Open Championship re-launches weightlifting calendar |10 October 2022

• Ruby Malvina, Daryl Riaze voted the best

After a two-year absence due to health restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic, weightlifting actions were back for the fans on Saturday during the Open Championships hosted by the Seychelles Weightlifting Association at the Bel Ombre community centre.

The competition gathered 16 lifters – six males and 10 females – who competed in 11 categories. It was nice to see in action a number of young athletes, indicating that the future of the sport discipline which brought Seychelles loads of medals at international level is safe, with new generations of athletes ready to take the success further.

Daryl Riaze, who competes in the men’s 67kg category, was voted the championship’s best male athlete, while Ruby Malvina who competes in the 64kg category, was voted as the best female lifter.

In the women’s competition, Kayla Melanie dominated the 59kg category, finishing first after snatching 40kg and lifting 45kg in the clean and jerk, pushing young Amnivera Belle and Sharina Anthony into second and third places respectively in the group.

In the women’s 64kg category, Malvina who competed alone after her only opponent Clementina Agricole pulled out following a last-minute injury, snatched 80kg to set up a new national standard, erasing the previous one which was 77kg set in 2019. In the clean and jerk, she lifted 101kg for an Olympic total of 181kg.

Assania Rose was the winner of the 71kg category after snatching 50kg and lifting 65kg in the clean and jerk (total: 115kg), while iron lady Joelita Coloma snatched 75kg and lifted 95kg in clean jerk (total: 170kg) to win the 81kg class in which she was the only lifter.

In the women’s 87kg group, Romentha Larue was untouchable, snatching 85kg, before lifting 105kg in clean and jerk (total: 190kg) to win the group ahead of Josta Meriton who snatched 50kg and lifted 67kg in clean (total: 117kh) to finish second and in third place was Persha Dorothe who snatched 50kg and lifted 55kg in clean and jerk (total: 105kg).

In the male competition, all eyes were on young lifter Gulliano Pierre – only 13 years old – who competed in the 55kg.

Despite having no opponents, Pierre, who will be part of the Seychelles team at the  12th Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l'Océan Indien (CJSOI) Games scheduled to take place between December 4-11, 2022 in Mauritius, put on a good show, displaying some pristine techniques where he snatched 45kg, before lifting 60kg in clean and jerk for a total of 105kg.

Another junior lifter, namely Liam Robert competed in the 61kg, snatching 60kg, before lifting 80kg in clean and jerk to win the category with a total of 140kg).

In the 67kg category, Riaze who was also competing alone, snatched 95kg and lifted 117kg in clean and jerk (total: 212kg) to win the category and also the prize for the championship’s best male lifter.

Vivet Navinran was the only contestant in the men’s 89kg category where he snatched 90kg and clean-and-jerked 116kg (total: 206kg), while in the 96kg group, Antonio Bamboche who was also the lone competitor, snatched 90kg before lifting 105kg in clean and jerk (total: 195kg).

In the 102kg category, Derreck Come was the only lifter, snatching 111kg and lifting 120kg in clean and jerk (total: 231kg).

Other than cups and cash prizes, the athletes also received a batch of new equipment from the Seychelles Weightlifting Association (SWA).

Meanwhile, Larue, Coloma, Agricole and Malvina will represent the country at the 21st Women Weightlifting Championships scheduled to be held from October 26, 2022 to November 4, 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.

Roland Duval