Sarno says sorry for 'unexpected' no lift in Olympic weightlifting debut

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipina weightlifter Vanessa Sarno apologized for her “unexpected” performance in the Paris Olympics, after bowing out early with a did-not-finish (DNF) early Saturday morning (Manila time).

Sarno, whose personal best in snatch is at 110 kg, used all her three attempts at 100 kg.

She was unable to clear a lift, thus ending her Olympic debut early.

In an interview after the event, the 20-year-old said that while her performance was unexpected, she is still happy to have represented the Philippines in the Games.

“Unexpected po na ganun po nangyari but so far masaya pa rin po kasi kaya ko pong umabot ng Olympics,” she said.

“Pasensya po sa mga tao na na-disappoint ko po dahil sa nangyari sa game ko po at sana naging proud pa rin po kayo sa akin kahit paano po, pinaglaban ko po iyong Pilipinas sa Olympics po,” she added.

Sarno’s DNF was surprising, considering she won a gold medal in the 2020 Tashkent Asian Championships and a silver in last year’s Jinju Asian Championships.

She earned a berth in the Olympics with a 110kg in snatch and 135kg in clean and jerk back in the IWF World Cup in Thailand.

“[Ang sabi ng coach ko ay] ilaban ko pa rin po na bumuhat ng last attempt po na sinasabi po na alam niya po na kaya ko saka may tiwala po siya sa akin,” she stressed.

As it stands, the Philippines is 29th in the Paris Olympics medal tally.

The country has two golds courtesy of Carlos Yulo, and two bronzes from boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio.

Two more Filipinas are competing in the Games -- golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan.