IWF Grand Prix II, Day 5 Recap – Women’s 59 kg: Chinese Shifang Leads the Division’s Ranking, with Canada Lift on the Podium

Day 5 of the IWF qualifying event in Qatar brought us multiple exemplary lifts that have already gone into the history of this event. Having beaten their records and personal bests, today’s ten weightlifters pushed themselves hard to show even more incredible results. While a tense battle between the division’s leaders added even more pressure on the podium. 

Emotional victories in today’s Women’s Olympic category were accompanied by epic lifts, in which athletes were pushing their limits to chase their dreams of Paris 2024. Watch this firsthand overview to know new winners and all the heart-pounding moments of their performances.

Athletes’ Presentation

Ten highly decorated and strong female lifters will present this weight class. Let’s remind you of some of their previous great wins and ever-best lifts. Just imagine 2 Olympic champions: 

Hidilyn Diaz from the Philippines who is also a gold winner at the Worlds in Bogota in the 55-kg category. In Tokyo, she set two Olympic records in Clean & Jerk and totals; and Maude Charron from Canada who is a two-time gold winner at the Commonwealth Games and Pan Ams in the 64-kg division;

the current World Champion from China Luo Shifang, 

and her teammate  Pei Xinyi who’s only 18 and got bronze at the World Championships in Riyadh. She also took gold at the Worlds in Bogota and took silver at the Asians in Jinju.

Here are more BIG names:

3-time European Champ and this year’s World silver medalist from Ukraine – Kamila Konotop. 

The leader of this season, Kim Il Gyong. At the last Asians, she made 246 kg total, which is just 1 kilo less than the total World Record. 

All these lifters ordered an opening total in between 230 kg and 235 kg, so no doubt that today we will witness an amazing fight for the place on the podium of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Snatch

The performance in the Snatch exercise started from 94 kg.

• 6: VENEGAS VALERA Anyelin Maria – 100 kg
• 5: MAGISTRIS Lucrezia – 102 kg
• 4: KONOTOP Kamila – 103 kg

On this contest day, 63% of all attempts were successful which is an above-average rate.

Top 3 leaders’ Results

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

• 🥇LUO Shifang – 108 kg
• 🥈KIM Il Gyong – 107 kg
• 🥉CHARRON Maude G – 104 kg

Canadian Charron Maude won the bronze medal in this session by lifting 104 kg at the third attempt. Her first lift was 98 kg, the second – 101 kg, and the last try resulted in 104 kg. Just to compare her prior lifts in Snatch: she performed 105-kg Snatch at the Olympic Games in Tokyo that overall brought her gold in the 64-kg division. Today she surpassed her rival from the fourth spot, the Ukrainian Kamila Konotop, by just 1 kilo.

The second-place holder was Kim Il Gyong who snatched 107 kg. She did the first attempt in 103 kg, by moving up to 107 kg at the second try, and finished her performance with ‘no lift’ at 109 kg-attempt. This time she showed lower results compared to her last performance at the continental competitions. By the way, she last competed internationally at 14 years as a junior in 2018, setting a new Snatch record of 111 kg on her way to gold at the Asians in Hangzhou this year.

The gold medal went to the Chinese Luo Shifang who managed to lift 108 kg which was her best result in Snatch today. The first attempt resulted in red lights in 103 kg, the second one was the same 103 kilos. Her final best attempt was 108 kg that is the best Snatch in her career: in Riyadh at the Worlds she won gold in total with 107 kg Snatch. Today Luo hit the podium with her massive lift.

Snatch results

Let’s sum up the Snatch round: overall, the leaders showed equal battle, with a maximum of 4 kilos gap between the first and third places. We can admit that it was a captivating and tense competition where no one of the supposed leaders wanted to fall behind the opponent.

What about the other athletes, Kamila Konotop from Ukraine didn’t manage to cope with inner pressure and didn’t manage to lift 106 kg and 107 kg at the second and third attempts. So, her first lift of 103 kg brought her fourth place in the round. Frankly speaking, she wasn’t ready for heavier weights. Unfortunately, she showed Snatch by 3 kilos less than her silver-winning lift in Riyadh.

Italian Magistris Lucrezia did 102 kg at the second attempt, which was her best lift in Snatch in her career. Having moved out of Group B, she managed to improve her result by 4 kilos compared to her European Championships’ Snatch in Tirana.

Venegas Valera Anyelin Maria from Venezuela closed Top 6 of this division resulting in 100 kg.

What’s interesting, Pei Xinyi from China, the supposed leader of the 59-kg category, didn’t perform in this session at all.

Clean & Jerk

The contest in the Clean & Jerk discipline started with a weight of 115 kg.

• 6: OLARINOYE Adijat Adenike  – 120 kg 
• 5: VENEGAS VALERA Anyelin Maria – 122 kg
• 4: KONOTOP Kamila – 127 kg

55 % of all attempts in this exercise were successful which is a below-average rate.

Top 3 leaders’ Results

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

• 🥇LUO Shifang – 139 kg
• 🥈KIM Il Gyong – 136 kg
• 🥉CHARRON Maude G – 129 kg

Charron Maude secured third place by jerking 129 kg on the third attempt. Her first attempt was 120 kg, then she decided to up the weight by 5 kilos and pushed 125 kg successfully. The final try was 129 kg that was 7 kilos less to move higher to the Top 2 rank. Her today’s best lift was 4 kg less than her prior result of 133 kg.

The silver medalist in this battle became Kim Il Gyong with a result of 136 kg on the third attempt. Today she started from 125 kg, moving to 130 kg, and the third lift was 136 kg. All her lifts were successful showcasing her great power and technique. Looking back at her previous results in Clean & Jerk she did progress of 1 kilo compared to her triumph lift at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Moreover, by lifting 136 kg she set the Junior World Record.
Luo Shifang became a gold winner with 139 kg as her best. She proved her great supremacy over the contenders: 3 kilos gap was between the 2nd and whole 10 kg – between the 3rd place. This result was 3 kilos better compared to her prior jerk of 136 kg in Riyadh, and better by 10 kilos compared to her lift in Bogota.

Clean & jerk Results

All in all, as the stakes are rising with each day, the atmosphere of today’s performance was tense, competitive, and at the same time contagious due to all the emotions on the podium.

The scenario repeated for the Ukrainian Konotop in this round as well: she finished fourth with her best Clean & Jerk of 127 kg. However, it was her second-best jerk in her career.

Venegas Valera Anyelin Maria became fifth with a result of 122 kg. The sixth spot was occupied by the Nigerian Olarinoye Adijat Adenike who finished with 120 kg.

Total results

• 🥇LUO Shifang – 247 kg
• 🥈KIM Il Gyong – 243 kg
• 🥉CHARRON Maude G – 233 kg
• 4 KONOTOP Kamila – 230 kg
• 5 VENEGAS VALERA Anyelin Maria – 222 kg
• 6 LAWAL Rafiatu Folashede  – 218 kg

Congratulations to the Top 3 athletes who showcased their grit, determination, and unbeatable desire to become the best in the category. 

The gold medalist in the category was Lou Shifang who did 247 kg overall. It was her best total result in her career: 4 kilos more compared to her winning 243 kg at the Worlds in Riyadh.

The silver holder was Kim Il Gyong who got 243 kg in a sum of two rounds. It was 3 kilos less than her gold-winning total at the Asians in Hangzhou.
Charron Maude took bronze thanks to a total result of 233 kg. Today she didn’t improve her  Olympic result in Tokyo, which was 236 kg.

Final Thoughts

Today’s performance in the 59-kg division proved the ultimate strength, mental stability, and pure technique of Chinese athletes. Due to the properly built training strategy and strong will and persistence, Luo Shifang succeeded in bringing gold to her country.

We witnessed the Day 5’ triumphs, full of adrenaline, sweat, tears, and the sweet taste of the win. Our expected leaders were divided into two groups: those who managed to improve their previous lifts and those who fell behind their rivals. For some, it was challenging to find inner balance, cope with pressure, and surpass their contenders, while others were celebrating their win-win lifting strategies.

Keep watching our videos about the latest updates from Qatar’s podium. Get unique insights into each competition day, detailed recaps of each weight division, and attention-worthy interviews with the big names in weightlifting. Subscribe to our channel, like videos, and watch the history is creating at the Grand Prix II in Doha right now!

Stay strong and remember – warm body cold mind!