LEOWELL Cristobal made NMI sports history by becoming the first ever male weightlifting athlete from the islands to compete in the International Weightlifting Federation World Championship. This year’s event was held in Manama, Bahrain where Cristobal placed sixth in the C session of the 67kg weight class.
In the snatch portion, he recorded a successful lift of 101kg in his first attempt followed by another successful lift of 105kg in his second attempt. He aimed to push his limits on his third attempt but failed to lift 109kg, relegating him to 24th place in the overall snatch portion.
As for the clean & jerk portion, Cristobal successfully lifted 138kg in his first attempt and added more weight in his second attempt to successfully lift 143kg. He then attempted to push beyond his limits but failed to lift 145kg, placing 21st overall in the clean & jerk portion.
With a snatch of 105kg and clean & jerk of 143kg, Cristobal recorded a total weight of 248kg to place 20th overall.
Taking gold was North Korea’s Ri Won-ju with a snatch of 146kg, and clean & jerk of 190kg for a total weight of 336kg. Silver was claimed by another North Korean, Pak Pyol, with a snatch of 150kg, and clean & jerk of 182kg for a total weight of 332kg. The bronze medal went to Turkey’s Yusuf Fehmi Genc with a snatch of 146kg, and clean & jerk of 181kg for a total weight of 327kg.
Grateful for the opportunity
“The competition was great,” Cristobal said. “And it’s definitely an honor to represent the NMI on the world stage and I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
He added, “I definitely learned a lot in the process. And I hope to pay it forward by not only inspiring future weightlifters from the NMI to compete at higher levels, but also do what I can to pave the way in enabling these types of opportunities as well.”
Cristobal thanked his family and friends for their support. “Thanks to Kyle Pierce who helped coach me, to Jackie Black for helping me with my training programs, and to CNMI Weightlifting for giving me this opportunity to represent the islands.”
Leowell Cristobal smiles after a successful clean & jerk lift attempt in the 67kg weight class of the 2024 International Weightlifting Federation World Championship in Manama, Bahrain on Saturday.
