Olympic Games Paris 2024: Yeison López and Mari Leivis Sánchez, the weightlifters lifted Colombia!

It was a great and exciting day for the Colombian delegation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, one of those that happen rarely, a day in which spirits lifted again, because the medal counts did not add up and they arrived at the South Paris Arena, the weightlifting venue, with a rosary in hand, because the performance was not going well, although it was known that Colombia’s medals were in the final week, at the culmination of the games, and that is what is happening.

With the loss of the expected medal in boxing with Yeni Arias and the disappointment of Martha Bayona not qualifying in the keirin of track cycling, the national delegation ‘lit the candle’ because the box did not add up.

The silver medal won yesterday by Yeison López in the 89 kilo weightlifting category was in the budget: exactly that metal and that colour were available, but the fact that Mari Leivis Sánchez, in the 71 kilo category, won another silver medal was a blessing that ‘fell from the sky’ and gave the Colombian Olympic team back its spirit, which was seriously worried.

López, born 24 years ago in Istmina, Chocó, lifted 390 kilos and was only surpassed by the Bulgarian Karlos Nasar, who won the gold and also broke the world record by lifting 404 kilos. Impressive!

Yeison did his best in the snatch, his specialty, in the movement that has the world record of 182 kilos, and achieved 210 in the clean and jerk for the calculated. The gold was a given for Nasar, who at 20 years old broke the world record. The bronze went to the Italian Antonino Pizzolato, with 384 kilos.

Lopez failed in a 180-kilogram snatch lift: he suffered back pain that nearly forced him out of the competition, but his medal mentality pushed him on. Giant.

In the clean and jerk he suffered again when he failed to lift 205 kilos. When he was forced to lift 210 kilos to avoid losing the medal, López gathered all his pains, the pain of his back, the pain of his country, the pain of his family displaced by violence, the pain of the house he wants to give to his mother, the pain of his dreams and he lifted the world: he did it, he knelt on the stage, went down the steps crying, and he did not stop crying when he entered the reserved area and threw himself on the floor.

“Today I remember that I was selling sweets in a shack so I could train and today I have an Olympic medal. This shows that hard work and dedication pay off,” he said emotionally, without stopping crying after speaking with his mother, María Julia.

“Mommy, I love you so much. You know this is our dream, this was the dream of the whole family, and I know you are all gathered together watching the competition, so I love you so much. Dad, I love you; brothers, I love you…”

When he received the silver medal, he imitated Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in the celebration, whom he admires, as he told EL TIEMPO a couple of weeks ago. “Look, Lionel Messi was born with the qualities of a gifted player; on the other hand, Cristiano had to force his preparation to become the player he is,” he said.

“Maybe I haven’t really realized it, and now that I’m sitting down and looking at the medal and talking to my family, I realize that I’m living a wonderful moment, but I’m really grateful to God because he rewarded me. I’m going to get home and tell my mom: we’re going to fight for that house,” he said.

Unexpected happiness

Then it was Sánchez’s turn, the weightlifter born 32 years ago in Turbo, Antioquia, who took a job in a restaurant to provide better conditions for her son, Ismael Elías. She was not a favourite. She was not in the running for the podium. She arrived in Paris ranked eighth in the 71-kilo category, but she did not leave with the Olympic diploma that was in the budget for her… She did so with a huge silver medal! She lifted 257 kilos, leaving the Ecuadorian Angie Palacios (252 kg) with the bronze, and being surpassed by the American Olivia Reeves, who lifted 262.

“I don’t even know what was going through my head, I just wanted to do the move and I think that with serenity and conviction I was able to do it and thank God and trusting in the teacher (Luis Arrieta, the coach). He told me: ‘That move is the one for the silver medal’, even though I had never done it before,” said Sánchez amidst overflowing emotion and while the Colombians chanted her name on the stage where they waved yellow, blue and red flags.

“I asked the teacher how much I lifted. He told me 145; I said: ‘Oh, well. Well, that’s what we’re here for.’ Few people took me into account, but God gave me the victory,” he concluded.

It was a special Friday. Very Colombian in Paris. With silver glitter and turned-up hats. The worried faces with which part of the delegation entered the stage changed completely in just four hours. López and Sánchez balanced the books. Their medals brought back the party and the smiles. Today will be a different story. The Colombian team will wake up on the penultimate day of the Olympic Games with high spirits thanks to López and Sánchez.

* Invited by the Colombian Olympic Committee