MANILA, Philippines -- Despite not making it to the podium of the women’s 59 kg weightlifting in the Paris Olympics, Elreen Ando is elated after improving her personal best on Thursday night (Manila time).
Ando finished sixth in the weight category after finishing seventh in 64kg back in the Tokyo Olympics.
She recorded 100kg in snatch and 130kg in clean and jerk for a total of 230kg.
Her clean and jerk and the total tallies are her new personal bests, while the 100 kg matched her highest mark for snatch.
However, she was far from the medal places as she was unable to clear 102 kg in snatch in her final attempt.
She was also able to clear 130 kg just after using up her two previous attempts.
“Hindi man natin nakuha yung first saka second [attempts], at least po naipaglaban natin yung last attempt. Hindi naman po siya ganun talaga kapangit yung performance,” she said in an interview posted by One Sports.
“Proud pa rin ako sa sarili ko kasi nag-improve pa rin ako po and nakapag-PR po ako for my personal record,” she added.
The 25-year-old weightlifter underscored the unpredictability of the sport, as she thanked God for helping her finish despite her struggles.
“Yun nga po, ganun naman talaga yung laro ko, hindi talaga natin masasabi na anong mangyayari sa laro at tsaka yun po, parang bilog ang plates po. Tapos malungkot naman na hindi namin na-goal yung target namin ni coach,” she said.
“Pero at least pa rin di pa rin binigay ni Lord na ma-zero kami. Naipaglaban pa rin para sa bayan.”
China’s Luo Shifang reigned supreme in the competition after recording an Olympic record of 241 kg. Canada’s Maude Charron came in second while Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Hsing-Chun brought home the bronze.
“Naiyak ako na nakuha ko iyong 130 tapos naiyak din ako kasi siyempre kahit ganun siya kapangit yung laro ko, nag-improve pa rin po ako. Sobrang proud ako sa sarili ko na nakaya ko and parang naisipan ko rin na kailangan ko itong kunin para sa bayan.”
Currently, there are three remaining Filipinos in Paris -- golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan and weightlifter Vanessa Sarno.