Weightlifter suffers shock collapse

A female competitor left onlookers in shock after collapsing mid-lift after hoisting a 106kg weight over her head at the Pan Am Games in Canada.

Competing in the women's 53kg event, Venezuelan Genessis Rodriguez Gomez was attempting to clean and jerk double her body weight, when she buckled under the pressure and then fainted.

As the footage shows, Gomez managed to get the bar under her chin and then heave it above her head before it all went horribly wrong.

With onlookers gasping in shock, Gomez fell to the floor but was fortunate the weight-laden bar landed behind her, narrowly missing her head.

She was then left prone on the floor before officials rushed to her aid.

Remarkably, the 20-year-old escaped injury and later returned for another attempt, adding 3kg, before successfully completing the lift to claim a courageous silver medal.