The Colombian weightlifter, Miguel Suárez, shone in the weightlifting competition of the Central American and Caribbean Games by hanging the first two gold medals in the 55 kilogram category. The exciting dispute took place in the Cuna del Mágico, in the Salvadoran capital.
Suárez, just 23 years old and three-time champion of the Pan American Weightlifting Championship, established himself in the start with an impressive lift of 106 kilograms, beating Cuban Raibet Machado and the surprising Howard Roche from Puerto Rico, who took silver and bronze. , respectively, lifting the same amount of weight.
In the clean and jerk, the Colombian athlete starred in a close battle against the Mexican Juan Barco, who was defined in the last attempt. Suárez managed to lift 138 kilograms, while Barco lifted 137, securing the silver medal. The bronze went to the Venezuelan Winder Sánchez, who registered 130 kilograms and surpassed the Mexican José Poox, who could not complete his final lifts and stayed at 129 kilograms.
«It was a very close competition in which tranquility and serenity were seen in each movement, because it came with clear goals. I wanted to set a record, but the competition was very close in the snatch and clean and jerk»Suarez declared
Suárez, whose clean and jerk mark is 143 kilograms, added: “I am very happy with this result, because they are the first two gold medals for Colombia so far,”
The talented Colombian weightlifter is now preparing for the next challenges, the Weightlifting World Cup in Riyadh and the Pan American Games in Santiago. Faced with these challenges, Suárez highlighted the importance of continuing to train hard, since the competition is at a very high level. «We cannot let our guard down because the one who lets our guard down gets off the podium. Right now we have the World Cup in two months, in which I hope to represent Colombia at the top”, he stated with determination.
The 55 kg competition also included the participation of the Cuban Osmel Argote and the Guatemalan José Ical, who demonstrated their skill and sportsmanship.