Weightlifter redeems herself with inspiring performance.
Delacruz earns 5th place in women’s powerlifting.
The 2024 Paris Olympics was one of redemption for Wylie native and Team USA powerlifter Jourdan Delacruz.
The 26-year-old outperformed a field of strong contenders to earn fifth place in the women’s 49kg weight class on Wednesday afternoon. Delacruz lifted a total of 195 kg, five kg short of third place (Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao, 200kg), which would have earned her a bronze medal.
“That wasn’t my favorite performance, it definitely wasn’t something that I expected, but I’m really proud of myself for pulling through on that last clean and jerk and I really do feel, well-rounded, pretty good that my family’s here and I’ve had just an amazing experience so far,” Delacruz told NBC 5’s Laura Harris after the event.
Nonetheless, Wednesday’s performance for Delacruz, a Wylie East alum, was a significant improvement over the disappointment that she experienced at the COVID-19 delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the clean-and-jerk, it was a comeback story for Delacruz. She failed to receive a total after she missed all three of her attempts at 108kg.
In the snatch, Delacruz successfully lifted her first attempt at 84kg, but was unable to stand up her following two attempts.
China’s Hou Zhihui won the gold medal with a total weight of 206kg. Mihaela Cambei of Romanina took silver, finishing just one kg behind Zhihui.
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By David Wolman • [email protected]
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