Weightlifter Maude Charron earns Canada's second gold medal in Tokyo

Charron became just the second Canadian woman ever to medal in weightlifting at the Olympics after taking gold in the 64kg event. (Getty Images)
Charron became just the second Canadian woman ever to medal in weightlifting at the Olympics after taking gold in the 64kg event. (Getty Images)

Maude Charron became just the second Canadian woman ever to earn an Olympic medal in weightlifting after she won the 64kg gold on Tuesday at the Tokyo Games.

Charron lifted 105 kilograms in the snatch, and 131 in the clean and jerk to win Canada's second gold medal of the summer. Totaling 236 kilograms, the 28-year-old bested Italy’s Giorgia Bordignon (232 kg) and Chinese Taipei’s Chen Wen-Huei (230 kg).

An emotional moment for Charron mid-lift, with the bar high above her head, as she realized no one could top her total weight.

The Rimouski, Que. native entered the competition with direct intention to have an immediate impact — successfully lifting 102kg, the highest entry weight of anyone in the field. After that powerful start, Charron lifted 105kg, one kilogram higher than anyone in the competition could.

After an unsuccessful 108kg attempt for her final snatch, Charron still held the one-kilogram lead going into the clean and jerk portion. It took two attempts, but Charron was able to get her total weight to 233kg with one attempt remaining after a successful 128kg lift.

With a total of 131 kilograms on the bar, Charron pulled it off at the last moment to roar ahead of every other competitor, winning Canada gold. An incredible feat considering Charron only just recently got into weightlifting.

Christine Girard is the only other woman weightlifter to earn a medal for Canada at the Olympics, having won gold at London 2012 and bronze at Beijing 2008. Now Charron can add her name to that exclusive list, earning just the fifth medal by a Canadian in weightlifting ever.

As of Tuesday morning, Canada has won a total of eight medals (two gold, three silver, three bronze) in Tokyo.

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