Weightlifting: Gold medalist inspiration for Mexican women

Mexico on Monday hailed its first female Olympic gold medalist as a symbol of progress for women in a land once dominated by men in a traditionalist "macho" culture.

Soraya Jimenez, who received little attention before the games, became an instant national heroine on Monday when she took the gold in the women's 58kg weightlifting category.

It was the country's first-ever Olympic weightlifting gold medal and its first gold since Los Angeles in 1984.

"The fact that you're the first woman to win a gold medal, I think makes you a symbol for what women are achieving in our country," President Ernesto Zedillo told Jimenez in a telephone call broadcast by Mexican television.

President-elect Vicente Fox also jumped on the Jimenez bandwagon, issuing a statement saying the weightlifter gave a shot of confidence to the entire nation.

"This medal gives us back our self confidence and makes us feel that we're capable of doing anything, that we can win," said Fox, who ends 71 years of one-party rule in Mexico when he takes office December 1.