Radio Romania International Sports club

The latest from weightlifting

Florin Orban, 21.02.2024, 13:45

Romanian women weightlifters’ performance in recent international competitions has been better than men’s performance. It is one of the conclusions that can be drawn in the wake of the European Weightlifting Championships that have drawn to a close in Sofia on Tuesday. Seven of the eight medals the Romanian delegation won went to women competitors.

Mihaela Cambei was the Romanian delegation’s top performer. In the 49-kilgram category, Cambei won gold in the snatch but also in the clean and jerk style. We should also say that in the clean and jerk style, with a deadlift of 109 kilograms, Mihaela Cambei set a new European record. Mihaela broke her own European record she set in Yerevan in 2023. Sofia. Mihaela Cambei’s result combined, 199 kilograms, is also a new European record.

In Sofia, Mihaela Cambei was designated Europe’s best woman weightlifter in 2023. Mihaela Cambei is the best-placed European athlete according to the 49-kilogram category Olympic rankings. According to the general rankings, Cambei is 5th-placed. The Romanian is only 1 kilogram away from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th-placed weightlifters, a US, an Indian and a Thai weightlifter, respectively. Dominating the rankings is China’s Huihua Jiang, who is a mere 16 kilograms away from the 2nd-place in the rankings.

Competing in the 71-kilogram category, Loredana Toma was the second Romanian weightlifter with an excellent run in Sofia. Toma won gold in the snatch style, with a deadlift of 114 kilograms. In the clean and jerk style, Loredana came in 4th, with a deadlift of 127 kilograms, having failed two attempts in the 131-kilogram category. Combined, Loredana Toma won gold, with 241 kilograms. According to the Olympic qualifiers’ rankings, Loredana is 4th-placed, with a combined result of 256 kilograms she succeeded in the 2022 edition of the World Championships in Bogota. At the top of the table stands a Chinese weightlifter, Guifang Liao, with a combined result of 273 kilograms.

Some of the other Romanian competitors in Sofia also walked away with medals. In the 61-kilogram category’s clean and jerk style, Valentin Ionadi Iancu won the silver medal. Also in the clean and jerk style, Madalina Miron won bronze in the 45-kilogram category. Also bronze went to Andreea Cotruţa, in the 59-kilogram category.