THE Philippines concluded its stint in the Weightlifting Federation Grand Prix with four silver medals courtesy of Rose Jean Ramos and John Febuar Ceniza even as the rest of the Filipino contingent failed to reach the podium in Doha, Qatar.
Vanessa Sarno and Kristel Macrohon , Hidilyn Diaz and Eileen Ando finished only fifth or 9th in their respective events, but gained some precious points in their bid for slots in the Paris Olympics.
Sarno placed 7th in the women’s 71kg with a lift of 108kgs and 5th in the clean and jerk for total of 249kg lift, good for fifth place and a new Philippine record.
She is expected to improve from his 9th place in the world ranking.
Diaz did not finish her women’s 59kg event as part of the team strategy even as her world no. 4 ranking remained intact and kept her Paris bid on track.
Ramos, the rising star from Zamboanga City, started the Philippines’ campaign with a haul of three silver medals in the women’s 45kg category on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old placed second in the snatch, clean and jerk and the overall lift behind gold medalist from North Korea, Won Hyon.
Two days later, Ceniza gave the Philippines its fourth silver with his second-place effort in the men’s 61kg category.
He placed fourth and fifth in the snatch and clean and jerk, respectively, but thanks to his 298kg total lift that was good for silver.
South Korean Pak Myong Jin took the gold in the clean and jerk (171kgs) and total (305kgs), while Chinese Li (137kgs) bagged the gold.