Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba Dominate Weightlifting Championship
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – As of this Wednesday, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba have positioned themselves as the strongest nations in the Central American and Caribbean Weightlifting Championship, which is being held at the José Joaquín Puello Pavilion of the Parque del Este. Venezuela stands out with two athletes who have conquered the three gold medals in their respective categories. This event serves as the first test and qualifier for the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026. Venezuelans Wilkeinner Lugo, absolute champion in the 71 kg category, and Génesis Rodríguez, dominating the 58 kg category, shone by obtaining gold in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total. The Dominican Republic has also had an outstanding performance, with Dahiana Ortiz being crowned absolute champion in the 48 kg category. The athlete lifted 86 kg in the snatch, 107 kg in the clean and jerk, totaling 193 kg. Cuba joins the list of absolute champions thanks to Otto Onate Araujo, who won the three gold medals in the 60 kg category. Onate achieved lifts of 117 kg in the snatch, 145 kg in the clean and jerk, and a total of 262 kg.In the women’s branch, in addition to Rodríguez’s triumph, the Dominican Alicia Félix Vásquez obtained three silver medals in the 58 kg category. The championship is dedicated to the graduate Luisín Mejía, and has the support of the Organizing Committee chaired by José Antolín Polanco Rosa, as well as various entities.The development experienced by the countries of Central America and the Caribbean demonstrates that the work of recent years is yielding results. Today we see a tournament with great parity and technical quality.
Willian Ozuna, President of the Dominican Weightlifting Federation
