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Weightlifters lead monthly honor rolls
Antonette Labausa competed in the 9th Micronesian Games in Yap last month. She won the NMSA Female Athlete of the Month award for bringing home three gold medals. (Micronesian Games Photo)
Weightlifting’s Rodrigo Ada and Antonette Labausa were named NMSA Male and Female Athlete of the Month (for July) after delivering medals for the CNMI during the 9th Micronesian Games in Yap.
Labausa bagged three gold medals after beating fellow Commonwealth weightlifter Bonnie Cruz in the 90-kg division contest. Labausa had 91kg in the clean & jerk and 68kg in snatch for a total of 159kg to complete the sweep.
Ada, on the other hand, gave the CNMI two silver medals and one bronze. He competed in the men’s 94-kg weight class and posted 95kg in the clean & jerk and 190kg in the total category for the pair of silver medals, while his 85kg in the snatch earned him the bronze.
CNMI Weightlifting Federation president John Davis, during his nomination of Ada, noted how the latter made a strong debut in an off-island tournament despite being the underdog in his division. Davis added that he recruited Ada and he was impressed with the weightlifter’s significant development in such a short time.
Ada, Labausa, Cruz, Joey Tudela, and Angel San Nicolas combined for a 6-7-2 gold-silver-bronze medal haul—the most by any CNMI squad, earning the group the NMSA Team of the Month honors.
Cruz contributed three silvers, San Nicolas won three gold medals, and Tudela handed the Commonwealth two silvers and one bronze.
The weightlifting squad’s 15 medals in the last week of competition in Yap allowed the CNMI to jump from seventh to fifth place in the final medal standings. Team Marianas had a 9-18-9 tally.
Meanwhile, Northern Marianas Sports Association, during its meeting last Thursday, informed the weightlifting association of the new bodyweight categories in the sport.
The Pacific Games Council executive board has approved the adoption of the 10 new categories made by the International Weightlifting Federation: 55kg, 61kg, 67kgs, 73kg, 81kg, 89k9, 96kg, 102kg, 109kg, and +109kg in the men’s and the women’s 45kg, 49kg, 55kg, 59kg, 64kg, 71kg, 76kg, 81kg, 87kg, and +87kg.
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