Antonette bags bronze in 2024 Oceania Weightlifting Champs

Veteran weightlifter Antonette Labausa bagged a bronze medal in the 2024 Oceania Senior, Junior, and Youth Championships that was held in Auckland, New Zealand from Feb. 17 to 25.

Labausa struck bronze in the senior women’s 81-kg category with lifts of a 75-kg snatch and a 100-kg clean & jerk, for a total of 175 kg weight lifted.

New Zealand’s Hayley Whiting bagged gold after she lifted a total of 197 kg and silver went to Vanuatu’s Ajah Pritchard Lolo with a total of 193 kg.

During her session, she said she wasn’t expecting anything—but just to focus on her lifts. With that, she was able to hit a personal best in the competition total by an additional 2 kg and an international competition PB in the clean & jerk.

The 29-year-old Labausa said the competition was “awesome” and that she and the six-man team enjoyed it. “Our team was small but I think we represented the CNMI really well at the 2024 Oceania Championships,” she said.

On how she felt heading into the championships, she said that she felt confident and in shape. “I was focused on hitting my goal of 180-kg total. I fell short by 5 kg, but I still had notable improvements and a bronze medal to be proud of,” said Labausa.

She then thanked her partner Devine Pua for her unending support, her coach John Davis, and the CNMI Weightlifting Team for their help and support, and her family and friends for cheering her on.

Labausa was a 2023 NMSA Female Athlete of the Year nominee and Female Athlete of the Month for March. Last year, she competed in the 81-kg weight class in the Marianas Weightlifting Cup and won gold after setting a new personal best of 100 kg in the clean & jerk.

Her best snatch was 75 kg for a total weight of 175 kg. Labausa also participated in the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands, nearly making it to the medal podium, as she finished fourth in her weight class with an overall weight lifted of 169 kg.