Boholana weightlifter Vanessa Sarno bagged two gold medals and a silver medal during the 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Sarno, a 16-year-old native of Tagbilaran City, won gold and was declared overall champion in the 71-kilogram youth women’s division after lifting a total of 209 kilograms (kg) in two events during the competitions which were held from October 19 to 27.

Her championship bid was bolstered by a 91-kg lift in the snatch event which won her a gold medal. She settled for silver in the clean and jerk event by lifting 118 kg but was still able to clinch the overall title.

Sarno was ecstatic with her multi-medal victory as her hard work in training paid off.

According to Sarno, she trained daily for several months prior to the contest which was her third international outing.

“Everyday na ko tig training bisan naay duwa or wala,” she said.

Sarno previously competed in Thailand and Indonesia in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

She won three golds during the Indonesian Weightlifting Championships in Indonesia and one gold and one silver in the EGAT King’s Cup International Weightlifting Championships in Thailand.

She said that she will next compete at the international level during the 2020 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Uzbekistan in February next year.

Sarno who is a grade 9 student at the Bohol Institute of Technology in Tagbilaran City started weightlifting at the age of nine.

She said she was influenced by her father Christopher Sarno, a fisherman, who also competed as a powerlifter in his youth.

The young athlete is still in Manila at her team’s training center and is set to arrive home in Bohol on November 5. (A. Doydora)