Philippines junior lifters deliver gold medals

MANILA, Philippines — Like a factory, Philippine weightlifting is continuously producing world champions.

Two more emerged from the ashes in Lovely Inan and Angeline Colonia Thursday who each captured two gold medals and a silver in the IWF World Junior Championships in Leon, Spain.

The lift of Inan, 19, was as lovely as her name as she struck gold in clean and jerk with 100 kilograms and total with 179kg to add to her silver in the snatch with a 79kg, or a kilo behind Colombian Dahyanne Lopez Alvarez’s 80kg in the women’s 49kg class.

Colonia, 18, for her part, was cherubic on the mat as she soared to triumphs in snatch (74kg) and total (162kg) in the women’s 45kg division while settling for silver in the clean and jerk (88kg) to match Inan’s total.

“This were their first steps for a thousand miles, ‘pang 2028 LA Olympics na mga ito. One or two of them will get Olympic medals,” said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella, whose sport has already produced an Olympic gold medalist in Hidilyn Diaz and countless Asian and world champions in the past.

Another Filipina, Rose Jean Ramos, was sixth in the same division with a total lift of 165kg.

Eron Borres and Prince Kiel delos Santos went for medals but faltered in the men’s 55kg with total lifts of 227kg and 222kg, respectively, in the event dominated by Vietnamese K Duong (253kg).

Still to plunge into action are Jodie Peralta in the women’s 55kg and Albert Ian delos Santos in the men’s 67kg.