Apelo, Limes, San Nicolas golden in Guam

From left, silver medalist Dominic Uson of Guam, gold medalist Jason Limes of the CNMI, and bronze medalist Peter Paul San Nicolas of Guam during the awarding of the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Heavy lifters Leonardo Apelo Jr., Jason Limes, and Angel San Nicolas topped their respective divisions in the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday at the Guam National Guard Center in Barrigada, Guam.

Apelo competed in the open 81kg weight class against three other lifters; Limes was in the 109k+ division against two other lifters; while San Nicolas was the lone competitor in the 102kg weight class.

For 35-year-old Apelo, his best snatch was 120kg and his clean & jerk was 145kg for a total weight lifted of 265kg.

As for Limes, he lifted 121kg in the snatch and 145kg for the clean & jerk. He lifted a total of 266kg. He improved from 260kg to 266kg and competed against Dominic Uson and Peter Paul San Nicolas.

Angel San Nicolas attempts a snatch lift in the 102kg weight class during the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

San Nicolas’ best snatch was 124kg and his best clean & jerk lift was 165kg for a total of 289kg.

In the 73kg weight class, Emmanuelle Aquino went home with a bronze medal after he lifted a total of 186kg. His best snatch was 83 kg and his best clean & jerk was 103kg.

Raymond Olopai went against Apelo in the 81kg weight class and bagged a bronze for his total weight lifted of 184kg. His best snatch was 87kg and his best clean & jerk was 97kg.

Apelo, who has been lifting for 13 years now said that the experience was very positive as alway. “It was a great crowd and weightlifting community.” He also competed in Guam in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leonardo Apelo Jr., seen here during the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022, recently won gold in the Guam Open National Championships 2023 last Saturday. (MARK RABAGO)

When asked who among Palau and Guam were the toughest to compete with, he said “Competing with the other islands was enjoyable [and] always fun when you are around new and familiar faces. I did not compete with the same athletes [from the Pacific Mini Games] but there were some athletes from the Mini Games who competed in separate weight categories.”

This time around, Apelo said he did not hit any personal bests but that he actually went down from his original weight class of 89kg to 81kg.

Despite not hitting his best numbers, Apelo said that “I could’ve done better but you know you can’t let bad days get to you. Train and get better” but when he won first place, “I felt upbeat and happy that I was able to accomplish what I set out to do.” 

He said that he will compete in the last upcoming qualifier to try and make the CNMI Weightlifting National Team so as to compete in future events such as the Micronesian Games and the Pacific Games. He thanked God, his wife, kids, and friends and family that have supported him in his lifting journey.

Although San Nicolas was the lone competitor in his weight class, he improved his overall lifting performance from 278kg to 289kg.

He said that he tries to hit his personal bests during competition. This time around, he said he attempted it at a lower body weight and will also drop down in weight for the last qualifier this March.

Limes, a 29-year-old avionics tech at POI Aviation, has been weightlifting for two and a half years now. It was his first international competition and said that “It was cool to reunite with some of the athletes from the Mini Games, one of which I had competed against in the games.”

He said during his lifts, he was so focused that he doesn’t remember seeing faces in the crows besides the judge. “I just shut out all outside distractions, listened to my teammates’ advice and let the adrenaline take over.”

Limes set his new competition PB for the snatch but did not get a PB in the clean & jerk and said “Even though I won first in my division I’m still a bit disappointed in myself for not doing as well as I thought I would.” But with that, he is looking forward to working harder “to produce the same results that we got from the Mini Games if not better.”

He then thanked his family, the CNMI Weightlifting Federation, Derek Cutting, and Latte Built Gym staff, and Guam Weightlifting for their hospitality.

Twenty-eight-year-old Olopai, for his part, said that he was nervous in his first international competition but that he pushed through. He said that going up against teammate Apelo was tough but he was happy that he competed. Olopai added that he hopes to make the national team and represent CNMI in the upcoming games.

CNMI Weightlifting Federation president John Davis said that the performance of the athletes last Saturday did not surprise him at all. For now, he will not speculate on who may or may not be ready yet for selection to the national team.

The women’s open results will be posted in the next editions of Saipan Tribune.