Young lifters top Guam tourney

HD Weightlifting Camp youth weightlifter Cheyenne, front left; and Anniegail Manuel, front right; Aiden Gimed, standing right; Jaden Andrew, standing left; pose with Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, back left; husband and coach Julius Naranjo; and coach Angel San Nicolas during the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday at the Guam National Guard Center in Barrigada, Guam.

Despite the nerves that come with international competition, four young up-and-coming weightlifters from the CNMI HD Weightlifting Camp broke through their first off-island tournament with flying colors.

Cheyenne Manuel, Anniegail Manuel, Jaden Andrew, and Aiden Gimed went up against competitors from Guam and Palau and showcased the strength of CNMI’s youth as they all won first place in their respective divisions in the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday at the Guam National Guard Center in Barrigada, Guam.

Cheyenne competed in the open 64kg weight class; Anniegail was in the junior 71-kg weight class; Andrew competed in the youth 55-kg weight class and in the open 55-kg weight class and settled for silver; and Gimed lifted in the youth 81-kg division. 

Cheyenne Manuel attempts a snatch lift in her 64-kg weight class during the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday at the Guam National Guard Center in Barrigada, Guam. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Cheyenne, a 21-year-old, lifted a total of 148kg, with a best snatch lift of 68kg and a best clean & jerk lift of 80kg.

Eighteen-year-old Anniegail lifted an overall weight of 137kg, while her best snatch was 60kg and her best clean & jerk was 77kg.

Andrew, a 13-year-old, lifted a total of 144kg with his best lifts of 62kg in the snatch and 82kg in the clean & jerk. 

Gimed, a 12-year-old, lifted 135kg overall with a snatch lift best of 6kg and a clean & jerk best of 70kg.

Cheyenne, the older sister of Anniegail, said that she was so excited for her first international competition. “I did not want to let anyone down but I put everything to the side—my emotions, because I wanted to hit the numbers that I had set.”

She said the feeling of lifting off-island was similar to lifting during the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022, but that it was different because this time she trained in the warmup area with Philippines Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and her coach and husband Julius Naranjo.

“I think that’s the reason why I had the outcome that I did was because of them and my coach Angel [San Nicolas].”

Anniegail had the opposite disposition from her sister and said that she was a nervous wreck. However, she still managed to pull through and said that “it’s okay, I’ll learn from it, reflect upon it, move on, and do better next time.”

She will be lifting in the last qualifiers this March and said that she wants to be able to hit the numbers she set for herself, and work on focusing more on her lifts instead of people around her so that nerves won’t get to her again.

Andrew, who trains in the HD Weightlifting Camp under coach and weightlifter Angel San Nicolas, said that although it was his first international competition, he didn’t feel that nervous. 

He was the lone competitor in his division, but said that he felt he could’ve done better in the snatch portion. He said for now, training will continue until the last qualifier in March. 

For Gimed, he said that it was exciting and fun to have been able to travel and compete elsewhere. He added that it was a good experience because “sometimes I like when there’s pressure on me so that I can perform better.” 

Despite missing his first two attempts in the clean & jerk, he managed to salvage a lift in his last attempt. 

San Nicolas, who trains the Manuel sisters, Andrew, and Gimed, said that as their coach for their first international competition, it was more stressful than it was to compete here, but that they performed exceptionally well in it despite their nerves.

With Diaz and Naranjo being there to provide some insight, tips, and advice, he said that it helped with the team’s performance as well. 

He said Diaz provided “technical advice while they were warming up and boosted their morale… Because of that, all of them placed, all of them hit their personal bests or close to it, and all of them performed well.

San Nicolas added, “for me, it’s really not about how strong you are, but who’s more technically sound. The competition showed that brute force alone won’t carry you far. Maybe it’ll take you to a certain level, but once you start competing in the senior level and you don’t fix your technique or your form—if there’s no evolution in your training, if there’s no improvement—it’s going to be very hard to compete with the best.”

CNMI Weightlifting Federation president  John Davis said on the performance of the youth, “Our male and female youth and junior athletes are well on their way to representing the CNMI.”

Results of the women’s and men’s open results will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.