Rebecca Henriquez
@RebeHenriquez
Salvadoran athlete Herbert Aceituno was unable to win his second medal in an Olympic competition and finished in fourth place in the -59 kilogram category of para powerlifting at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
In his first attempt, the Salvadoran lifted 193 kilos, but was at a disadvantage against the man who would later win the gold medal, the Egyptian Mohamed Elmeyawy.
In the second attempt, Aceituno wanted to go further and tried to lift 195 kg, but the opportunity was not validated by the judges. On this occasion, both the athlete pair and their coach, Jorge López, asked the authorities to review the video, but the request was not processed.
In this round, China’s QI Yongkai managed to lift 197 kilos and Iran’s Mohsen Bakhtari managed 195.
In the third and final attempt, the Salvadoran climbed another step in his personal record by lifting 196 kg, a remarkable effort at the Olympic event that left him in fourth position in the -59 kg category, which undoubtedly places the athlete among the best on a global scale.
The gold medal in the -59kg category at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games went to Egypt’s Mohamed Elmeyawy (201kg), the silver went to China’s Yongkai Ql (200kg) and the bronze went to Iran’s Mohsen Bakhtiar (197kg).
“First, I thank God for letting us get this far, completing this competition. Then, I thank the president of the National Institute of Sports of El Salvador (INDES), Yamil Bukele, who is always looking out for us, at all times. Today, at the end of the competition, he wrote to me to encourage me and that is greatly appreciated to continue improving,” said the athlete pair to the institution.
Regarding the result obtained, he said, “But they did not validate the lifting, the judges have their criteria to approve or not and it is difficult to fight with that.”
On the third occasion, Aceituno tried to lift 196 kilos, to beat the Iranian Bakhtiar, who managed 197, but at the end of the competition it was the rival athlete who kept the gold medal.
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