Weightlifting: Open Championship - Clementina Agricole shatters three records |12 May 2014
Janet Georges and Ruby Malvina watched on as reigning Sportswoman of the Year Clementina Agricole broke three records at the 2014 Open Weightlifting Championships held on Saturday afternoon.
The competition was held at the Bel Ombre community centre and National Sports Council (NSC) chief executive Giovanna Rousseau was among the spectators.
A good number of young lifters were present to compete, but highlight of the day though came from Clementina Agricole, who from the time she stepped on the platform for her first attempt at a record lift, looked determined to build on last year's successes.
In her first snatch attempt, Agricole asked for the bar to be loaded at 83kg, 1kg more than Janet Georges' record set in 2009 at 82kg in the 63kg weight category. There was a loud cheer as Agricole broke the record at her first attempt, but she was not done, as she came back for her second attempt and improves the record to 87kg. A record that only herself looks likely to break in the near future.
In the clean-and-jerk event, it was not a surprise to hear the announcer say that Agricole was going to attempt another record lift. This time it was Ruby Malvina's 97kg record set back in 2012.
In her first attempt, Agricole added 10kg to Malvina’s previous best lift, meaning she was attempting to lift a massive 107kg.
She was successful and went on to improve her record twice with 112Kg in her second attempt and finally 115kg in her third and final attempt.
With an Olympic total of 202kg, Agricole was clearly happy with her achievement as she now looks forward to helping Seychelles win a medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 3.
There were other impressive performances from the junior athletes at the competition, with last year's male lifter of the year Rick Confiance lifting a total of 225kg in the 62kg weight category on the day although he failed his attempt at lifting a record 129kg in the clean-and-jerk category.
Young Male Athlete of the Year Derek Come and Young Female Athlete of the Year Romentha Larue were also in action.
Larue lifted 60kg in snatch and 72kg in the clean-and-jerk for a total of 132kg in the 63kg weight division, while Come managed a total of 222kg (100kg snatch and 122kg clean-and-jerk) in the 85kg weight category.
It was not a good day for the experienced Charles Simeon though as he failed all three attempts at 115kg in snatch as he just could not get a good grip on the bar.
Although he should have been disqualified, Simeon was allowed to try his luck in the clean-and-jerk event. He lifted 150kg in his first attempt followed by 160kg before injuring himself when attempting to lift 170kg, capping off a bad day for the lifter.
Other lifters present were Brenda Lozaique who lifted a total 120kg (55kg snatch and 65kg clean-and-jerk), Ruby Malvina (170kg – 75kg snatch and 95kg clean-and-jerk), Angelo Servina (180kg – 85kg snatch and 95kg clean-and-jerk), Sirous Farabeau (210kg – 90kg snatch and 120kg clean-and-jerk), Jean-Pierre Estico (155kg – 65kg snatch and 90kg clean-and-jerk) and Yves Adam (171kg – 75kg snatch and 96kg clean-and-jerk)
The competitors were rewarded cash prizes, medals and the best lifters – Agricole (female) and Confiance (male) -- were awarded a cup each.
Seychelles Weightlifting Association (SWA) chairman Robert Rose had this to say after the competition: “This was a preparation of some of the athletes for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.”
“As you have seen, we had the girls competing alongside the boys as well. This is because we are trying to give the girls more competition in order for them to improve further,” he added.
S. N.