Lima, Day 4: Simoneau wins again for Canada – and it’s ‘Super Saturday’ for Oceania thanks to Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa

There was a remarkable sight at the medal presentation after an entertaining women’s 71kg session at the World Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru – weightlifters from Canada and New Zealand standing on the podium above an athlete from China.

Charlotte Simoneau continued her remarkable run of results by winning her second Junior world title for Canada, improving her best numbers yet again on 111-134-245. In all but one of her 10 competitions to date Simoneau, who will be 20 in four weeks, has improved her best snatch or clean and jerk, or both.

Charlotte Simoneau (CAN)

Another big improver took second place. Like Simoneau, Olivia Selemaia from New Zealand made all six lifts, putting 13kg on her previous best total on 106-129-235.

Before the medal ceremony Selemaia ran across the back room to congratulate Nehemiah Elder, who became Fiji’s first world champion when he won the Youths 89kg title in the concurrent men’s session on the other platform.

There was more to come for Oceania when Seine Stowers from Samoa finished second in the women’s 76kg Youths behind Varvara Kuzminova, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia. Kuzminova broke youth world records in snatch and total and finished second in the Juniors too.

“When I looked at the schedule a few weeks ago I told Paul Coffa (continental federation general secretary) that it could be Super Saturday for Oceania, and it is,” said Selemaia’s coach Simon Kent, who is president of the New Zealand Federation. Friday was not so bad either, because Femily Notte from Nauru won medals in the Youth women’s 64kg.

Olivia Selemaia (NZL)

Henry Elder, Nehemiah’s coach and father, said, “Over the past few years we’ve started to work together a lot more in Oceania, after a period when we had our differences.

“There’s a lot of collaboration, plenty of training camps. We smash each other in training and then we’re all mates again. We’re a big family now.”

Samoa has a lavish new weightlifting institute and academy, certified by the IWF. Fiji is planning to open a new training centre within two years.

“We’ve got so many kids with the physique and explosive power for weightlifting in Fiji, a lot of them on farms,” said Elder. “They’re all drawn to rugby but we want them to come into the greatest sport of all.”

Selemaia, who came to weightlifting from CrossFit, is playing her part in promoting the sport. She is one of four national team members who coach weightlifting at schools in Auckland, New Zealand’s capital, as part of the federation’s ‘Lift for Gold’ scheme.

That means she is training and coaching full-time. “Her performance today has been coming,” said Kent. “It’s her first year out of school and that’s made a big difference.”

Simoneau is unable to go full-time because she is still studying, having recently switched from natural science to industrial engineering. She trains about six times a week, and for extra income she works in her grandparents’ flower shop at weekends when she is not competing.

“It’s Mother’s Day in Canada next Sunday so I’m going to be busy,” she said.

The Chinese athlete who took bronze was 20-year-old international debutant Wang Menting, who made four good lifts on 101-130-231. Maria Mena from Colombia won snatch silver on 106kg.

Lin Jingwei (CHN)

Wang’s 17-year-old team-mate Lin Jingwei won the Youths world title in spectacular style. She jumped from 118kg to 131kg on her fifth attempt and made it to claim youth world records in clean and jerk and total. She had failed with a snatch world record attempt and finished 100-131-231, the same total as Wang.

Darya Kuznetsova, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia, was second in the Youths on 93-117-210 and Kira Danilova from Kazakhstan third on 94-115-209. Both made all six attempts.

Dilnura Kholdorova from Uzbekistan won snatch bronze on 93kg and Maryia Ivanova from Belarus, competing as a neutral, won clean and jerk bronze on 115kg.

Women’s 76kg Juniors and Youths

Ella Nicholson from the United States had to fight to win her second straight Junior world title. Nicholson, 18, was 8kg below her winning total last year but found enough for victory on her last attempt, finishing 106-130-236.

Varvara Kuzminova (AIN)

The star of the show was Kuzminova, 16, who was entered in Youths and Juniors. She broke the youth snatch world record twice, on 106kg and 108kg, and took the total record too on 108-127-235. She also won snatch gold, plus silver in clean and jerk and total, in the Juniors.

Jeon Heesoo from Korea was third in the Juniors on 102-123-225. Bronze medals were won by Nana Khorava from Georgia in snatch on 103kg, and Alexandrina Ciubotaru from Moldova in clean and jerk on 124kg.

Stowers took Youths silver despite making only two good lifts on 98-116-214. Third place went to Minni Hormavirta from Finland on 90-117-207.

Men 89 Juniors and Youths

Goga Jajvani from Georgia was fourth in the 2023 World Youths and in last year’s World Juniors. This time he made the podium in style, winning the Junior title with his final attempt at 198kg.

Goga Jajvani (GEO)

In a close finish, 19-year-old Jajvani made 162-198-360 ahead of Angel Rodriguez from Venezuela on 164-195-359 and David Cuesta from Colombia on 163-196-359. Ilya Salehipour from Iran won bronze in clean and jerk on 195kg.

Elder, 16, was the only youth lifter in the A session. He just failed with a final attempt at 188kg and finished 152-180-332. That was 70kg more than his last total in an IWF competition 14 months ago.

“In that time I’ve done a lot of hard training, been to recent camps in Samoa and Australia, and made 142-175 in an invitational competition in Brisbane,” he said. “God’s been with me for constant training and belief. I am home schooled, so I’m pretty much a full-time weightlifter.

“I had a lot of nerves here because it’s by far the biggest competition I’ve been to, but I really enjoyed it.”

What is his next target? “I’ll just do whatever my coach tells me, like I always do.”

Two international debutants were a long way back in second and third. Munisbek Davletov from Uzbekistan made 140-179-319 and 15-year-old Khuthair Qaiti from Iraq made 145-173-318. Andrei Solopii from Russia, competing as a neutral, won snatch bronze.

Men 96 Juniors and Youths

Junior champion Ahmed Gamal Elbasyouni from Egypt improved his total at last year’s World Juniors by 40kg. He was ninth on 326kg in Spain last September, and first on 166-200-366 today.

Ahmed Gamal Elbasyouni (EGY)

He has a nervous wait for victory. Hamidreza Zarei from Iran, who won gold in clean and jerk, would have won on total had he made his final attempt on 209kg. He failed and finished fourth on158-203-361.

Zarei’s team-mate Amirhosein Sepahmade 165-199-364 in second place. Inhatsi Pauliukavets from Belarus, competing as a neutral, was third on 167-196-363.

The Youths winner was Grigor Ghazaryan from Armenia on 145-185-330, well ahead of Yslam Akmyradov from Turkmenistan on 141-175-316. Parv Chaudhary from India was third on 140-175-315.

Aleksandr Bagaev from Russia, competing as a neutral, took snatch bronze on 141kg. Seven Russian neutrals have competed in Youth categories so far and all seven have won at least one medal.

By Brian Oliver

Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia