Bogota  - There was much celebration in the Colombian city of Tulua Monday after local weightlifter Diego Salazar won a silver at the Beijing Olympics in the men's 62-kilogramme event.

Cheering fans in hundreds of vehicles adorned with Colombian flags were out on the streets of Tulua, in the south-western Colombian province of Valle del Cauca, a few minutes after Salazar, 27, won his medal.

Scores of people headed for the modest Internacional neighbourhood, where the sportsman's family lives.

Salazar won Colombia its tenth Olympic medal since 1972.

In Beijing, the weightlifter said his joy was undescribable. He also used the platform to ask his government to reward him with a house for his mother so that the family would no longer have to pay rent.

The silver medallist's mother, Rosalba Quintero, said she hoped the Colombian authorities would heed her son's request.

The gold went to China's Zhang Xiangxiang. (dpa)