IWF Weightlifting World Cup – Women’s 59 kg Recap 

Day 4 of the IWF World Cup qualifying event in Phuket brought us outstanding performances that have already gone into the history of weightlifting. Having beaten previous records and improved personal bests, 13 female weightlifters pushed themselves to their maximum.

As the stakes are increasing with the approach of the Olympic Games, a tense battle between the category’s leaders added even more pressure today. 

Watch our elaborate overview to know the new winners and all the heart-breaking moments of their performances full of epic lifts and intriguing ends.

Athletes’ Presentation 

13 highly motivated and strong female lifters presented the 59-kg weight class. Let’s remind you of some of their previous great accomplishments and ever-best lifts:

Hidilyn Diaz from the Philippines is 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.

LUO Shifang from China is the current World Champion, who won a gold medal at the Worlds in 2023.

Her compatriot PEI Xinyi who’s only 19 and got bronze at the Worlds in Riyadh. She also took gold at the World Championships in Bogota and took silver at the Asians in Jinju.

Snatch Review 

The performance in the Snatch exercise started from 95 kg.

• 8: Tchakounte Dora – 101 kg
• 7: Lawal Rafiatu – 101 kg
• 6: RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ – 102 kg
• 5: VENEGAS VALERA  – 103 kg
• 4: PEI Xinyi – 103 kg

On this contest day, 59% of all attempts were successful.

Top 3 leaders’ results

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

• 🥉: CHARRON Maude G – 106 kg
• 🥈: LUO Shifang  – 108 kg
• 🥇: KIM Il Gyong – 108 kg

The bronze medal moved to the Canadian weightlifter CHARRON Maude G who lifted 100 kg at the first attempt, 103 kg at the second lift, and the third lift of 106 kg. Today she missed just one kilo away from her personal best of 107 kg which is also the national record of Canada.

The silver medalist was LUO Shifang from China. She started from the 103 kg attempt that she did successfully, then increased the weight by 5 kilos, but failed to lift 108 kg. Her third lift of the same 108 kg resulted in getting the second place. This time she succeeded to equal her Snatch of 108 kg she made at the 2023 Grand Prix II in Doha.

The leader of the category became KIM Il Gyong: she snatched 102 kg at the first attempt, 106 kg on the second lift, and 108 kg at the third attempt.

Two athletes bombed out in the Snatch exercise, namely the American WILKINS Taylor and GOMEZ VALDIVIA Janeth from Mexico.

Clean & Jerk Review 

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

• 10: MAGISTRIS Lucrezia – 115 kg
• 9: ALVAREZ CAICEDO Yenny – 125 kg
• 8: VENEGAS VALERA – 126 kg
• 7: Lawal Rafiatu – 126 kg
• 6: ANDO Elreen Ann – 128 kg
• 5: CHARRON Maude G – 130 kg
• 4: KUO Hsing-Chun – 130 kg

On this contest day, 51 % of all attempts were successful.

Top 3 leaders’ results

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

• 🥉: PEI Xinyi – 130 kg
• 🥈: KIM Il Gyong – 132 kg
• 🥇: LUO Shifang – 140 kg

PEI Xinyi from China secured the bronze medal by lifting 130 kg at the first attempt successfully, then up the weights by four kilos but failed to jerk 134 kg at the second lift. Eventually, she didn’t cope with the same weight of 134 kg at the last attempt. Thus, the 130-kg-first lift brought her the third place in the category.

It wasn’t her best lift since previously she lifted 133kg at the 2023 Asian Championships resulting in gold. Today Pei equalled her result at the Worlds in Riyadh.

The silver medal went to KIM Il Gyong: she lifted 125 kg on the first attempt, the second one resulted with no lift of 132 kg. Although, her third lift of the same weight brought her the second spot.

The winner in the Clean & Jerk exercise became LUO Shifang. This powerful Chinese lifter did 133 kg on the first attempt, then added seven kilos and failed to jerk a 140-kg barbell. The third lift of 140 kg resulted in success and the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Taylor Wilkins from the USA and Gomez Janeth from Mexico refused to lift in the Clean & Jerk because of their bomb-out in the Snatch.

Total results

• 🥇LUO Shifang – 248 kg
• 🥈KIM Il Gyong – 240 kg
• 🥉CHARRON Maude G – 236 kg
• 4 PEI Xinyi – 233  kg
• 5 KUO Hsing-Chun – 230 kg
• 6 VENEGAS VALERA  – 229 kg
• 7 ANDO Elreen Ann – 228 kg
• 8 Lawal Rafiatu –  227kg
• 9 ALVAREZ CAICEDO Yenny –  225 kg

Congratulations to the Top 3 lifters who proved their grit, determination, and unbeatable desire to become the best in the category, and what’s more important get a quota for the Olympics. 

Canadian CHARRON Maude took bronze thanks to a total result of 236 kg. This result is equal to her total at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The silver holder was KIM Il Gyong who got 240 kg in a total of two rounds. It’s her second-best result that was 4 kilos less than her gold-winning total at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The gold medalist was LUO Shifang from China who did 248 kg overall. It was her best result in her career: it’s five kilos more than her total at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, she succeeded to set a new World Record in a total by lifting 248 kg in total.

The final points 

We witnessed the Day 4’ triumphs full of adrenaline, tears, and pain, with the sweet taste of the win. Our expected leaders proved their mastery and that they’re worth being qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris.

There were several failed performances and red lights on the scoreboard, while an athlete from Ukraine Kamila Konotop didn’t perform today despite being weighted and included in the entry list.

Predictions for the Olympic qualification

Here’s the list of the athletes from the 59-kg weight category who succeeded to get a quota for the Olympics in Paris:

1. LUO Shifang – CHN
2. PEI Xinyi – CHN
3. CHARRON Maude G – CAN
4. KUO Hsing-Chun – TPE
5. ANDO Elreen Ann – PHI

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