Yukon weightlifter Jeane Lassen defied the odds Wednesday at the world weightlifting championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Competing in the 69-kilogram class, Lassen picked up a silver medal in the clean and jerk portion and bronze overall for Canada. She was fourth in the snatch.

Lifting personal bests of 102 kg and 136 kg, in the snatch and clean and jerk portions respectively, it was Lassen's highest finish ever at a senior world championship she was fifth last year in Doha, Qatar.

While she won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia last March, the senior world championships are a much tougher event, as the strongest countries in weightlifting, such as Russia and China, are not a part of the Commonwealth.

Russian's Oxana Slivenko and Tatiana Maleeva were first and second in Lassen's category.

Before she left Montreal, where she lives and trains, for the Dominican last Saturday, Lassen said in an interview with the Star that she wasn't quite sure what to expect at this year's Worlds.

'I don't know what will happen because this year there are a lot more participants, since it counts as an (2008) Olympic qualifier. Last year was a post-Olympic year, so some people were taking a break after the Olympics.

'I would like to stay in the top 10 and if I can be fourth that would be great. You never know what will happen with the other athletes in front of me.'

Now, Lassen can certainly say: mission accomplished. And as long as she stays injury free over the next two years, a spot at the Beijing Olympics should be hers.

Canada is trying to qualify two women for the Olympics at the senior worlds. Next year's Worlds are also a qualifier and if they are still not successful after that, they'll have to try to qualify one woman at the Pan American Championships in 2008.

Both of Lassen's parents are currently in the Dominican at the championships as well, so they were able to cheer her on and share in her success. Her dad is a loader the person who loads the expected weights onto the bar on the platform, and checks to make sure the bar is secure.

Her mom, Moira Lassen, who is also the Secretary General of the Canadian Weightlifting Federation, travelled to the championships as an official. In fact, along with a colleague from Japan, Moira will be the first female technical controller at a senior world championship.

Jeane will remain in the Dominican until Oct. 11, taking some time off to hang out at the beach and enjoy the weather with fellow Yukon and Canadian weightlifter Emily Quarton.

Quarton also competed at the world championships, in the very tough 58-kg class. She lifted 83 kg in the snatch and 100 kg in the clean and jerk, finishing 21st overall.

Other Canadian women's results included: Maryse Turcotte, 17th in the 53-kg class; Marilou Dozois-Prevost, 15th in the 53-kg class; Christine Girard, 12th in the 63-kg class; Miel McGerrigle, 19th in the 63-kg class; and Marie-Eve Beauchemin-Nadeau, 18th in the 69-kg class.

On the men's side, Francis Luna-Grenier was 20th in the 69-kg class while Sebastien Groulx was 24th.

Canadian women have now won 10 medals at the world weightlifting championships since women were allowed to compete in 1987, while the men have won a total of six in championship history.

Meanwhile, nine Iranian weightlifters were banned from the world championships this week, after testing positive for excessive levels of testosterone, the president of the sport's governing body said Tuesday.

IWF president Tamas Ajan did not identify any of the nine who tested positive. Iranian state-run television reported Tuesday that eight had been banned for two years and that the ninth was expelled from the sport for life, as was their Bulgarian-born coach, Georgi Ivanov.