Getting over a mounting pressure built up on her Olympics debut, China's Chen Yanqing fulfilled her dream and lived up to the strongwomen's reputation of "dream team" Monday, winning the gold in the women's 58kg class at the Athens Games.

"I made it," Chen, who returned to the lifting scene last November after two years of retirement, told reporters. "The 12 years of hard work paid off."

Chen snatched 107.5kg and jerked 130.0 for a total of 237.5. The 5kg advantage in the snatch approved to be the decisive factor of the winning.

Ri Song Hui of Democratic People's Republic of Korea took the silver with a total of 232.5 and Wandee Kameaim of Thailand lifted a total of 230.0 to earn the bronze in the class, where Asians showed an overwhelming dominance at the Games.

The 25-year-old Chen was faced with immense pressures due to the strongwomen squad's ambition of sweeping golds at the Games as well as the unexpected failure on her teammate Li Zhuo's gold medal quest in the women's 48kg Saturday.

"The two days (since the competition opening ) were painful for me," Chen said. "I switched off my mobile to fend off any distraction, even a family message."

Chen said she had been determined to grab the gold in the class on a mission to repeat the strongwomen squad's feat of a clean sweep at the Sydney Olympics.

After both of her fellow lifters, Li Zhuo and Wu Meijin, in men 's 56kg, landed on the silver at the Games, the pressures on her shoulders to reap the first gold of the weightlifting powerhouse at the Games were even heavier.

"I couldn't make one single mistake," Chen said. "Now I'm so pleased the pressures went away."

Chen, who was frustrated over her failure on making the Sydney Olympics team, had once thought that was the conclusion of her weightlifting journey and retired in 2001.

Beginning her trainings last November, she gradually added weight on her barbell in an effort to make the improvement.

"I told myself to lift up the designed weights," she said. "I simply couldn't afford to letting go of the opportunity."

Chen, currently a student on the Business Administration program of Suzhou University in southeast China, delivered her comeback at the Olympics arena. The university student, scoring a very much needed successful lift, revived the wonder of a dream team.