WEIGHLIFTERS SHOW STRENGTH IN OPEN INVITATIONAL

By Jojo Santo Tomas

Chloe Santos and Leowell Cristobal came away as the big winners at the latest Guam Weightlifting Federation 2025 Open Invitational Championships, held Saturday at the LeoPalace Resort’s Brizo Room.

Santos, representing Fudoshin Fitness, was the sole competitor in the women’s 53-kilogram division. She tied with three others in lifting the heaviest snatch at 73 kilograms, and while her clean and jerk best was third overall, Santos finished tops for all women using the Sinclair formula. The Sinclair is a formula that determines a weightlifter’s rank among other competitors in different weight categories, offering a best pound-for-pound performance in a competition.

Santos recorded her best lifts in each category in her third and final attempts at the weights.

Not far behind in the women’s division were Roxanne Mae Canete and Kyrah Nestor, both visiting athletes from Palau. Canete, also a lone competitor in the women’s 58-kilo category, lifted a total 149 kilos and finished second overall after the Sinclair formula was applied.

Making a huge statement was Nestor, a youth lifter in the 69-kilo category, as well as the junior women’s 77-kilo category and women’s 69-kilo category. Nestor nailed her entry weights of 73 kilos in the snatch and 91 kilos in the clean and jerk – the heaviest among all females – for a total 164 kilos. The 164 kilos was also the highest total by any woman across categories.

MEN’S DIVISION

In the men’s division, Cristobal, lifting with just one other competitor in the men’s 71-kilogram division, lifted 102 kilos in the snatch and 145 kilos in the clean and jerk for a total weight of 247 kilos. None of his lifts were best in show, but his Sinclair score of 349.820 was far ahead of Blaine Patris, who took first in the both the junior and men’s 65-kilo division. Patris represented the Palau Weightlifting Federation.

Blaine Patris is an up-and-coming lifter who, along with Canete and Nestor, plus Marco Theodore and Gyro Ramirez, represent the future of Palau weightlifting, said their coach. Their results validate their hard work, despite being relatively new to the sport, said Stevick Patris, coach and president of the Palau Weightlifting Federation. Stevick Patris is a former Olympian who has represented Palau in numerous countries.

Stevick Patris also won the men’s 88-kilo division with a total 260 kilos, just ahead of David Bautista who lifted 257 kilos.

Bautista said that although the event wasn’t a “flag” event – meaning it was not one that earns qualifying points – it is important for lifters to record official lifts, and it also makes for good relations with visiting countries such as Palau.

“I love how everybody is getting more involved in this,” he said. “I hope in the future it builds our regional weightlifting community. You know, share the platform, then share our cultures. Get lifters from the islands and make it more festive.”

Bautista worked with coaching representatives from the Republic of the Marshall Islands recently, he said, and noted that Marshallese lifters are expected to visit Guam next year at the annual National Championships.

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