Sarno exits Paris Olympics early after failing snatch attempts

Vanessa Sarno, the lone Filipino weightlifter competing at the Paris Olympics in the women's 71kg division on Friday (Saturday Manila time), made a quick exit after failing to complete any of her three snatch attempts.

Sarno, who was aiming to secure a medal and emulate Hidilyn Diaz's success, expressed that she felt defeated from the start of training in Metz, France due to a toxic environment, which affected her mental state and performance.

Facing stiff competition from medal favorites like Olivia Reeves (USA) and Angie Palacios (Ecuador), Sarno failed to lift 100kg in the snatch three times and did not compete in the clean&jerk, despite having a personal best of 110kg.

In an interview with Filipino reporters, Sarno revealed that she felt unsupported by her surroundings and struggled mentally during training leading up to the Olympics.

With this result, Philippine weightlifting's campaign at the Paris Olympics comes to an end without a medal for the first time since 2012. Diaz won silver in 76kg in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and gold five years later.

Olivia Reeves secured the United States' first Olympic weightlifting gold since the Sydney Games with a total of 262kg, while Mari Sanchez (Colombia) and Angie Palacios (Ecuador) took silver and bronze respectively.