Llena leads RP lifters in Asian Powerlifting tilt

If the 2010 Asian Powerlifting Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia will be the gauge, Patricia Llena showed that she’s ready for the 1st Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Llena, who will represent the country in the Youth Olympiad from August 14 to 26, won four gold medals and broke three Asian Sub-Junior records to lead the Philippine lifters’ strong showing in the weeklong tournament in Mongolia. The Philippine powerlifting team went home with 32 medals – 17 gold, 14 silver and one bronze. Llena, the 16-year-old pride of Nueva Ecija, secured the Women’s Sub-Junior Best Lifter crown after shattering three records in the 67.5 kilogram division. She rewrote the old records with lifts of 418lbs in the squat, 396lbs in the deadlift and total lift of 1,014lbs. Chinese-Taipei’s Kuo Yun Chun was the previous holder of the records in the squat (396lbs) and total lift (1,003lbs) while compatriot Hsuan Chung Pei was the owner of the old deadlift record of 390lbs. Llena’s other gold medal came in the bench press after a lift of 198lbs. Anita Koykka also won four gold medals highlighted by a world record breaking feat in the Women’s Masters 52kg class.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Koykka, 50, lifted 353lbs in the squat to erase the 352lb record set by Japan’s Hatsuko Kimura in the 2003 World Championships Powerlifting Masters. She also won the gold in the bench press (165lbs), deadlift (275lbs) and total lift (805lbs). Aside from breaking the world record, Koykka’s total lift of 805lbs was also a new Asian record to romp off with the Women’s Masters II Best Lifter trophy. Lily Pecante, who is the first Filipino lifter to break a world record, also won four gold medals in the Women’s Masters 90kg division after lifts of 441bs in the squat, 270lbs in the bench press and 407lbs in the deadlift. Her total lift of 1,118lbs earned her the Women’s Masters I Best Lifter award. Five-time world champion Antonio Taguibao also won four gold medals in the Men’s Masters 56kg division while Bettina Bordeos, 19, grabbed the final gold with a 165-lb lift in the bench press event in the women’s juniors’ 60kg class. The competition drew 263 lifters from 14 countries including the Philippines, Iran, Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Japan, India and Uzbekistan. – GMANews.TV