The official result of the five-strong Seychelles Weightlifting delegation at the 17th edition of the African Weightlifting Championship which is taking place in Tunis, Tunisia is five gold, five silver and five bronze medals, Sports Nation has learned.

During the third day of competition on Wednesday afternoon (May 5), former Sportslady of the Year Janet Thélermont, who enjoyed a fantastic season last year, made an impact as she grabbed a gold and two silver medals in the female senior -69kg division.

Thélermont

Policewoman Thélermont, triple gold medallist at the Sixth IOIG lifted the barbells well in the clean and jerk event with a performance of 130kg, 5kg more than her previous record of 125 kg set at the Sixth IOIG in Mauritius. In snatch the 25-year-old heaved the bar at 95kg for a silver medal, a performance which earned her second position in total (225kg) for a second silver medal.

The other lifter to strike gold on Wednesday was France-based Richard Scheer who snatched 95kg in the men's -85kg category.

Scheer

Though Scheer made it big in the snatch he failed to get a place on the medals podium in the clean and jerk and in total.

Baccus

As for Sportsman of the Year Baccus (-94kg), he won two bronze medals. His first was in clean and jerk (180kg) and second in total (325kg) after lifting only 145kg in snatch.

It is to note that Seychelles won three gold, three silver and three bronze medals through Julie Matatiken and Clementina Agricole on the first two days of competition.

Competing in the 58-kg division, 14-year-old Agricole, winner of a gold medal at the Sixth Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in Mauritius last year, grabbed three gold medals in the snatch, clean and jerk as well as Olympic total in the junior category.

Agricole's performances earned her three more medals – two silver and a bronze – in the senior category.

Triple IOIG gold medallist Matatiken was third overall in the 48kg division for a bronze medal in the Olympic total after clinching a silver in the snatch event and a bronze in the clean and jerk.

Reached by telephone on Thursday morning, Seychelles Weightlifting Association (SWA) chairman, Robert Rose, told Sports Nation that he was happy with the results.

"I am happy with the lifters' performances as they showed us once more that they are capable of fantastic things," he said.

The championship which is to end later today is serving as an Olympic Games qualifier and is the last chance for local lifters to book places for the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece, from August 13 to 29.

In the men's competition, the gold medal-winning team will qualify two athletes, while teams finishing second, third and fourth will be sending one athlete each to Athens.

As for the women's competition, teams finishing in first, second and third places will  send an athlete each to the Olympics.

Another eight individual places will be allocated to male competitors based on the Olympic qualification list to be established by May 31. These places will be allocated to athletes ranked in the top 15 in each body weight category from a national olympic committee which has not gained any qualification places though the world championship or continental qualification events.

The same will apply for female lifters, but only seven ranked in the top 10 will qualify.

Ten invitation places for six men and four women will be decided by a tripartite commission made up of representatives of the International Olympic Committee, the International Weightlifting Federation and the Association of National Olympic Committees.

The commission will identify a priority list of invitation applications and will confirm invitation places by May 31 following the completion of the qualification process.

C. J.