Weightlifter Mihaela Cambei declared, on Wednesday evening, after winning the silver medal in the 49 kilogram category at the Olympic Games in Paris, that she is proud of her success, the first female ranking on the Olympic podium in the history of Romanian weightlifters.
Mihaela Cambei with the Olympic silver in her hand. PHOTO: Facebook
“It is the competition of my life for which I trained for two years. In the end, I felt that my hand remained on the podium, because I had a very big wound on my hand, neck and finger, my elbow hurt a lot, but I said that either at the ball or at the hospital. I didn’t stay to do the calculations, I wanted to do my tests. I don’t know what happened, who raised it. If the Chinese duck, she sang our anthem this evening, but I am proud of what I managed to bring, because it is the first Olympic medal in women’s weightlifting history. This medal means absolutely everything to me, my entire 11-year career. I fought a lot for her and I think this is the dream of every athlete. I am very proud of what I have achieved“, Cambei said, according to Agerpres.
“I dedicate this medal to my coach, Valeriu Calancea, who supported me all this time, to my parents, to God, who was by my side and got me out of this competition healthy, and to the entire staff who was by my side. I kissed the difficulties at the end because they were friendly to me and they helped me. This moment is exactly as I imagined it and the medal is exactly the same color“, she added.
The Romanian athlete explained that the atmosphere created by the Romanian fans during the competition helped her to get on the podium.
“I don’t know if this was necessarily a tactic, it’s a maximum throw for me, I’ve never thrown so much in a competition. I was a little afraid, but I tried to shoot desperately. The atmosphere was very cool and I think that helped me a lot, because the excitement in general helps me to be even stronger than I am, the adrenaline helps me to be stronger. All the Romanians who supported me this evening and shouted for me helped me a lot“, Cambei specified.
Top 5 in the final of the 49kg category
1. Hou Zhihui (China) – 206kg (89kg snatch + 117kg throw)
2. Mihaela Cambei (Romania) – 205kg (93kg snatch + 112kg throw)
3. Surodchana Khambao (Thailand) – 200kg (88kg pulled + 112kg thrown)
4. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (India) – 199kg (88kg snatch + 111kg throw)
5. Jourdan Delacruz (USA) – 195kg (84kg snatch + 111kg throw)
