PARIS -- Canada's Maude Charron won a silver medal in the women's 59-kilogram weightlifting event at the Summer Olympics on Thursday.

The 31-year-old from Rimouski adds a second Olympic medal to her collection. She had previously won gold in Tokyo three years ago in the 64 kg category, which has since been removed from the Olympic program.

She lifted 106kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 236kg to win Canada's 20th medal at the Paris Games.

China's Luo Shifang, the reigning world champion, won gold with an Olympic-record total of 241kg (107 snatch and 134 clean and jerk), while Kuo Hsing-Chun of Taiwan, the defending Olympic champion at 59kg, won the bronze with a total of 235 kg (105 snatch and 130 clean and jerk).

"I tried my best. We planned to do 107(kg) for my third snatch, but the coach saw the 'game over' there and knew what we needed. We decided that 106 was a safer bet. I just trusted them and went for it," said Charron.

Charron attempted a final clean and jerk of 132kg, the highest weight she had ever attempted, but was unable to complete it.

Unlike the pandemic Games in Japan where athletes performed in mostly empty venues, Charron was able to celebrate this medal with her family in Paris.

"We didn't say much. We cried most of it. They said, 'We're there.' I said, 'I saw you guys. I heard you.' We're just so glad that we can share this moment with them," she said.

"It was amazing and so nice to be with a crowd. In weightlifting we don't have that big of a crowd, but it's so amazing. We need cheer, we need loud. We need to be celebrated even if we fail, but (because) we all still qualified for this amazing event. And that's a success in itself."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2024.