Cebuano weightlifter John Fabuar Ceniza bags bronze in Roma 2020 World Cup
John Fabuar Ceniza, draped with the Philippine flag, is at the podium during the awarding ceremonies of the 61-kgs category of the Roma 2020 World Cup at the Pala Pellicone in Rome. | contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Cebuano weightlifter John Fabuar Ceniza boosted his chance of getting a slot into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following a bronze medal finish in the Roma 2020 World Cup that is ongoing from January 27 to 31, 2020, at the Pala Pellicone in Rome.
Ceniza got his bronze on the first day of competition, Monday night, January 27, 2020. (early Tuesday morning, January 28, 2020 Philippine time.)
Ceniza, who started training in weightlifting via the Cebu City Sports Commission’s (CCSC) grassroots sports program, competed in the 61 kilograms category.
He had a total lift of 269-kgs broken down into 117 in the snatch and 152 in the clean jerk.
The gold was bagged by Vietnam’s Kim Tuan Thach who had a total lift of 288-kgs while the silver was clinched by Georgia’s Shota Mishvelidge who had a total lift of 286.
Ceniza bagged a silver medal in his first-ever Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) stint hosted by the Philippines in December 2019.
He is joined in Rome by fellow Cebuano weightlifter, Elreen Ann Ando, and 10 other Philippine weightlifters, including Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
Ando, who also bagged a silver in the 30th SEAG, will be competing in the 64-kgs category on January 29, 2020.
National coach Ramon Solis, who is the lone weightlifting Olympian from Cebu, said that the Roma 2020 World Cup is sanctioned by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) as an Olympic qualification event in the silver category.
To get an Olympic slot, weightlifters need to compete in six Olympic qualifiers and earn points. The top 20 ranked weightlifters in the world will get a chance to compete in the Olympics.
Ando of the University of Cebu (UC), and Fabuar, are both ranked no. 18 in the world with 2,500 points each. /bmjo
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