Silver for Santavy: Canadian weightlifter takes 2nd at Pan Am Games

Boady Santavy seemed to gain more confidence and swagger with each lift Monday at the Lima Pan Am Games.

The 22-year-old Canadian was the weightlifter to beat at the Mariscal Caceras Coliseum until he came up short with his final lift in the clean and jerk.

After nailing his first five attempts on the day, his sixth — this time at 215 kilograms — proved to be his undoing as he settled for silver in the men's 96-kilo division. Santavy finished one kilo behind gold medallist Jhonatan Rivas Mosquera of Colombia.

"We weren't too sure what [he] was going to do so we wanted to do a big lift," Santavy said. "My knee was pretty sore and I think it got to my head.

"I think I'm physically good for it, but mentally I just lost it."

Santavy looked primed for gold after lifting 208 kilos with his previous attempt. He nodded his head after the effort, tapped his heart twice and extended an index finger in the air.

'I felt strong'

The competition had become a two-man race with Venezuela's Keydomar Vallenilla well back in third.

Rivas Mosquera answered the Canadian with a 210-kilo lift to shift the pressure. The decision was made for Santavy to go for 215, but he only got the bar to his waist before dropping it down.

A tweak in his right knee, something he called "nothing too major," was a factor.

"I felt strong but when I feel a little bit of pain, it plays on my mind," he said. "It's like, 'Oh man.' Just the pain really gets to my head sometimes."

The result meant Rivas Mosquera didn't need to come out for his final lift and could start celebrating in the warmup area behind the stage.

Santavy, from Sarnia, Ont., led the nine-man field after the three-lift snatch portion. He barely seemed to strain with his first lift of 166 kilos, tossing the bar down as if ready for more.

He tacked on five more kilos for his next lift and had the same result. Santavy yelled with joy after nailing his third lift of 176 kilos, pumped his fists and bearhugged his father at the side of the stage before lifting him up for good measure.

'It's a good warmup'

Santavy had the early momentum in the clean and jerk portion, assuredly nodding his head as he brushed chalk on his hands before lifting 203 kilos.

The 208-kilo effort that followed proved to be his peak.

"Sometimes in this sport I find if you are satisfied with a number the next one is, 'Forget it,"' said coach Dalas Santavy. "I think maybe a little bit of his heart was satisfied with what he did. As a coach, I can see that."

Santavy, who won silver in the 94-kilo division last year at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, made his Pan Am debut four years ago in Toronto.

"I was young and I got last place," he said. "So from last place to second place, I'm pretty excited with that. I wanted to go from last to first, but last to second is not so bad.

"It's a good warmup for world championships too so it sets me up pretty nice."

Maude Charron of Rimouski, Que., was fourth in the women's 64-kilo event.