Blow by blow, it continues: although this year’s European Championships are in the books, in the coming days the male and female athletes already have the next opportunity to lift on the international stage. In addition to the International Women Weightlifting Grand Prix in Luxembourg – the Mediterranean Games will also take place in Oran, Algeria, over the next four days, from July 1-4.
And even though the athletes only compete in eight weight categories over the next four days – the women in the categories -49 kg, -59 kg, -71 kg and the men in the categories -61 kg, -73 kg, -89 kg, -102 kg, +102 kg – there will still be some familiar faces on the platform.
Thus, the freshly crowned European champion Giulia Imperio from Italy and the Spaniard Atenery Hernandez, who competed in the weight category up to 55 kg at the European Championships and finished sixth there, will start the weightlifting competitions directly on Friday (10:00 a.m. local time) in the weight category up to 49 kg.
Atenery Hernandez is competing for the first time in the 49 kg weight class at the Mediterranean Games.
The competition continues the following day with the women’s category up to 59 kg (10:00 a.m.), in which the European champion from Albania, Evangelina Veli, will want to prove herself. The 30-year-old had most recently put in an impressive performance on the platform in the 55 kg weight class at the European Championships in her home country. She won gold in both the snatch and the total and also took the silver medal in the clean and jerk with a power clean and jerk.
Another well-known European face that will also compete at the Mediterranean Games is Italian Mirko Zanni. The 24-year-old had fallen short of his expectations at the European Championships in Tirana with only two valid attempts, but had just missed the medal places. He will now lift in the 73 kg weight class on Saturday evening (5:00 p.m.) as well and this time will look to reward his performance with a medal.
The world record attempt of Nino Pizzolato with 217 kg in the clean and jerk.
Italian Nino Pizzolato will also have a chance to win a medal in the 89 kg weight category on Sunday evening (17:00). The 25-year-old had changed from the 81 kg to the 89 kg category due to the new Olympic weight class and was able to convince directly in this category at the last European Championships. With 175 kg in the snatch, 217 kg in the clean and jerk and 392 kg in the total, Pizzolato not only won three gold medals and was crowned European champion for the third time in a row, but also set two new world records in the clean and jerk as well as in the total.
