Vanessa Sarno laments 'toxic environment' that led to Paris heartbreak

Even as Vanessa Sarno tried to lift the Philippines up in her Paris Olympics debut, the 20-year-old weightlifter alleged that some people within her circle were not rooting for her to succeed.

Sarno made an early exit from the women's 71kg event early Saturday after failing to lift all three of her attempts at the snatch at 100kg, 10 kilograms lower than her previous personal and national record.

After the heartbreaking end to her Summer Games debut, Sarno went on record about what she called a 'toxic environment' during the final phase of her preparations for the Paris Olympics.

According to the two-time SEA Games gold medalist, she was assigned a different coach from her preferred coach, longtime mentor Richard ‘Pep’ Agosto, starting from the training camp in Metz, France. Agosto played a crucial role during her record-breaking performance at the IWF World Cup last April that sealed her Paris ticket. 

Sarno claimed that she had requested Agosto to be the coach provided to her in Paris, but this was not accommodated, affecting her overall mentality ahead of the Games.

"‘Yung coach po na kasama ko po nu’ng sa Metz training ay hindi po si Coach Pep [na] siya pong gumagabay sa akin, nagga-guide, at nagtitiwala po na nagpupush na kaya ko mag-Olympics," Sarno shared to members of the Philippine Olympic Committee media, which includes GMA Integrated News' JP Soriano.

"Ang lumabalabas po kasi is parang ayaw nila na si Coach Pep ang magco-coach sa akin sa Olympics. Nag-explain din po ako sa kanilang lahat kung bakit siya ‘yung gusto ko, dahil sa mentality ko po nakakatulong po si Coach Pep. Alam niya po ako, kilala niya na po ako, kung anong nangyayari sa utak ko."

Sarno admitted that not having Agosto by her side immensely affected her mental health, sharing that she even thought of giving up. 

"Nu’ng nawala na kami sa Manila, sobrang hirap po para sa akin kasi sobrang naging mahina po ‘yung mentality ko na gustong-gusto ko na po sumuko sa sobrang toxic ng environment doon," she added.

"Hindi ko na po kinakaya ‘yung mga tao na parang ramdam ko na ayaw nila na ando’n ako, ramdam ko na gusto nilang ma-down ako. Sobrang hirap po ‘pag ando’n ‘yung nasa paligid mo. Kinakailangan po talaga na malakas ‘yung mentality mo."

Lifting 100kg, according to Sarno, should have been an easy task for her as her current best and national record is actually 110kg, which she set during the World Cup in Phuket, Thailand. 

"Yes po, kayang-kaya ko po ‘yun (100kg). Kahit nu’ng nasa Manila pa, kayang-kaya ko po ‘yung sa training," Sarno said. 

"Sobrang nanghinayang lang po. Nanghihingi rin po ako ng patawad sa lahat nang na-disappoint ko na mga tao dahil nagpadala po ako sa mga tao na nagdo-down po sa akin. Nagpadala po ako sa mga tao na mine-mental po ako."

GMA Integrated News has reached out to the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas and Philippine Olympic Committee for comment.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News