Click on the video above to watch as Canadian Olympic champion Maude Charron attempts to repeat as a gold medallist.
Charron, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo at 64 kilograms, is now set to compete in Paris in the 59kg category. Beyond the weight loss, Charron will now have to go against Taiwan’s Hsing-Chun Kuo, who set an Olympic record at the last Games.
In an individual sport like weightlifting, though, Charron’s focus has been on herself and her form heading into these Games.
Ahead of the opening ceremony, she told CBC Sports’ Scott Russell that she’s no longer stressed about the new weight class.
“I feel like this is my bodyweight category now and I belong there and I’m as strong as I was before,” Charron, the 31-year-old from Rimouski, Que., said.