By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Five more Filipino lifters added to Team Philippines’ medal haul after posting podium finishes in their respective divisions at the 2026 Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Saturday, Aug. 8.
Jerick Icon Castro, Kirby Kent Alas-as, Prince Kiel Delos Santos, Alexsandra Ann Diaz and Angeline Colonia combined for eight gold, five silver and four bronze medals, further boosting the team’s medal tally after just two days of competition.
The 15-year-old Diaz, niece of Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, swept all three golds in the youth women’s 49kg division – snatch (77 kg), clean & jerk (92 kg) and total (169 kg).
The world youth record-holder also competed in the junior women’s 49 kg, where she finished bronze in snatch (77 kg) and total (169 kg).
Angeline Colonia also saw action in the junior women’s 49 kg, topping the snatch with 80 kg, but settled for silver in clean & jerk (93 kg) and total (173 kg) behind eventual winner Naruemol Vonghajak of Thailand.
Castro and Alas-as also shared the podium in the men’s youth 60 kg.
Castro swept all three gold medals in snatch (116 kg), clean & jerk (144 kg) and total (260 kg), while Alas-as bagged the bronze in snatch (110 kg) and total (243 kg).
Also making a mark was Delos Santos in the junior men’s 60 kg, where he ruled the snatch (120 kg), and finished with the bronze in clean & jerk (144 kg) and total (264 kg).
Althea Bacaro and Jay-R Colonia delivered the early medal haul for the Nationals with Bacaro winning two gold medals and Colonia producing two silvers and a bronze.
Also competing in the tournament are world youth champion Albert Ian Delos Santos (men’s 70kg), junior bets Jhodie Peralta (women’s 53kg), Rosalinda Faustino (women’s 57kg) and Mango Prince David Tarro (men’s 65kg), and youth team members Jea Mae Palagtiw (women’s 69kg) and Rhianne Cabalida (women’s 77kg).
