Ramos lifts her way to 2024 Paris Olympics

Few hours after Rosegie Ramos secured trip ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics ahead of her cousin Tokyo gold medalist and World Weightlifting queen Hidilyn Diaz, Erleen Ando, and Vanessa Sarno, John Fabuar Ceniza made his own story-telling story earning Olympic seat and duplicated the feat of the 20 years old Zamboanguena in the fifth and last qualification IWF World Cup held in tourist paradise Phukett, Thailand.

The 26 years old World Cup bronze medalist ang two times SEA Games silver medalist placed respectable fourth and earned passport to Paris and Ramos joined early qualifiers Ernest John Obiena, Carlos Yulo, Felix Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Vilegas and Filipino-American gymnast Aleah Finnegan.

The 20 years old Ramos, back-to-back Asian Junior champion, landed ninth overall in the Top 10 in the 49 kilograms women division.

Ceniza lifted 300kg. -132kg, snatch and 168kg clean and jerk and got his passport to Paris.

Le Fabin of China won the event 312kg., followed by Hampton Miller Morris of the United States 303kg. and Park Myong Jin North Korea 301 kg.

Ceniza is the first Cebuano to compete in the Olympics since his fellow kababayan five times SEA Games gold medalist Ramon Solis competed in the 1988 Seoul edition.

Ramos emerged winner in the 49th and finally earned a trip ticket to the Paris Games marking the 100 years participation in the quadrennial meet since 1924 in Paris with trackster David Nepomuceno became the first Filipino to compete in the 100m and 200m, before the birth of the Philippine Olympic Committee known before National Olympic Committee.

Ramos placed ninth overall in the Top 10 prior to the competition and the Pinay amazon from Zamboanga took the honor and earned the respect and admiration of her foreign peers coming from five continents she met for the first time.

Displaying the stuff of a champion and the heart of a lioness despite competing for the first time in the competition held in Phukett she never visited before, Ramos convincingly beat her rivals and got the nod of the judges impressed by her amazing strength in the presence of the Thai crowd.

Hard work, aspiration, dedication, perseverance and determination did it for Ramos on the way to the Paris games.

Ramos made her best lift 191 kilos and duplicated the feat at the IWF Grand Prix 2 in Doha, Qatar last year for ninth overall and made it to Paris not only compete in the Olympics also enjoys and appreciate for the first time the beauty and grandeur of the world’s famous Eiffel Tower in the heart of Paris where the world-famous Tour de France cycling windup its final lap.

The success of Ramos inspired no end Diaz, Erleen Ann Ando, Vannesa Sarno at John Fabuar Ceniza get a trip ticket to the Summer Games which commences in July attended by International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach of Germany.

Ando and Sarno won the gold in record- breaking fashion and Ceniza got silver in the SEA Games in Cambodia. The country is allowed one entry per weight division in the eleven categories women.

The Philippine Sports Commission headed by Chairman Richard Bachmann bankrolled the participation of the lifters supported by Philippine Olympic Committee.