HAVANA, Cuba, May 9 (ACN) Cuban weightlifter Elizabeth Reyes achieved historic results for Cuban sport today, winning two silver medals at the World Junior Championships in Heraklion, on the mythical Greek island of Crete, where Lesther Fernandez finished sixth.
The two, the only competitors for Cuba, competed Monday in an event held May 2-10 with 305 weightlifters of both sexes, 152 women from 54 nations and 153 men from 50 countries, from the five continents.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and the Cuban Weightlifting Federation announced the results on their official Facebook pages.
Reyes’ success is comparable to that of her compatriot Ludia Montero, world senior runner-up in 2019 in Pattaya, Thailand, the first Cuban medalist at this level, after a long-standing and glorious male record.
Today, in the 87 kilograms (kg) bodyweight division, Reyes lifted 99 kg in the snatch and 127 kg in the pull-up, for a total of 226 kg.
Meanwhile, Fernandez, of a 102 kg bodyweight, had a mark of 325, the most modest in his category, out of eight participants. However, he did not stop until he reached 337 kg, the sum of a pull-up of 147 kg and a push-up of 190 kg, valid for sixth place.