OLYMPIANS AID. The families of two weightlifters competing at the Paris Olympics 2024 pose with Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia at the city hall on Monday (July 29, 2024), shortly after receiving the PHP200,000 in cash aid for each. Garcia promised to give PHP1 million if they can clinch a gold, PHP500,000 for silver and PHP300,000 for bronze. (Photo courtesy of Cebu City-PIO)
CEBU CITY – Two homegrown weightlifters who are competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics received cash assistance, through their families, from the city government on Monday.
Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia personally handed over PHP200,000 each to the families of weightlifters Elreen Ann Ando and John Febuar Ceniza during the flag ceremony at the city hall.
Garcia vowed to give more cash gifts if they return home with medals.
“This is a promise. When they return to the City of Cebu and bring home the gold medal, I will give them, from my personal funds, PHP1 million,” Garcia said.
He pledged to award them with PHP500,000 for silver and PHP300,000 for bronze.
The 26-year-old Ceniza will start his medal bid on Aug. 7 at 9 p.m. while Ando’s first round will be on Aug. 8 at 11:30 p.m., both PH time, at South Paris Arena 6.
The third Filpino weightlifter in Paris, Vanessa Sarno, opens her women’s 71kg bid early morning of Aug. 10 (PH time).
A native of Barangay Pasil, Ceniza qualified after he wound up fourth in the men’s 61kg of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Phuket, Thailand on April 2.
Ceniza was a silver medalist during the 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games and a bronze medalist during the Roma 2020 Weightlifting World Cup.
Ando, a 25-year-old native of Barangay Carreta here, formalized her Olympic slot in the same tournament the day after, placing eighth in the women’s 59kg.
It was the same category that Tokyo gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz competed in but she failed to accumulate enough ranking points.
She earned two silvers and a bronze medal during the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
She also placed seventh overall in the women’s 64kg during the 2020 Tokyo Games, held 2021 because of the pandemic. (PNA)
