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It was fourth time lucky for Lucia Gonzalez from Spain in an exciting women’s 49kg contest at the World Youth Championships in Lima, where the day’s other champions were from Venezuela, Egypt and Moldova.

After finishing fifth, eighth and ninth at three different weights in the previous three years, Gonzalez claimed gold with her last lift in her final year in this age group. Younger athletes from three continents pushed 17-year-old Gonzalez all the way.

Lucia Gonzalez (ESP)

“The difference this time is that I trained harder, and I made more sacrifices,” Gonzalez said. “I cannot do what other people my age do. I have a strict diet, I don’t go out socialising, don’t take holidays like them. My life as a full-time weightlifter is all about training.

“I learned from those three earlier World Youth Championships that you must just keep going and do your best.”

Gonzalez, who is keen on being a teacher later in life, took up weightlifting when she went to a gym with her friend Athenea Santana, who lifts here on Friday. Santana’s coach suggested she give it a try.

She held off a strong challenge from Ogulshat Amanova, who won 45kg gold for Turkmenistan aged 13 last year. Amanova, coached by her father, took the lead on her final attempt before Gonzalez made 93kg to complete a sweep of career bests and claim victory on 76-93-169.

One missed clean and jerk was costly for Amanova, who led at halfway and finished 77-91-168, up 12kg on her total last year.

Bronze medallist Margot Kochetova from France put 36kg on her 2023 total. Kochetova, 15, whose parents left Russia to live in France before she was born, made 74-89-163.

“Of course I am happy with that,” said Kochetova. “I made three personal records.

“I was a gymnast and pole vaulter before, and I played chess too, but when I started weightlifting I knew it was the one for me.”

Beatriz de Lima from Brazil and Maria Stratoudaki from Greece also performed well. De Lima took clean and jerk silver and finished fourth on total on 71-91-162. Stratoudaki, 15, could have been on the podium but she failed with her final two attempts in totalling 157kg.

Dionangel Vargas (VEN)

There was a close finish in the simultaneous men’s 61kg, in which the top three finished well clear. Pan American youth champion Dionangel Vargas won on 110-134-244 ahead of international debutant Hovhannes Hovhannisyan from Armenia on 108-134-242.

Bronze medallist Wuttiphong Chomkhunthod from Thailand made all six lifts for 107-132-239 in his first competition at this weight.

It was a memorable evening for Moldova when the women’s 55kg and men’s 67kg ran side by side. Nicoleta Cojocaru – no relation to Moldova’s national coach of the same name – won her country’s first youth world title for 12 years and Alexandr Baldji finished third in the men’s contest, in which the first three were a long way ahead of the rest.

Nicoleta Cojocaru (MDA)

Cojocaru had a nervous wait while Sato Waka from Japan had two attempts left. Sato failed with both on 105kg, leaving 15-year-old Cojocaru in first place on 80-103-183. She is Moldova’s first female youth world champion.

Jade Morales was the first United States medallist of the Championships in third place. Cojocaru made 80-103-183, Sato 79-100-179 and Morales 76-99-175. The Egyptian Marim Abdellatif took snatch bronze but bombed out in clean and jerk.

Abdellatif’s team-mate Metwally Abdelrahman did better on the other platform. He had already won when he jumped 9kg for an attempt at the clean and jerk youth world record, but he failed.

Metwally Abdelrahman (EGY)

Abdelrahman made 128-158-286 ahead of Akhzol Kurmanbek from Kazakhstan on 129-156-285. Baldji was third on 127-155-282.

By Brian Oliver

Photos by Bob Willingham