Weightlifting's Elreen Ando wins second straight SEA Games gold medal

Olympian Elreen Ando captured her second straight gold medal after ruling the 2025 SEA Games women's 63kg category of the weightlifting event on Monday at the Chonburi Sports School in Chonburi, Thailand.

The 27-year-old Ando posted an impressive total lift of 229kg to reign supreme in the five-woman field, following up her gold medal finish in the previous edition in Cambodia where she dominated the 59kg event.

Ando also delivered the country's first gold medal from the weightlifting team.

Ando, a two-time Olympic representative for the Philippines, got off to a blazing start by completing all three of her snatch attempts, highlighted by a 102-kg lift that put her in the lead over her four competitors.

She initially struggled in the clean and jerk after receiving a no-lift ruling on her first attempt at 123kg, but regrouped to hoist the same weight on her second try and virtually secure the gold medal. 

But she decided to go for a strong ending as she successfully lifted 127kg to officially seal the deal. 

Vietnam's Thi Thuy Tien Nguyen captured the silver for lifting 98kg in snatch and 121 in clean and jerk for a total of 219kg while hometown bet Thanaporn Saetia settled for bronze after lifting a total of 218. 

—JMB, GMA Integrated News