No one was going to stop Elreen Ando in her quest for redemption in Paris 2024.
Not even her mentor and the Philippines' sole Olympic gold medalist in Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo.
In a cruel twist of fate, Ando had to overcome Diaz to punch her ticket to a second straight Olympic appearance. Now, the 25-year-old will take the lead for the Philippine weightlifting team in the Olympics, alongside John Ceniza and Vanessa Sarno.
Elreen’s rise through the ranks of international weightlifting is well-documented, and she now gets a chance to replicate the success of Diaz with much more to prove in Paris 2024.
Revisit Ando’s road to Paris 2024:
July 26, 2021 - Promising showing in Tokyo
Tokyo 2020 was the sight for a promising Filipina that showed a glimpse of a bright future ahead for Philippine weightlifting.
Making her Olympic debut, Ando missed out on a podium finish at the Olympics in Tokyo, but set new personal records after finishing seventh out of 10 competitors in the women's -64kg competition.
The rising star from Cebu closed her campaign just outside of the top three, claiming a total of 222 kg, 100 kg from snatch and 122 from clean and jerk.
Ando was able to compete in Tokyo after earning a continental allocation, being the highest-ranked athlete in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Absolute Ranking list for her event in Asia.
Before making the trip to Tokyo, Ando was two-time Southeast Asian Games silver medalist and competed in the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where she clinched silver in the clean and jerk and bronze in snatch.
May 14, 2023 - Third time’s the charm
Ando had enough back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Southeast Asian Games. Why not a gold medal instead?
So that is exactly what she did when the Cebuano native dominated the women's 59kg class in the 32nd edition of the biennial sporting event in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Ando moved down to 59kg –now the same class as Diaz-Naranjo– in a bid to qualify for Paris 2024 after organizers scrapped their previous weight categories.
The new weight class proved to be no problem for Elreen, who cleared 98kg in snatch and 118kg in clean and jerk for a total lift of 216kg, erasing the previous records of Vietnam’s Hoang Thi Duye.
Looking stronger a lighter weight division, Ando set new SEA Games marks in snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift to give the country its first weightlifting gold from that year's games.
The victories didn't stop there.
October, 2, 2023 - Keeping the bar raising
Still in 2023, Ando once again brought pride to the country behind a bronze medal finish in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Elreen lifted 96kg in the snatch and 126kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 222kg for third place.
In her Asiad interview, Ando revealed that it was Diaz-Naranjo who encouraged her to move up in her weight class for a better chance of winning a medal and also bared that she did not expect finishing inside the podium.
February 6, 2024 - Anotha’ one
Ando snared another podium finish, this time in the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championship after claiming the silver medal in the women's 59kg category in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
She lifted 93 kg in snatch and 120kg in clean and jerk for a total of 213, enough to bag the second place.
Primed and ready to compete in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Phuket, Thailand with a Paris 2024 ticket on the line, Elreen was all-set to overcome one last hurdle in her quest for redemption.
About that…
April 3, 2024 - Bonjour, Paris
It just came to happen in this manner, didn't it?
Ando booked a return trip to the Olympics, saving the best for last in the IWF Cup in Thailand behind a seventh-place in the women’s 59kg class.
She cleared cleared 100kg in snatch and 128kg in clean and jerk for a total of 228kg to crack the top 10 of the IWF Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR), enough eventually secure her Paris 2024 berth.
But the historic win for Ando came with a bittersweet feeling.
With Ando qualifying for Paris, Diaz-Naranjo fell short of her own bid to make her fifth straight Olympics as only one athlete per country per weight category will advance, with the World Cup serving as the last qualification event.
[ALSO READ: 'Paris was not to be': Hidilyn Diaz reflects on weightlifting journey after losing Olympics berth]
In an interview with One Sports, Ando revealed her thoughts on qualifying for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 while also eliminating Diaz: "Sa part ko, siyempre masaya ako pero wala kaming magawa na dalawa kami sa timbang namin."
"Same lang naman kami na gusto namin mag-Olympics at tsaka pinalad tayo na ako din nabigyan ng opportunity na makapag-Olympics. Todo suporta na lang kaming dalawa kung sino mag-qualify samin,” she added.
The future is certainly now in Elreen Ando, and maybe a golden ending awaits her redemption arc in Paris.
NEXT: Overcoming depression and injuries, Elreen Ando ready for breakout weightlifting campaign in Paris 2024]
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Story Summary:
- Elreen Ando overcame her mentor, Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, to secure her spot in the Olympic Games Paris, marking a poignant twist in her journey of redemption.
- Despite missing a podium finish in Tokyo 2020, Ando's rise through the weightlifting ranks included record-breaking performances and a strategic weight class change after organizers removed her and Diaz’s previous weight categories.
- Her qualification for Paris 2024, highlighted by a strong showing at the IWF Cup, not only secured her Olympic return but also ended Diaz-Naranjo's bid for a fifth consecutive Olympics, reflecting the competitive spirit within the Philippine weightlifting team.
[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital team. The summary was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]