FOUR records – two in the senior category by Janet Thélermont and Steven Baccus and another two in the junior division by Charles Siméon – were the highlights of the Open Championship, the first competition organised by the Seychelles Weightlifting Association (SWA), last Saturday at the Omnisports Gym, Roche Caïman.

Policewoman Janet Thélermont, whose national snatch record stands at 97.5kg but could only lift 90kg, broke her old clean and jerk national mark of 120kg by adding 0.5kg (120.5kg) in her second attempt before failing at 125kg in the 69-kg division.

"I am satisfied with the clean and jerk record and for getting a total, but I am disappointed with my snatch performance," said the 23-year-old, who finished as the best female lifter with a total of 210.5kg.

The other senior record was improved by firefighter Steven Baccus with the last lift of the championship.

Baccus, a triple gold medallist at the 1998 Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in Reunion, looked doom for a no result after having failed all his three snatch attempts at 135kg and his first two clean and jerk trials at 180kg, but the bulky 24-year-old, who looked a shadow of himself, managed to heave the load over in his third try to erase his old performance of 177.5kg from the record books in the -105-kg division.

"This is not me," shouted Baccus as he went back to the warming-up zone. "I can't understand what happened today (Saturday). I am disappointed with my result even though I broke the clean and jerk record."

In the junior category, Charles Siméon, competing in the 69-kg division, asked for the bar to be loaded at 105kg in his second snatch attempt which he managed to lift and at the same time add 4.5kg to his old record of 100.5kg.

Siméon, who then failed at 110kg in his third snatch trial, got his second record of the day in the clean and jerk event when he heaved 140kg on his third attempt. The 19-year-old, whose old clean and jerk best stood at 137.5kg, totalled 245kg to finish as the best male lifter.

The following are the remaining results: Clementina Agricole, 48-kg, (0kg in total, retired injured), Ruby Malvina, 48-kg, (95kg in total, 40kg snatch and 55kg clean and jerk), Betty Gabriel, 58-kg, (100kg in total, 40kg snatch and 60kg clean and jerk), Terrence Dixie, 62-kg, (200kg in total, 90kg in snatch and 110kg clean and jerk), Peter Havelock, 85-kg, (225kg in total, 95kg snatch and 130kg clean and jerk), Robert Kilindo, 94-kg, (0kg in total, retired injured), Frank Accouche, +105-kg, (290kg in total, 125kg snatch and 165kg clean and jerk).