Man, talk about making an entrance! Luo Shifang strolls into the press conference on an electric suitcase and flashes a cute little flower gesture to the crowd. No tears from her though, she's all smiles.

In the women's 59kg weightlifting event at the Paris Olympics, the first-time Olympian from China, Luo Shifang, snatches the gold medal with consistent performance. Calm, composed, and cheerful, that's the impression she leaves on people.

Before stepping onto the platform, Luo Shifang gestures for quiet from the audience. All five of her lifts are successful. And on the podium, after claiming the championship title, she gives the whole crowd a heart.

"Of course, winning the gold makes me happy. I was confident before the competition, but I also imagined it would be tough. However, this competition went pretty smoothly, and I didn't feel too nervous or under too much pressure," Luo Shifang chuckles during the post-match press conference. "I still can't fully believe I won the gold medal. Maybe it will sink in tomorrow."

In contrast to Luo Shifang's radiant smile, defending champion Kuo Hsing-Chun from Chinese Taipei cried her way through the post-match interview.

This four-time Olympian won the gold in this weight category at the Tokyo Olympics. "But today, I didn't do well in both the snatch and clean and jerk. It was like derailing a train, hard to recover. I am a bit regretful," says Kuo. Her failed second snatch attempt caused her snatch score to freeze at 105kg, and her clean and jerk score fell 10kg short of her own world record.

"I'm just glad I made it here," Kuo explains further. "I don't know if there will be another chance. I've had my peak moments. Looking back at all these years of training, it wasn't easy. It may not be perfect, but it's real and powerful. I'm grateful to myself."

During the Paris Olympic cycle, Kuo Hsing-Chun experienced more than two years of confusion and had to overcome back and leg injuries after returning to competition. She admits, "Maintaining peak performance isn't easy for me anymore. My prime is behind me."

But standing not too far away from Kuo Hsing-Chun is Luo Shifang, who is at the peak of her career.

"Coincidentally, it's my time of the month these past few days, and I thought it would be tough. I even prepared for the worst. But when I got on the stage, everything seemed fine, and that relaxed me a lot," says Luo Shifang. Originally, she planned to start with heavier weights in both the snatch and clean and jerk, but after seeing other top lifters fail repeatedly, she lowered her starting weights. She even had the gold medal securely in her pocket before attempting her third clean and jerk.

Let's go back to the 2019 World Championships. Luo Shifang wasn't yet strong enough to challenge Kuo Hsing-Chun at that time. But since then, she has been steadily improving and surpassing Kuo Hsing-Chun's total scores in competitions like the National Games. During the Paris Olympic cycle, at events like the Asia Championships, Luo Shifang consistently outperformed Kuo Hsing-Chun. And this year, she shattered the total score world record at the World Cup in Thailand.

"The fate is in my own hands. I'm stubborn, and I believe that only by persevering can we have hope. The more challenging it is, the more I want to face it," says Luo Shifang. The competition might be over, but the curtains have just opened for her.

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