’ve been allowed to delay it until January. School has been taking its toll and I was nervous that it might affect my performance here.” Eyglo Sturludottir (ISL) It did not. For the second qualifier in a row Sturlodottir, 22, made all six lifts. Her progression since qualifying began last December has been remarkable, starting with a total of 213kg, then 217kg, 220kg, 225kg and now 231kg. She has never missed more than two lifts in that run. A final lift of 223kg gave Nasar victory despite being down in sixth place in snatch, and put him in the record books yet again. By surpassing both his own junior mark and Tian Tao’s senior world record in clean and jerk he took his tally of world records at youth, junior and senior level to 30 since April 2021. If he has that many aged 19, how many will he have at the end of his career? “Only God can know,” said Nasar, who made 170-223-393 and rated today’s effort the best of the 30. He also said, “Only winning matters next time and in Paris, not world records.” Karlos Nasar (BUL) Next time means the European Championships in his home country in February, where Nasar will hope to retain his senior continental title. His main rival will be the Olympic medallist Antonino Pizzolato from Italy, one of the three who made huge moves in the rankings. On his return from a back injury that stopped him lifting in three qualifiers, Pizzolato made four good lifts for 170-210-380. That gave him third place in Doha and sixth place in the rankings. Yeison Lopez Lopez from Colombia, who has competed at 96kg after serving a doping suspension last year, made a six-from-six 180-210-390 for second place. He overtakes team-mate Brayan Rodallegas in the extended rankings and is third behind Li Dayin from China, who withdrew here, and Nasar. The third big move was by Boady Santavy from Canada, who had his elbow reconstructed ten months ago and lifted at 96kg on his return at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia two months ago. He said at the time, “There are some big numbers coming in Qatar.” A happy Santavy family Santavy, 26, was true to his word, missing only his second snatch in making 172-100-372 for snatch silver, sixth place on total and ninth place in the Paris rankings. This was his first career competition at 89kg and also the first time he had such strong family support from two younger brothers and his father. Noah lifts at 102kg on Tuesday, Bradyn would have competed yesterday but for a back injury – he travelled to Qatar regardless – and father Dalas is his coach. “It’s great to have so much family support,” Santavy said. “I had the injury and then I had to lose a bunch of weight so I’m pretty stoked right now. I feel good for more, this is just the start. Before the surgery there were a lot of negative thoughts and I couldn’t see myself being at these weights so quickly. I want to be aiming up towards 180-210 but I don’t want to overdo it before Paris.” Keydomar Vallenilla from Venezuela, third in snatch behind Lopez Lopez and Santavy, missed his last two clean and jerks and finished fifth on 171-207-378, one place behind the PRK athlete Ro Kwang Yol, who took clean and jerk silver on 168-211-379. Marin Robu from Moldova dropped out of the top ten in the rankings after he bombed out in snatch in the B Group, where two others failed to make a total and two others withdrew. Two members of the IWF executive board were involved in an intriguing multi-national tussle lower down the rankings, where things get complicated for athletes chasing the one continental slot for Paris 2024. Forrester Osei (GHA) Forrester Osei, chair of the IWF Athletes Commission who lifts for Ghana, was given coaching support by the triple Olympic champion and fellow IWF board member Pyrros Dimas, from Greece, who is USA Weightlifting’s performance director. When the American CJ Cummings withdrew from the B Group after being ill overnight, Dimas had some time on his hands and teamed up with Osei’s coach for the day, Damjan Canzek from Slovenia. It started well for Osei with a 145kg clean and jerk but was followed by five no-lifts, leaving him with a lot to do. Osei, who was born in London, raised in Ghana and now works as a strength and conditioning coach in Qatar, will need to improve his best total by about 25kg by the end of qualifying in April. Osei and others in contention from Algeria, Nigeria and Cameroon will also need an Egyptian ranked in the top ten, Karim Abokahla, to move up to 102kg for Paris, which he may do. If he does, the 89kg continental place will be open to athletes from Africa or Oceania, rather than Oceania only. “I’m going to keep trying,” said Osei, 34, who usually lifts at 96kg. “I cut too much weight here. Come on, 185 clean and jerk is not so tough, I’ve done plenty in training. “Pyrros told me I just have to manage things better. I train alone, I don’t have a coach, it’s difficult. Maybe I can go and train in the US for a few weeks.” The value of having a coach by your side was clear when Kyle Bruce from Australia put 4kg on his best qualifying total. After missing his first two clean and jerks at 187kg and 188kg, Bruce told coach Martin Harlowe, “I need more rest, trust me. I want 190.” Harlowe agreed, Bruce made it and after a tense wait during a jury review it was confirmed as a good lift. “It makes such a difference having a coach you know at your side,” said Buce. “At the Grand Prix in Cuba (where he bombed out) I paid my own way and had no support at all.” That has changed since the Australian federation adopted a new policy a couple of months ago, providing funding and support for its top athletes. Bruce had spent more than A$15,000 of his own money (about US$10,000) before becoming fully funded for the rest of Paris qualifying in the new system. Like his team-mate Kiana Elliott, who joined Harlowe on his support team, Bruce was grateful to Sam Coffa, Paul Coffa and Lilly Coffa at the national federation for making the change. “It makes all the difference,” he said. “I don’t think I’d have made that last lift without Martin and Kiana here supporting me.” By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

Doha, Day 6: PRK junior Ri takes eight world records in five lifts – including one from  Deng Wei

The 20-year-old DPR Korea lifter Ri Suk took a senior world record from one of the best weightlifters of the 21st century in a stunning performance at the IWF Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar. Ri broke seven junior world records in five good lifts in the 64kg category. When she made 146kg on her final attempt she also bettered the senior clean and jerk world record set four years ago by Deng Wei, the Chinese star who won Olympic gold and five world titles before retiring in 2020. Ri Suk (PRK) To complete a golden day for PRK, Ri Chong Song won the men’s 81kg to give his team its seventh victory in Doha and an unassailable lead at the top of the Grand Prix medals table. Rahmat Erwin from Indonesia failed with a clean and jerk world record attempt and finished second. Ri Suk’s 114-146-260, with one failure on her second clean and jerk, was 2kg short of Deng Wei’s world record total. Junior world champion Svitlana Samuliak from Ukraine, also 20, finished 48kg behind Ri, who clean and jerked considerably more than the total made by one of her fellow competitors. Before the 13 athletes began the 64kg session, the junior world records set during a nine-month period in 2019 by Huang Ting from China stood at 107-135-240. When Ri Suk had finished they were 114-146-260. Only four athletes jerked as much as the winner snatched.   Ri Suk’s snatches at 108kg, 111kg and 114kg were all junior world records. The next lift on 140kg was a junior best in clean and jerk and total, she dropped the fifth, and the final 146kg completed a remarkable session. Ri Suk’s team-mate Rim Un Sim, 27, was second on 113-141-254 and Ruth Ayodele from Nigeria was third on 98-120-218. The women's 64kg podium Ri Suk’s last appearance in international weightlifting was before the Covid pandemic in 2019, when she made 96-122-218 at the Asian Youth and Junior Championships. Wiktoria Wolk from Poland improved her best total by 9kg on 211kg and 18-year-old Tenishia Thornton from Malta, who has just recovered from illness, also hit a career high on 191kg. Samuliak won the 59kg junior world title in Mexico three weeks ago, when her six-from-six 98-116-214 earned her the top female lifter award for the Championships. But for a jury review on her final attempt today she would have gone six-from-six again and improved on that total, but the press-out decision left her on 97-115-212, in fourth place. PRK, whose athletes are not eligible to qualify for Paris 2024 because they entered the programme too late, did not send a team to the World Junior Championships. Ri Chong Song (PRK) Ri Chong Song and Erwin had an epic head-to-head contest in the men’s event. Erwin, 23, had already set clean and jerk world records at two weights in the past three months. He was close to making the 214kg he needed for victory and another clean and jerk world record, but lost it. When asked if he thought he was going to make it, Erwin just laughed and said, “That was good, I really enjoyed it.” Erwin weighed in light at 76.93kg. He leads the 73kg Olympic rankings and had a message for China’s double Olympic champion Shi Zhiyong, who returned to competition in Doha for the first time since the Tokyo Games in 2021 after a long struggle with a lower back injury. Shi finished second at 73kg after declining his final two attempts because of the injury. Rahmat Erwin (INA) “Shi is my friend, I really want him to qualify,” said Erwin. “I want to compete with him in Paris.” Ri Chong Song, 26, had twice failed to better Erwin’s 81kg record when he went for 210kg at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October, where he was the only male winner for PRK. His 165-209-374 was 10kg up on his Hangzhou performance. Erwin, who won at 73kg at the Asian Games, made a career-best snatch in his 161-201-362, failing with only that final attempt at 214kg. Gaygysyz Torayev (TKM) Gaygysyz Torayev from Turkmenistan was third on 150-188-338, which was 2kg up on his performance in finishing second at the World Juniors last month. Briken Calja from Albania, who bombed out in clean and jerk, won bronze in snatch on 155kg. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

Doha, Day 5: Luo claims victory for China, and it’s a great day for Canada’s Olympic champion Charron

Luo Shifang took gold for China in an exciting 59kg competition that lasted more than seven hours across three sessions at the IWF Grand Prix II in Qatar. There were plenty more winners, though. Canada’s Olympic champion Maude Charron went six-from-six in improving her best Paris 2024 qualifying total, Lucrezia Magistris from Italy jumped seven places after putting a run of bad results behind her and Anyelin Venegas from Venezuela moved into the top ten. Further down the rankings there was a big move by Kiana Elliott from Australia in the C Group, which started the day at 12.30pm. Luo Shifang (CHN) Luo became the second Chinese woman to turn the tables on a DPR Korea athlete who had won at the recent Asian Games. In Hangzhou in October Kim Il Gyong set a snatch world record on her way to victory but at the Aspire Zone venue today Luo made a final attempt at 139kg to win on 108-139-247. That equalled the world record total made by Kuo Hsing-Chun from Chinese Taipei, who did not compete here, and was a 4kg improvement for her at the top of the rankings. Kim, 20, was second on 107-136-243 while Charron made 104-129-233. European champion Kamila Konotop from Ukraine was fourth on 103-127-230 in a high-quality contest. PRK athletes are not eligible to qualify for Paris. Kim Il Gyong (PRK) Within minutes of the start of the A Group, Magistris was in good shape. She had made only two good lifts in four qualifying appearances before today, and had doubled that total after two snatches. By the end of the session Magistris had improved her best total by 10kg to 217kg and will be 12th in the rankings. The 55kg Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz (PHI) withdrew after snatching 100kg for the first time in competition. It was precautionary after a minor injury worry and she expects to be moving up the rankings again at the next opportunity. Charron almost danced off the platform after completing a career-best performance at her new weight, having moved down last year. It was a second straight six-from-six for her, after she finished second at the Pan American Games on 226kg, and takes her up to fourth place ahead of Kuo. “We’ve had a year of qualifying and I feel better now than at any time,” said Charron before being swamped by a group of people wanting to congratulate her, including her American coach Spencer Arnold. Maude Charron (CAN) “I’ve had a knee injury and we’re finally learning how to work with it rather than make it worse. I didn’t lift in Riyadh (at the World Championships in September) because of the knee. Starting lower is the way to do it, and it’s working. The knee is staying in its place too. “I know my body better now, I’m eating less but better. I know to cut weight better, what to eat after weigh-in. It’s not as stressful as it was at the start of qualifying. “I won’t need to lift at the PanAms in February now. The ultimate goal is to be in shape in Paris, not to peak at every competition.” There were plenty hoping to move up the rankings from the B and C Groups but because of so many red lights only two made significant gains, Venegas in B and Elliott in C. Lucrezia Magistris (ITA) In the last few minutes of the B Group, Garance Rigaud from France had a chance to overtake team-mate Dora Tchakounte but a 7kg jump for her last attempt was too much. Adijat Olarinoye had two attempts to make ground on fellow Nigerian Rafiatu Lawal, who is in the top ten, but missed both. It looked as though Venegas might become the fourth bombout of the B session when, after being the only athlete to snatch 100kg, she failed with her first two clean and jerks on 122kg. Venegas, 24, made her final lift for 100-122-222, good enough for tenth place in the rankings. Nina Sterckx from Belgium, clearly upset after a rushed second snatch attempt in the A Group, dropped to 11th. Elliott, who competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games, has two routes to Paris. She can qualify via this 59kg category in which she made six from six and a 15kg improvement today, or possibly jump to 71kg where two other Australians are already going head to head, Sarah Cochrane and Jacqueline Nichele. Kiana Elliott (AUS) - Photo by Brian Oliver Mattie Sasser from the Marshall Islands, who lifted at Rio 2016, is in pole position for the 59kg continental place for Oceania with a best total of 214kg. Elliott moved within 6kg of that with 96-112-208 while Sasser did not take up her entry. “I decided to come down to 59 at last year’s Worlds,” said Elliott, 26, who has been competing internationally for 10 years, mostly in the 64kg and old 63kg categories. “I’ve done 220 at 71 (better than Cochrane and Nichele’s qualifying totals) but it’s a big jump back up, and I need to be making decisions yesterday, not next year. “The main reason for my confidence and performance today was that I had my personal coach, Martin Harlowe, looking after me in the back room. It’s been nine years since the last time he coached me at an international event and this is only the second time ever. “This is credit to Sam Coffa’s leadership and the new direction of the Australian Weightlifting Federation’s High Performance Commission, of which Paul and Lilly Coffa are at the forefront. For the first time in my 10-year career my voice as an athlete has been heard by the federation. “I’ve always said that I know I would perform my best with my preferred coach at international events. It’s good to see a positive change in Australian Weightlifting and I’m looking forward to the inevitable growth in the sport in Australia towards Brisbane 2032. “What I’m doing is pushing my own limits and seeing what it’s possible to achieve as an Australian athlete.” That means combining weightlifting with a job in forensic science administration, while the other athletes heading to Paris are full-time weightlifters. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio