Gold medalist at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, then at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at 64 kg, Quebec’s Maude Charron had to change weight classes in preparation for the World Weightlifting Championships as the 64 kg underweight category is no longer on the schedule for the next Olympics games.

Charron has decided to switch towards the -59 kg and we have to admit that this transition has gone well, leaving Bogota, Colombia with the bronze medal overall.

• Also read: Softball: a flat medal for Mathieu Roy

• Also read: Marie-Philip Poulin is Canada’s Sportswoman of the Year

After missing his first attempt at the snatch, the athlete from Saint Lucia recovered on his second chance by managing to lift his 100kg weight. She improved her score on the third attempt by lifting 103 kg.

Charron therefore won the silver medal in the snatch. The gold medalist, China’s Xiaomin Luo, managed the same weight as the Quebecer but climbed to the top step of the podium as she was the first to lift the load.

The 29-year-old continued his clean and jerky swing with his first attempt at 123kg. Charron missed her second attempt at 127kg but recovered quickly, landing clean and jerky at 128kg in her last chance to move up to fourth in the specialty.

Her total of 231 kg was enough to put her on the third step of the podium. Colombian Yenny Fernanda Alvarez Caicedo (234 kg) and Kuo Hsing-Chun (232 kg) were the only two to beat Charron overall.

Rapid success in its new category

In preparation for the World Championships, Charron competed in the North American Open Series in Calgary, Alberta. In her first competition in the -59 kg category, Charron won gold, setting three Canadian records in the process: 95 kg in the snatch, 122 kg in the clean and jerk and 217 kg in total.

Regarding the qualifying process for the Paris Olympics, five competitions have been targeted by the International Weightlifting Federation, including the World Championships. Each athlete’s best result will be recorded for the Paris Games, which will feature 10 athletes in each weight class.

The World Championships in Bogota last until December 16th. Quebecers Samuel Guertin (-81 kg), Nicolas Vachon (-81 kg), Alex Bellemarre (-89 kg), Pierre-Alexandre Bessette (-102 kg), Kristel Ngarlem (-81 kg), Rosalie Dumas (-81 kg) and Emma Friesen (+87 kg) will all be in action by then.