Baru improves Olympic ranking

Papua New Guinea weightlifting champion Morea Baru was two places shy of clinching a medal but made a remarkable improvement, finishing fifth in the final standings of the Olympic Games.

Baru competed in the men’s 61kg category last night at the South Arena with a total lift of 279kg, an elevation of the past two Olympics.

The now three-time Olympian cleared 118kg in the Snatch and 161kg in Clean and Jerk, to finish behind China’s weightlifter and gold medalist Fabin Li (310kg), Theerapon Silachai of Thailand who bagged silver (303kg), bronze medalist Hampton Morris from United States of America (298kg) and Malaysia’s Anig Bin (297) who finished fourth.

Team PNG Chef de Mission and former Olympian Ryan Pini said Baru’s incredible performance was a testament of sheer hard work determination at the highest sporting level.

‘’Morea showcased his strength and skill at the Paris 2024 Olympics, securing an impressive 5th place in the 61kg weightlifting category, an incredible feat.

“As a seasoned athlete and a fellow teammate on numerous occasions, Morea had me on the edge of my seat with his performance. He has made Papua New Guinea proud, standing as a true ambassador for our nation’’

Despite not lifting up to expectation in the snatch category, the Commonwealth Games silver medalist did not disappoint in clean and jerk.

The Hanuabada native said he was satisfied with the results after concluding in 5th position out of 12 athletes that competed.

''Although I did not do well in the snatch, I knew I had to do a big clean & jerk to give me a good total; I was happy that I did all the three lifts in the clean & jerk,” Baru said.

“After competing and looking at my placing, I knew this was the fruit of all my hard work and sacrifice.''
Baru’s placing of 5th is an improvement from his last two Olympic competitions where he finished 6th at the Rio 2016 Games and 10th in Tokyo when Japan hosted the 2020 event.

Weightlifting coach Willie Tamasi said it was a huge achievement for Baru and the country at such a high caliber competition.

“Even though the results were not expected in the snatch, we had to make sure he pulled off the three attempts in the clean & jerk to put him in a good position. I am very happy with Morea’s results.''

Meanwhile, Team PNG athletes yet to compete are Taekwondo pair Kevin Kassman in the -68kg division and Gibson Mara in the +80kg division on Saturday 10th August.