Women’s 71 Kg Division Recap – IWF European Weightlifting Championships 2024

The fifth day of the European Championships was full of unforgettable moments and outstanding lifts.

Lifters were expressing their emotions and tension occurred during the battle as the stakes were increasing on the way to the Olympic Games.

The race is already over halfway and the most competitive female lifters in the 71-kg weight division gathered in today’s race.

Toma Loredana Elena “Tomanator” Wins the Race with Two Golds Being Followed by Her German Opponent

American athletes also were present today as guests. The US team presented two athletes who showed decent results, even prevailing the lifters from the category. While some succeeded in setting a new record.

Keep following the great performance of the female lifters in the Olympic 71-kg weight division to know the athletes who will get the qualification to Paris.

Top Athletes Review

Nine top-notch female lifters of the 71-kg weight category were performing this evening, with the most powerful ones on the board leading the group. 

These are exemplary athletes in the division who have already gained popularity and built their reputation in the weightlifting community:

Loredana Elena Toma, known as Tomanator, a Romanian weightlifter who is a two-time World Champion and a five-time European Champion, also is a gold medalist at the 2020 IWF World Cup.

Sarah Davies, a British weightlifter, is a silver medalist at the 2021 World and European Championships, also a gold and silver medalist of the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Olivia Reeves, an American weightlifter, a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Championships in Riyadh, a gold medalist at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, and a bronze holder at the 2023 Pan American Championships in Bariloche.

Snatch

The performance in the Snatch exercise started from 98 kg.

7: GOLD Celia Henna – 98 kg
6: DAVIES Sarah – 98 kg
5: YLISOINI Janette – 101 kg
4: STURLUDOTTIR Eyglo Fanndal – 105 kg

On this contest day, 66 % of all attempts.

Top 3 Leaders’ Results

Now let’s analyze the Top 3 lifters’ performance:

🥉VALODZKA Siuzanna – 105 kg
🥈 SCHWEIZER Lisa Marie – 107 kg
🥇 TOMA Loredana Elena – 114 kg

The third place moved to Valodzka Siuzanna who lifted 101 kg on the first attempt. The second try was 105 kg she lifted successfully, while the last try of 107 kg resulted in no lift.

The silver medalist in the category was Schweitzer Lisa Marie from Germany. She did all three good lifts: 101 kg on the first try, 105 kg on the second attempt, and then she opted for 107 kg on the third attempt.

The winner of the weight division became Toma Liredana Elena from Romania. She performed 106 kg on the first attempt successfully, then did 109 kg on the second try well, and finished with a winning 114 kg on the last attempt.

The US team was represented by two strong female lifters, namely Olivia Reeves and Meredith Alwine, who were ranked separately for the athletes of the 71-kg weight class.

Olivia Reeves showed us the following results in Snatch: 110 kg on the first attempt, then she failed on the second attempt of 114 kg. The last try of 115 kg resulted in a good lift.

By the way, she equaled her personal best she did at the Grand Prix in Doha which was also a Junior World Record in Snatch.

What about her compatriot Meredith Alwine, she did 98 kg on the first attempt, then failed 101 kg on the second try, resulting in no lift on the third attempt of 103 kg.

Clean & Jerk

The contest in the Clean & Jerk discipline started with a weight of 120 kg.

7: YLISOINI Janette – 123 kg
6: SCHWEIZER Lisa Marie – 124 kg
5: STURLUDOTTIR Eyglo Fanndal – 125 kg
4: TOMA Loredana Elena – 127 kg

52 % of all attempts in this exercise were successful.

Top 3 Leaders’ Results

Let’s describe the performance of the Top 3 lifters:

🥉DAVIES Sarah – 128 kg
🥈 GOLD Celia Henna – 128 kg
🥇 VALODZKA Siuzanna – 130 kg

The third place moved to a lifter from Great Britain Sarah Davies who failed to lift 127 kg on the first attempt and 128 kg on the second try. While the last try of the same weight, 128 kg resulted in success.

The silver medalist in the category was Celia Henna Gold from Israel: she did 124 kg on the first try, 128 kg finished unsuccessful on the second attempt, and then she repeated the same weight on the third attempt, which resulted in a good lift.

The winner of the weight division became Suzanna Valodzka. She performed 127 kg on the first attempt successfully, then did the lift of 130 kg on the second try well. She finished with a no lift of 137 kg on the last attempt.

What about the American weightlifters, Olivia Reeves showed the following weights on the bar: 140 kg on the first attempt, however the second try of 145 kg and the last attempt of 148 kg finished with red lights.

Her teammate Meredith Alwine successfully lifted 127 kg on the first attempt, 132 kg on the second try, and 135 kg on the final attempt.

Total Results

1: TOMA Loredana Elena – 241 kg
2: VALODZKA Siuzanna – 235 kg
3: SCHWEIZER Lisa Marie – 231 kg
4: STURLUDOTTIR Eyglo Fanndal – 230 kg
5: GOLD Celia Henna – 226 kg
6: DAVIES Sarah – 226 kg
7: YLISOINI Janette –  224 kg

Schweizer Lisa Marie from Germany took the bronze medal by lifting 231 kg overall that is 4 kilos less than her contender at the second place.

The silver medalist was Valodzka Suzanna with 235 kg in the sum of two exercises. 

The winner of the category was a lifter from Romania, Toma Liredana Elena: she succeeded in lifting 241 kg in total which is 6 kilos more than her opponent from the second spot.

The US lifters resulted with the following weights: Olivia Reeves did 255 kg in total and Meredith Alwine got 233 kg overall.

Keep track of our upcoming videos of the most outstanding Olympic categories to find out the skillful athletes who will reign the division and become chosen for the Summer Olympics. 

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