Not even a hip injury a few months ago could dampen John Febuar Ceniza’s spirit in achieving his dream of becoming an Olympian someday.

The Cebuano weightlifter made his dreams come true on Tuesday, April 3, after clinching a berth to the Paris Games following his fourth-place finish in the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand.

Ceniza, 26, lifted a 300-kilogram total in the men’s 61kg division, a 2-kg improvement on his best qualifying effort to keep his place inside the Top 10 of the Olympic qualifying rankings.

“Train hard every day, forget your problems, that’s the way to prepare and that’s what I did,” said Ceniza, who finished behind China’s Li Fabin (312), United States Hampton Morris (303) and North Korea’s Pak Myong Jin (301).

Qualifying to the Paris Olympics is just part of his goal, though. Following the footsteps of teammate Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, who became the country’s first Olympic gold medalist, is next.

“It’s my dream to be an Olympian, and to be the first man to win a weightlifting medal for the Philippines,” the national record holder said.

A few months ago, Ceniza was not even 100 percent in shape to compete in high-level tournaments. He even missed the 2024 Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last February to allow more time to recover from the injury.

But he exceeded his expectations in this tournament, surpassing his performances last year including at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia where he lifted 296 kilos for fifth place.

“I just focused on my technique as I continue to fully recover,” Ceniza said.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas is hoping more will qualify to Paris with Diaz, Elreen Ando, Vanessa Sarno and Kristel Macrohon competing in the coming days.