Women weightlifters to compete in Guam this Saturday

Women weightlifters from the CNMI Weightlifting Federation will compete in their first off-island competition this Saturday, Feb. 25, in Guam’s 2023 Youth, Junior, Senior, Olympic Weightlifting Championships.

Save for coach and 2022 Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games silver medalist Antonette Labausa, who has competed internationally and won three gold medals in the 2018 Micronesian Games in Yap and the Australian International Open, Riella Ann Ichiuo, Devine Pua, Kaya Rasa, Anniegail Manuel, and Pipit Ball are first-timers.

The women are vying for a chance to represent the CNMI in the 2023 Micronesian and Pacific Games.

For Labausa, a seasoned eight-year weightlifting veteran who is competing in the 81-kg weight class, training has been going well for her since she last competed in the first weightlifting qualifier in January. 

In order for her not to burn out from weightlifting training, she said she played basketball with her Dandan team, winning the women’s division of the 2022 Marianas Village Pride Basketball League last month.

As for what she expects in the competition against Guam and Palau’s weightlifters, she said “I know I’ll do good. This is my first time coaching and lifting in Guam, so I think that’s going to be pretty fun. I know everybody else will do good because they’ve been working hard. I mean, even if everything you do in training is good, what really counts is what you hit on competition day.”

Labausa said that she will try to break her competition best in the clean & jerk of 98kg. For the snatch, her competition personal best is 76kg. 

As a coach for Pua and Rasa, Labausa said that their training has been going well. “We’ve kind of grown in the number of weightlifters in general and I’m really happy about that. I feel like everybody has been doing really good at their training with a lot of commitment and dedication being shown. I really appreciate that as well.”

Labausa then thanked the CNMI Weightlifting Federation and the Northern Marianas Sports Association “for providing us the opportunity to be funded for at least one competition.”

In the first qualifier last month, Labausa was the lone competitor in the 87-kg weight class and successfully completed all six of her lifts for a total of 173 kg. Her snatch lifts were 68kg, 71kg, and 74kg, while her clean and jerk lifts were 88 kg, 92kg, and 99kg.

For new lifters Pua and Rasa, who have both been lifting for about six months, they are also pretty excited to compete for the first time off-island. 

Twenty-three-year-old Pua will compete in the senior 59-kg weight class, while 17-year-old Rasa will compete in the junior 57 kg.

Pua said for the upcoming competition along with being excited, she is also “getting super nervous, but I’m excited to see all the weight lifters there and compete with everyone.” 

For Rasa, she thinks she will do well in the competition too as she’s “been putting in the work and so I expect a good outcome.” Rasa said that she was actually inspired by the 2022 NMPMG weightlifters and decided to try out the sport herself. From then on, she’s enjoyed it.

In the 59-kg weight class during the first qualifier last month, Pua and Rasa lifted a total of 93kg. Pua’s snatch lifts were 35kg, 38kg, and 42kg, while her clean and jerk lifts were 45kg and 51kg. She failed to pull 56kg. Rasa’s completed lifts for the snatch were 35kg and 38kg, while her clean and jerk lifts were 45kg, 50kg, and 55kg.

For Ichiuo, a 24-year-old Brabu Pharmacy staff who has been weightlifting for two years now, said about the upcoming qualifier, “I feel pretty excited about it and kind of nervous too because I don’t know what to expect. But it’s going to be a fun experience.”

Ichiuo, who bagged a bronze medal in the 81-kg weight class of the 2022 NMPMG, will also compete in the same weight class as Labausa. Ichiuo missed the first weightlifting qualifier last month and will need to compete in the Guam competition and in the last qualifier next month.

When asked who will be her biggest competition in Guam, she said that she’s unsure as they are strong competitors. “From both Palau and Guam, it will be really challenging.”

She then thanked her coach John Davis, who is the president of the CNMI Weightlifting Federation, and her teammates “because we’ve all helped each other in a way from parts that we’re struggling on with our lifts. Pieces from each of them really helped me grow into the person I am today.”