The man from Cuenca was crowned champion of the 81 kg division on the first day of the 2021 Cali-Valle Junior Pan American weightlifting competitions.
The weightlifter Iván Escudero was crowned champion of the 81 kg division of the Junior Pan American Games and thus qualified for the absolute Pan American Games, which will take place in Santiago, Chile in 2023. Jenifer Becerra won bronze in the 59 kg .
In the early hours of Saturday, in the 59 kg division, Becerra was fighting hard to get on the podium, not only because there were complicated rivals in front, such as the Colombian, American and Venezuelan, but because they also came to mind. moments of concern about the injury he suffered four years ago at the Junior Pan American Championship in Manizales.
The Ecuadorian closed the start with 83 kg lifted at her best weight in the three attempts. “My best weight in clean and jerk is 87 kg, but due to the elbow dislocation that I suffered recently, we decided with my coach not to demand the arm … Different in clean and jerk, where it is not so demanding in the movement and I was able to 105 kg “.
The total sum of the snatch and the clean and jerk reached 188 kg, which was enough to leave the llanera weightlifter who was fighting for the bronze without a chance. “I am very proud of what I have done, I worked very hard and there is no doubt that when human beings want to achieve something there are no limits,” she said.
The Cuenca Ivan Escudero, who last month with just 20 years participated and won a silver medal in the start in a very tough Pan-American Absolute Weightlifting Championship in Guayaquil, where weightlifters who have participated in world championships and in the last Olympic Games of Tokyo, entered the platform of the Ramón Elías López Coliseum showing a unique security, as much as the weight to lift in the first attempt in the snatch mode, 143 kg, the best of the initial series among the ten participants in the 81 division male kg.
And boy was he sure, so much so that he ended up putting three more kilograms, 146 to pass the first attempt; but that was not enough, because in the second he put 150 kg and in the third 152, seven kilograms more than the Mexican who at the end of the start only reached 145. From there, the gold medal was coming, simply because if he did not fail any attempt in clean and jerk, he would add an unattainable total according to what he was going to ask for to lift. He started the clean and jerk with 178 kg, requesting 183 kg for the second and a surprising 190 kg for the third, which would end up destroying all ambition of his Mexican rival who aspired to “fight” for the gold, if Iván failed any attempt. In the end, the total was a surprising 342 kg full of golden color.
But Escudero, someone who works with a low profile, claims to have the keys to success in three key points. “The first thing was to validate my six attempts, be focused and fully comply with the provisions of my coach … Thank God, everything was given and we achieved a goal that we set ourselves in Guayaquil, to get the gold.”
Another key moment, when they are reminded of it, was undoubtedly their participation in the Absolute Pan American Championship in Guayaquil, which took place at the beginning of November. “Without a doubt it was an event that helped me to motivate myself, since I was able to achieve a silver medal in the snatch, and to be able to lift if I had not been able to participate in the Junior World Cup before, where I would have achieved medals with these brands. It is a pride for me, since I was a child I used to tell myself that I had to get on the podium and here we are … Today I only have to dedicate this medal to my family, to the country and to my God who always gives me strength ”, said the Azuayo.
Tricolor weightlifting will once again have participation in the I Pan American Games in Cali, this Sunday with Kelin Jiménez in 76 kg, Neiser Grefa in 96 kg and Bella Paredes, who will go in a division that is not hers, the 87 kg ; the weightlifter is 76 kg. (D)
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