Venezuelan silver medal weightlifter celebrates his medal during #Tokyo2020. Photo courtesy of Getty Images, Twitter / @ChrisGraythen .
Caracas, July 28, 2021 (OrinocoTribune.com)—This Wednesday, July 28, Venezuelan sportsperson Julio Rubén Mayora Pernía won a silver medal in weightlifting in the 73 kg category. This is the first medal for Venezuela at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Julio Mayora is the second Venezuelan to win a medal in weightlifting; the first was Israel Rubio in Athens 2004.
Mayora Pernía, 26, who comes from the Santa Eduviges neighborhood of Catia La Mar in La Guaira state, lifted 346 kg in total (156 kg in snatch and 190 kg in clean and jerk). The gold medal went to Shi Zhiyong of the People’s Republic of China, who lifted 364 kg (and achieved a world record), and the bronze medal went to Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, from Indonesia, with 342 kg.
¡Medalla olímpica para Venezuela! 🥈🇻🇪
Julio Mayora, en halterofilia, alcanzó presea de plata en #Tokio2020.
Todos los venezolanos, dentro y fuera del país, muy orgullosos de nuestros atletas, quienes a pesar de tantas adversidades, luchan por alcanzar sus sueños. pic.twitter.com/EmOnjcdRoO
— Vente Mundo (@vente_mundo) July 28, 2021
The La Guaira native lifted 150 kg in his first attempt to start. Then the Rio Olympics champion, Chinese Shi Zhiyong, beat him by 8 kg. In his second attempt, the Venezuelan lifted 154 kg and concluded this stage of the competition with 156 kg, occupying the second place.
On his first clean and jerk attempt, Mayora lifted 186 kg and 342 in total, which earned him the second place in the competition, behind Zhiyong.
Julio Mayora conquistó la quinta medalla olímpica de plata de Venezuela 😍:
🥈 Pedro Gamarro (1976).
🥈 Bernardo Piñango (1980).
🥈 Yulimar Rojas (2016).
🥈 Yoel Finol (2016).
🥈 JULIO MAYORA (2020). pic.twitter.com/W5HqkYgm1O— Valeria Rodríguez (@Valrodriguezv_) July 28, 2021
Venezuela at the Olympics
This has been Venezuela’s 18th medal in the Olympic Games and the 5th silver medal, as noted on his Twitter account by sports journalist Alexis Martín-Tamayo, better known as MisterChip.
“Venezuela has won a medal in five Olympic Games in a row (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020) for the first time in its history,” was the message that the journalist posted on his Twitter account.
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FINALIZADO EVENTO 092 de 339#JuegosOlimpicos #Tokyo2020 #Weightlifting
[WL] HALTEROFILIA: hasta 73 Kg masculino.🥇SHI ZHIYONG #CHN [364](WR)
🥈Julio Mayora #VEN [346]
🥉Rahmat Erwin Abdullah #INA [342]— MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) July 28, 2021
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Adriana Carmona (Taekwondo) and Israel Rubio (Weightlifting) won two bronzes for Venezuela. In Beijing 2008, Dalia Contreras won a bronze for the country, in Taekwondo. In London 2012, the fencer Rubén Limardo won the third gold medal in the history of Venezuela at the Olympics. In Rio 2016, Yulimar Rojas (Triple Jump) and Yoel Finol (Boxing) both won silver medals in their respective events, while cyclist Stefany Hernández won bronze for her country.
According to Wikipedia, since the beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution in 1999 until today, Venezuela has won medals at every Olympic Games, totaling eight medals so far in 21 years. On the other hand, from 1948 until 1996 (almost 50 years) Venezuela managed to win only 10 medals.
El campeón Julio Mayora le dedica su triunfo al Comandante Chávez hoy #28Jul en su cumpleaños #Tokyo2020 #JuegosOlimpicos pic.twitter.com/bGBfVujeq4
— REDRADIOVE (@RedRadioVe) July 28, 2021
In a phone call with President Maduro that was broadcast by news agency Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Mayora dedicated the medal to former President Hugo Chávez, as many Chavistas in Venezuela and around the world are celebrating the 66th birthday of the late Venezuelan leader who put an unprecedented emphasis on improving the sport culture in the South American country.
Featured image: Venezuelan silver medal winning weightlifter, Julio Mayora, celebrates his medal at #Tokyo2020. Photo courtesy of Getty Images, Twitter / @ChrisGraythen .
Special for Orinoco Tribune by Jesús Rodríguez-Espinoza
OT/JRE/SC
Jesús Rodríguez-Espinoza
Jesús Rodríguez-Espinoza is an expert in international relations, Venezuelan politics, and communication. He served for several years as Consul General of Venezuela in Chicago (United States); before that, he was part of the foundational editorial team of Aporrea.org. He is the founder and editor of the Venezuelan anti-imperialist news outlet Orinoco Tribune.
