Ismailia, Preview: China’s teen aims for historic high, a big week for Russia – and Stowers targets world records for Samoa

If China’s formidable team of teenagers hit their entry totals they could win half of the 16 medal events at the IWF World Junior Championships in Ismailia, Egypt, which start on Saturday and end on May 8.

A 15-year-old, Hu Wenxun, is down for 280kg in the women’s super-heavyweights and Chinese athletes aged 18 or 19 have the highest entries in the five lightest female categories. Chinese men look likely to dominate at 60kg, 65kg and 110kg.

Hu already holds all three youth world records from her only international appearance at the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain last year, where she made 115-152-267.

Hu Wenxun (CHN) – Photo credit: Bahrain WL Federation

Since the World Youth Championships started in 2009, the highest total ever made by a female is 272kg by Nadezhda Nogay from Kazakhstan in 2011, when she was a few days short of her 15th birthday. Hu, who was 15 last October, is expected to better that and post an all-time high total.

Despite the strength of China’s team, it has steered clear of the 77kg women’s category, which could be the highlight of the Championships if the leading medal contenders are in good form.

Among the eight entries are two women who set records at the senior European Championships last week, one of Russia’s big hopes for the future, a multiple champion from Egypt and a 17-year-old from the other side of the world whose entry total is 3kg higher than the junior world record.

Seine Stowers (SAM)

Seine Stowers, from Samoa, is planning to open on 110-140 according to her coach and national federation president Jerry Wallwork. Success with those two attempts alone would give Stowers a bigger total than the women who won senior European and Pan American titles over the past two weeks, Janette Ylisoini from Finland and Mattie Rogers from the United States.

Stowers – whose elder sister Feagaiga was a continental super-heavyweight champion – has shown she can do it. In her “warm-up” at the Oceania Championships in Samoa this week, she made 112-142-254 on her 18th birthday. She went for the clean and jerk junior world record on 145kg but failed to complete the lift after cleaning it.

Janette Ylisoini (FIN)

Ylisoini is still a junior and will be up against Stowers, as will two others who excelled at the European Championships in Batumi, Georgia – Varvara Kuzminova from Russia and Anna Amroyan from Armenia. Ylisoini won on 247kg and Kuzminova was second from the B Group. Amroyan claimed the junior continental record in clean and jerk (136kg) after failing with all three snatch attempts.

“I still have potential for much bigger things,” Ylisoini said after making all six lifts for the biggest win of her career.

Egypt has two contenders, one of whom, Amira Elkady, has won four continental youth and junior titles.

Kuzminova, 17, is one of Russia’s big hopes. She set two world records in winning the 76kg youth world title in Lima, Peru last year and was within 3kg of Ylisoini, who is three years older, in Georgia.

Varvara Kuzminova (RUS)

This will be the first competition since 2021 at which Russia can compete under its own flag. Russia is the only nation, apart from hosts Egypt, fielding a maximum team of 16 and as national media pointed out, “This Championships will not only be a test of strength but also an opportunity to regain the trust and respect of the global weightlifting community.

“Ismailia will be a key milestone in the development of young Russian weightlifters and could become a springboard for new successes at the senior level. The future of Russian weightlifting on the world stage will depend largely on the team’s results.”

Russian athletes won plenty of medals in Georgia, including gold for Gevorg Serobian at 79kg. Head coach Rim Sirazetdinov said, “Time has shown that we haven’t completely lost our way.”

Yerasyl Saulebekov (KAZ)

Kazakhstan has two strong contenders in the men’s 88kg. Yerasyl Saulebekov was a youth world champion at 67kg and 73kg, and won the Asian junior title at 88kg last year on 344kg. Alikhan Askerbay, two years younger at 17, lifted at 71kg seven months ago in his last international appearance, winning on 316kg at the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain. At his heavier weight he will be hoping to lift about 40kg more.  

Metwally Abdelrahman (EGY)

Metwally Abdelrahman would be a popular winner for Egypt, which has several medal contenders. Metwally, entered at 79kg, is going for a third straight world title, having been youth champion for the past two years at lower weights.

By Brian Oliver