Lima, Day 2: Delos Santos back from ‘dark times’ for sensational win as Philippines and China claim double victories
Albert Delos Santos from the Philippines was the star of a hectic second day at the 2025 World Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru. He won the Junior 67kg title in dramatic fashion, posting 51kg more than his last competitive total after recovering from a bad back injury.
The last of his six good lifts took Delos Santos past the leader from China, Yang Jinwen, and gave his team a second title within minutes after Jhodie Peralta had won the women’s 55kg Youths on the other platform.
China also had two winners, while the other four medal events on day two were won by Egypt, Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Mexico.
Albert Delos Santos (PHI)
Delos Santos, who won the Youth world title at 61kg two years ago, said, “I knew I could do it. I had a bad time with my back injury last year, everything was so dark for a time. But I got a lot of help, I was excused by my university to prepare for these Championships and I put total concentration into it.”
He thanked his coach and mother, Diwa, and also the man who helped him through with coaching and advice – Julius Naranjo, husband of the Philippines’ Olympic gold medal hero Hidilyn Diaz.
“I owe them both so many thanks,” said Delos Santos, who is studying business and finance as well as training hard. “It has all taken a lot of time. The last time I made a total it was in 2023 when I was still a 61. All that’s happened since then… that’s the beauty of sport, really.”
Delos Santos made 134-175-309, nearly two years after his 258kg total at the Asian Juniors in 2023. He bombed out in the World Juniors last year because of his back injury.
Yang finished 140-167-307 on his international debut, and Diyorbek Ruzmetov from Uzbekistan was third on 139-163-302. Engin Kara from Turkiye was third in snatch, a place ahead of Delos Santos.
A leader from China was in danger of being beaten in the concurrent women’s 55kg session, but Celine Delia from Italy could not make the 119kg she needed for victory over another debutant, Wei Tingna.
Wei Tingna (CHN)
Wei made 94-115-209, and Delia went past 200kg for the first time on 91-114-205. Aleksandra Grigoryan from Armenia struggled for the second time, having made only two good lifts at the European Championships in Moldova last month. She put everything into her final attempt to take third place, and clean and jerk gold, on 88-116-204.
Chen Guan-Ling from Chinese Taipei also had a bad day. The multiple champion made only her first and last attempts on 90-113-203, finishing out of the medals on total at an IWF competition for the first time since 2022. She won bronze in snatch.
Another champion who was out of form was Ogulshat Amanova from Turkmenistan in the 55kg Youths. She had a clean and jerk bronze and nothing on total after missing four attempts.
Peralta won on 84-104-188, ahead of Y Tho from Vietnam on 80-103-183. Moldova continued its impressive run of results when Nicoleta Cojocaru was third on 82-100-182. Margot Kochetova from France won bronze in snatch on 80kg.
Men 61 Juniors and Youths
Elsayed Aly from Egypt made it to the top of the podium at the third attempt in an exciting Juniors session that featured more red lights than white ones.
There was a bombout by the PRK newcomer Kim Ju Phyong, who was second at halfway on 124kg. He injured himself on his second clean and jerk and retired. Kim’s mishap came during a slew of no-lifts as athletes tried and failed to move on to the podium.
Elsayed Aly (EGY)
Elsayed was the only A Group lifter to make all three clean and jerks. He recovered from missing his first two snatch attempts to finish 122-160-282, a career high by 7kg.
In the past two World Juniors, Elsayed was second and third behind American winners Gabe Chuum and the Olympic medallist Hampton Morris. There were no Americans this time.
“I am so happy with this success, for myself, my family, my friends,” Elsayed said. “I worked so hard for this, for two years. Now I want to celebrate with them all.”
Elsayed, who has made 162 in training, was confident about finishing in style on 160kg. He plans to move up to the new 65kg category for the future.
Jose Gonzalez from Colombia was first in snatch and second on total on 125-148-273 and Giga Odikadze from Georgia was third on 123-147-270. The 16-year-old B Group athlete Ramazan Efe Yilmaz from Turkiye was second in clean and jerk on 153kg, as well as second on total in the Youths behind Beibarys Yerseit from Kazakhstan.
Yerseit made 117-145-262 in the A Group to win the youth title on his first international appearance.
Yilmaz made a huge improvement on his previous efforts after going up in weight and hitting top form in clean and jerk. He won World and European titles at 55kg last year, when his best total was 230kg.
In his first competition at 61kg Yilmaz, 16, made 108-153-261 for second place, moving up from fifth at halfway. Abubakar Tsakaev, the Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia, was third on 113-139-252.
Harrison McGrogan (IRL)
Harrison McGrogan was third in the B Group and fifth on total, an impressive effort in Ireland’s first ever appearance at the World Youths. His team-mate Ben Brennan was ninth. McGrogan constantly breaks Irish records and he did it again on 109-137-246.
He had a go at overtaking Tsakaev on his final attempt at 146kg but could not complete the jerk. “An Irish weightlifter going up against a world champion and a Russian at the end of a session – that’s never happened before,” said coach Seán Brown.
McGrogan was a gymnast then a rugby player before his father encouraged him to try weightlifting. “It’s the feeling after a good lift that I like most about the sport,” said McGrogan, 17, who sits important exams next week in maths, food and nutrition, and physical education.
He is from the north and therefore eligible for the Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland. He will try to hit the qualifying targets this year.
Men 67 Youths
There was a big cheer from the Venezuela team when Luis Garcia made his final attempt to claim the title. Garcia, 17, was 10kg behind the leader Dan Dorin Betca from Moldova at halfway, and still had 8kg to make up in two remaining attempts when Betca finished on 122-146-268. Garcia did it and ended on 116-153-269.
Luis Garcia (VEN)
Ali Hussin Alhawar from Saudi Arabia was third on 120-144-264, the same total as fourth-placed Dmitri Abralava from Georgia, who made all six attempts and won silver in clean and jerk.
Kamil Andrzejewski from Poland took bronze in snatch on 121kg and finished fifth. All the youth lifters competed in the B and C Groups.
Women 49 Juniors and Youths
Yan Qihui from China declined her final attempt after missing her second clean and jerk, but she had already won the Junior title on 79-100-179.
Kerlys Montilla from Venezuela was second and Lucia Gonzalez from Spain third. Montilla made five good lifts – more than any other A Group junior – for 77-99-176. Gonzalez, 18, who won World and European youth titles last year, made 80-95-175 despite missing her final two attempts. That was a career best.
The snatch gold medallist Luluk Wijayana from Indonesia bombed out in clean and jerk. Rosalinda Faustino from the Philippines lost her chance when she failed to make the weight.
Kelly Ponciano (MEX)
Kelly Ponciano from Mexico was a surprise winner in the Youths when she took advantage of errors by Y Lien, the favourite from Vietnam. Lien missed four of her attempts in making made 74-94-168, well below her performance last December when she won the Asian Youth and Junior titles.
Lien looked as if she had made her final attempt, only to drop the bar backwards. A few moments earlier Lopez, who was fifth last year, had made an impressive save after losing her balance to finish 74-96-170.
Three continents were represented on the podium. Boyana Kostadinova from Bulgaria won snatch gold and improved her best total by 3kg in third place, making 75-89-164. The B Group winner Enderlin Ulacio from Venezuela won clean and jerk bronze on 91kg.
By Brian Oliver
Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia