IWF World Cup 2024: Australia’s Kiana Elliott finishes 19th
Elliott lifted 95kg in snatch and 114kg in clean and jerk for a total of 209kg in the women’s 59kg. China’s Luo Shifang won the gold medal with a world record of 248kg.
Weightlifting
Australian weightlifter Kiana Elliott, competing in the women’s 59kg, finished 19th at the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket, Thailand on Wednesday.
Elliott registered 95kg in snatch and 114kg in clean and jerk for a total lift of 209kg. The gold medal was won by People’s Republic of China’s Luo Shifang, who managed a combined effort of 248kg (108kg snatch + 140kg clean and jerk) for a new world record. The previous world record stood at 247kg.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s Kim Il Gyong won the silver medal after lifting 240kg (108kg snatch + 132kg clean and jerk) while Maude Charron of Canada took bronze with 236kg (106kg snatch + 130kg clean and jerk).
Elliott lifted her personal best of 211kg (97kg snatch + 114kg clean and jerk) at the Oceania Championships in February to take the gold medal. The total of 211kg places her 21st on the Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) for the women’s 59kg and the top Australian weightlifter in the category.
The OQR is based on the best total results (snatch + clean and jerk) the athletes manage to lift in any of the qualifying competitions. The top 10 weightlifters in the Olympic weight classes based on OQR, which will have the highest-ranked athlete per country in each weight category, will obtain Olympic quotas at Paris 2024 for their national teams. The Olympic weightlifting qualification cycle ends later this month.
The IWF World Cup 2024, which concludes on April 11, is also a compulsory event for Paris 2024 hopefuls, and attendance at the meet is mandatory to be eligible to compete at the Summer Games in July-August.
Kiana Elliott has been competing in the 59kg weight category since November last year. At the 2023 and 2022 IWF World Weightlifting Championships as well as the Tokyo Olympics, she participated in the 64kg weight division.
Earlier in the competition, Australia’s Brenna Kean competed in the women’s 49kg weight class but she could not register a valid lift in snatch.
Commonwealth Games champion Eileen Cikamatana, who is placed fifth in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Ranking, will compete in Group A of the women’s 81kg category on Tuesday.