Leyte teen athletes win powerlifting golds abroad

TACLOBAN CITY, July 12 (PNA) –- Two locally-bred Leyte Sports Academy (LSA) scholar athletes made gold-medal finishes at the World Classic Powerlifting Championship in Kileen, Texas, USA and at the Asian Powerlifting Championship in Udaipur, India.

Veronica Ompod, 15, ruled the 43-kilogram sub-junior division in the World Classic Powerlifing Championship with a 90-kilogram squat performance for the Philippines.

Ompod formed part of the Philippine team, which include, World Record breaker Joanne Masangkay. She ranked six in the overall category.

Ompod, who hails from Matag-ob, Leyte, now trains with the national team managed by the Powerlifting Association of the Philippines.

Last year in Hongkong, she made a silver finish at the Asian Power Lifting Championship.

Meanwhile, Rowella Abrea, 16, also from Matag-ob town, won four golds at the 2016 Asian Powerlifting Championships in Udaipur, India.

The gold medals were from bench, deadlift, squat, including the overall rank.

Abrea was part of the Filipino lifters who captured a total of 25 gold, seven silver and three bronze medals in India last June.

She was also a gold medalist in last year’s Asian Powerlifting Championship in Hongkong and was named Asian Sub-Junior Best Lifter.

The national powerlifting team is now training for another stint at the World Junior and Sub-Junior Powerlifting Championship in Poland this month.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said he is proud of the achievements that the sports-scholars of LSA continue to make every year.

The governor said this is a sports program that the province will continue to nurture and grow so that Leyte’s young sports goldmines will be given opportunities to compete around the country and in foreign lands.

He assured that all the athletes would be given the support to enhance their talents.

LSA, which started in 2010, is run by the provincial government which develops local sports talents to enhance grassroots sports in the province. LSA has since produced athletes now part of the national teams and competed in various international competitions. (PNA)
JMC/SQM/AHLETTE C. REYES/EGR