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SEA Games: Lifter Lisa breaks down into tears after 'slipping' to silver
Weightlifter Lisa Setiawati gave her all at her "first and last SEA Games" to claim a bittersweet silver for Indonesia in the women's 45 kg.
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Indonesian lifter Lisa Setiawati collapses as she attempts to lift 100 kilograms in her final clean and jerk, placing second in the women's 45 kg weightlifting event on Sunday at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
“Women are born with pain built in. It’s our physical destiny: period pains, sore boobs, childbirth, you know. We carry it within ourselves throughout our lives, men don’t.” –Belinda, Fleabag, Ep. 3
The monologue that actress Kristin Scott Thomas delivered as Belinda in Fleabag, the British comedy-drama that swept this year's Emmys, could describe the career of Indonesian lifter Lisa Setiawati, who won silver on Sunday in the Philippines at her first and last Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Aside from the injuries she endured throughout her weightlifting career, the 31-year-old reached for – but missed – what she most desired to achieve at the 30th Games: a gold medal. Nonetheless, Lisa won silver for Indonesia in the women’s 45 kilogram category, lifting a total of 169 kg on Sunday.
Like a warrior who had just lost a critical battle, Lisa could not stem her tears as she apologized to her supporters.
“Thank you, everyone, for the support. I am so sorry for not being able to win a gold. I can only present a silver. I’ve done my best, but this is the result that God has given me,” she told journalists after the medal ceremony.
Lisa attempted to lift 100 kilograms in her final clean and jerk – 5 kg heavier than her maximum during training – but collapsed during the attempt, which placed her second after gold medalist Vuong Thi Huyen of Vietnam.
As rival Vuong cried in joy, Lisa broke down on the medal podium under the weight of the momentous occasion, and what it meant to her personally and professionally. Immediately afterward, fellow lifter Eko Yuli Irawan and Indonesian weightlifting association deputy chief Djoko Pramono embraced her in consolation.
Lisa later said that she had intended to lift 100 kg, “even if I was to die [in competition]", while admitting had never exceeded 95 kg in the clean and jerk during training.
The lifter had battled for her hard-earned silver, coming back stronger after an unsuccessful first attempt at the snatch to lift 71 kg and then 73 kg, although she still trailed Vuong's 77 kg.
Lisa attempted to make up for her shortfall in the snatch by lifting 96 kg in her second attempt in the clean and jerk – 1 kg heavier than Vuong as well as her personal best in training.
Lisa took a gamble at winning gold by attempting to lift 100 kg in her final attempt in the clean and jerk, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The lifter was well aware that Philippines 2019 would be her first and last SEA Games, and said she believed she would had achieved more if she had been more dedicated earlier in her career.
“But we can’t turn back time. As an athlete, [I know] that age is not the sole benchmark to achieve higher, but it is also determined by who we are. I regret that when I was younger, I was not serious about pursuing this career,” she said.
Lisa has been familiar with being "second best" throughout her sporting career, especially as she rose in the ranks in the same generation as fellow Indonesian lifter Sri Wahyuni. Lisa was often overshadowed by the women’s 49 kg silver medalist in the 2016 Olympics.
The Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) decided to invite Lisa back to the national training camp as soon as it learned that the Philippines 2019 would feature the women’s 45 kg weight category.
Ahead of the biennial regional competition, Lisa won gold and bronze respectively in the clean and jerk and total lift at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, in September in Thailand.
Her desire to compete was so strong that she even resisted her husband, who did not give his blessing for her to compete, but Lisa insisted that she wanted to compete in the regional multisport event at least once.
Although Indonesian officials have given her their full support, assuring her that she could still return for the 2021 Games in Hanoi, Lisa declared that “this will be my first and last SEA Games”.
“My coach still wants me to continue, but my family wants us to have a baby soon," she said.
