Ismailia, Day 1: Photo Gallery
All photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia [gallery size="large"
Ismailia, Day 1: Three out of three for China on a day of Asian dominance
Former world champions were left behind as China won all three medal events on the opening day of the IWF World Junior Championships in Ismailia, Egypt. Seven of the nine medals on total went to Asian athletes. K Duong from Vietnam and Angeline Colonia from the Philippines have collectively competed 18 times in IWF competitions, have both won junior world titles and have had 10 major victories between them. But in the first two A sessions – women’s 48kg and men’s 60kg - their experience was not enough to help them overcome China’s juniors. When China made it three from in the women’s 53kg, two former youth world champions were among those beaten. Kang Lixin (CHN) Three of the four Chinese athletes in action today were lifting for the first time internationally. The one with previous experience, Kang Lixin, had competed on an international platform only once before. That was at the Asian Junior Championships last year in Kazakhstan, where he failed with three attempts and finished 9kg behind the double junior world champion K Duong at 60kg. This time he made five from six and matched K Duong’s clean and jerk junior world record, as well as the world standard on total, on 126-164-290. K Duong (VIE) Kang’s 17-year-old team-mate Kuang Chengmin was second on 127-162-289 and K Duong third with only two good lifts on 125-157-282. It was a 17kg swing in Kang’s favour in his second meeting with K Duong - how did he do that? “My preparation for these Championships was 100 per cent,” said Kang, who took up the sport at school when he was 11. “I’m happy with those numbers, which are a reflection of what I have been doing in training, and very excited about the result.” He was 20 in February and is the oldest member of China’s 13-strong team. Among China’s juniors not selected for Ismailia is Yuan Hao, who set the snatch world record of 132kg in this age group when he was fifth at the senior World Championships seven months ago. China’s female champions were Zeng Zailian at 48kg and Peng Tianfeng at 53kg. Zeng Zailian (CHN) Zeng made 81-108-189 to finish 12kg clear of Angeline Colonia from the Philippines, a junior world champion in 2024 who made 80-97-177. Rebeka Groulx from Canada was the day’s only Pan American medallist, making 77-97-174 for third place. Suthasini Kaeosingkhon from Thailand, fourth on 77-96-173, won snatch bronze. At 53kg two former youth world champions were out of the medals - Colonia’s team-mate Jhodie Peralta and Ogulshat Amanova from Turkmenistan. Peng made five from six for 90-113-203. Natcha Kaewnoi from Thailand was second on 87-108-195 and Maria Stratoudaki from Greece was Europe’s top performer in third place on 86-102-188, a career best by 5kg. Maria Stratoudaki (GRE) Stratoudaki was presented with her medals, in snatch and total, by Pyrros Dimas. She also finished third at the Youth Worlds in 2023, when she was 14. The host nation won a medal when Basma Ramadan took bronze in clean and jerk on 106kg. Two of China’s champions, Kang and Zeng, outperformed the recent winning seniors’ totals at the European and Pan American Championships. Athletes from China could make it five from five on day two, when they have the highest entry totals in the women’s 58kg and men’s 65kg. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
Pan Am Championships: Three world records for Colombian hero Yeison and stunning wins for Ulrey, Cahoy (USA) and Pessanha (BRA)
Yeison Lopez won praise from the highest level of Colombian sport after setting three world records on his way to victory at the Pan American Championships in Panama City, Panama. “Let's stand up and give a round of applause, or better yet three, for our triple world record in weightlifting,” said a Colombian sports ministry statement. Yeison, who was voted Colombia’s sportsperson of the year in 2025 after winning the 89kg world title, made five good lifts at 88kg and declined the last one. He made a career high 181-216-397 and finished 48kg ahead of the American silver medallist Hutton Boles. Yeison Lopez (COL) “I am grateful mainly to God, for allowing me to live this wonderful experience,” said Yeison, whose “big dream” is to win Olympic gold in Los Angeles. He was second to Karlos Nasar in Paris, where he totalled 390kg at 89kg. Caden Cahoy from the United States and Matheus Pessanha from Brazil were other outstanding performers in the men’s events, winning with career-high totals. Cahoy, 22, missed three attempts but set a continental clean and jerk record in making 150-204-354 at 79kg for his first senior victory. Pessanha, fully recovered from a knee injury and benefiting from a training camp funded by his national Olympic Committee, went past 400kg for the first time. He did it in style at 110kg with Pan American records in clean and jerk and total. Pessanha, who will be 21 in August, made 180-228-408 to finish 11kg clear of Kolbi Ferguson from the United States, whose 224kg clean and jerk was a continental record for a couple of minutes. Two Colombian winners set Pan American records on total, Francisco Mosquera on 320kg at 65kg and Rafael Cerro on 419kg in the super-heavyweights. Matheus Pessanha (BRA) Keydomar Vallenilla from Venezuela had a continental snatch record in making 177-212-389 to win at 94kg – which was 3kg more than Karlos Nasar’s winning total at the recent European Championships. Juan Guadamud from Ecuador was second on 385kg, a personal best by 25kg. The other men’s winners were Gabe Chhum (USA) on 281kg at 60kg and Luis Javier Mosquera on 315kg at 71kg. After setting all three 77kg world records last November at the World Championships in Norway, Olivia Reeves dropped down in Panama to try and take the 69kg records, also set in Norway by Song Kuk-hyang (PRK). It didn’t work out when the American Olympic champion failed three times, including record attempts in snatch at 121kg and clean and jerk at 151kg. Reeves made 115-147-262 to finish 15kg clear of Julieth Rodriguez from Colombia, and still posted the best individual points score. Her team-mate Miranda Ulrey was next best. Olivia Reeves (USA) Ulrey missed her first two snatches but recovered to claim a sweep of continental records on 96-120-216 at 53kg. She was a junior world champion and continental senior winner at 59kg but this drop in weight could lead to even more success. Her team-mate Sophia Shaft – aged 21 and a fifth-place finisher at the World Championships, just like Ulrey – had her first big win when she took the 63kg title on 107-130-237. Lisseth Ayovi (ECU) Lisseth Ayovi from Ecuador set a Pan American super-heavyweight record with a total of 281kg, finishing 1kg ahead of Marifelix Sarria from Cuba. Other winners were Patricia Mercado from Venezuela at 48kg (185kg), Maria Luz Casedevall from Argentina at 58kg (214kg), Mattie Rogers from USA at 77kg (249kg), and Kelin Jimenez from Venezuela at 86kg (246kg). Colombia topped the men’s and combined medals tables, while United States had the top women’s team. By Brian
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
European Championships: Nasar (BUL) wins again but this time Ozbek (TUR) is the star – alongside Sterckx (BEL)
The Olympic and world champion Karlos Nasar won his fourth straight continental title at the European Championships in Batumi, Georgia. For once, though, the Bulgarian did not top the individual rankings. Nasar, who is working with a new coach and support team, finished 5kg clear of Ara Aghanyan from Armenia when he won at 94kg on 176-210-386. That was his lowest total since 2022, the year when he was last beaten. For the first time in two years he left the platform without breaking a world record, having failed with attempts of 183kg in snatch and 223kg in clean and jerk. Karlos Nasar (BUL) Nasar, who weighed in at 92.47kg, lost his first clean and jerk on review after getting three white lights from the referees. The jury said “no lift” because of oscillation and he did not complain. Nasar’s was third on individual points. His team-mate Ivan Dimov was ranked second despite being beaten at 65kg, and the man who finished 6kg ahead of Dimov, Muhammed Furkan Ozbek from Turkiye, was top by a long way. Ozbek claimed the European clean and jerk record with his final attempt and finished 1kg short of his own word record on total when he made 140-183-323. Ozbek, 25, is unbeaten since dropping down to 65kg from 73kg, the weight at which he finished fourth at the Paris Olympic Games. “There is nothing better than seeing the Turkiye flag at the top,” he said. Muhammed Furkan Ozbek (TUR) The fourth, fifth and seventh-ranked athletes on points all came from a high-quality 110kg contest – winner Garik Karapetyan from Armenia, silver medallist Luis Rodriguez from Romania and third-placed Hristo Hristov from Bulgaria. Karapetyan made up a 6kg deficit in snatch to win on 189-226-415. Rodriguez and Hristov both bettered the European snatch record, which ended up with Rodriguez on 195-219-414. Hristov made 190-222-412. Armenia also won the super-heavyweights, as expected, when the Olympic silver medallist Varazdat Lalayan made 210-241-451 to finish 26kg clear of Daniil Vagaitsev from Russia, who won world and European junior medals in 2021 when he last competed internationally. Lalayan failed with two record attempts at 253kg. Angel Rusev from Bulgaria made his final attempt to win his sixth continental title on 120-155-275 at 60kg. Yusuf Femi Genc totalled 332kg in winning at 71kg; Russia had its first champion in five years when Gevorg Serobian claimed the European snatch record on 161kg and totalled 341kg at 79kg; and Marin Robu from Moldova set a European snatch record of 173kg in winning at 88kg on 373kg. That put Robu sixth in the points list. Nina Sterckx (BEL) The top female points scorer was Nina Sterckx, who became the first woman from Belgium to win a European title. Sterckx surprised the Olympic silver medallist Mihaela Cambei from Romania to win at 53kg on 94-116-210. Cambei, who failed with her final attempt, took the continental snatch record on 95kg and finished second in the points rankings on 209kg. Sterckx set records in clean and jerk and total. Sterckx, 23, qualified for the Paris Olympics at two weights, 49kg and 59kg, and bombed out when she opted for 49kg (Cambei finished second). She is now living and training in the United States and has two options for LA2028, 53kg and 61kg. “That was a really fantastic performance, a great achievement. Nina decided herself to go for 53kg and I think she will stay there for a while,” said her competition coach Tom Goegebuer, who was Belgium’s last male European champion in 2009. “She is still young and her future is ahead of her.” Emily Campbell (GBR) Europe’s other Olympic champion besides Nasar, Solfrid Koanda from Norway, was beaten for the first time in four years when she went up to the super-heavyweights for the first time. The winner was Emily Campbell, Koanda’s close friend from Great Britain. Campbell was 33kg heavier than Koanda, who weighed in at a career-high 90.07kg. Both made five from six and Campbell won her sixth straight title with her final attempt, finishing 117-159-276 to Koanda’s 119-156-275. Bronze medallist Anastasiia Hotfrid from host nation Georgia made her best total in nine years, 262kg. The top two at 58kg were third and fourth in the individual rankings. Kamila Konotop from Ukraine, lifting for the first time since she bombed out in Paris, was back to her best, making all six lifts to win on 100-121-221. Aleksandra Grigoryan from Armenia was second on 210kg. Janette Ylisoini from Finland, still a junior, continued her remarkable run of improvement by winning at 71kg on 113-134-247, while 33-year-old Sarah Davies from Great Britain won at 63kg despite being ninth in snatch. Davies won her second straight European title on 94-125-219. Giulia Imperio from Italy, back after injury, won at 48kg on 176kg; Siuzanna Valodzka from Belarus won at 69kg on 108-129-237; and another junior, Emma Poghosyan from Armenia, won at 86kg on 107-141-248. For the first time, prize money was paid to the medallists in snatch, clean and jerk and total, at $500 for bronze, $1,000 for silver and $1,500 for gold. By Brian Oliver
Forrester Osei appointed as Athlete Role Model for the 2026 YOG in Dakar
Forrester Osei, the IWF Athletes Commission Chairman, has been officially selected as one of 31 Athlete Role Models for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, taking place in Dakar (SEN), from October 31 to November 13. Representing Ghana at international level, Osei won gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Championships, took part in several editions of the IWF World Championships, and has been elected Chair of the IWF Athletes Commission in December 2022. In this condition, he is also a full-voting member at the IWF Executive Board. Since then, he has been a strong advocate for the lifters’ rights in the five continents, and was naturally chosen to represent the sport of Weightlifting in the Senegalese Olympic rendezvous. In 2025, he was also nominated as an IWF Ambassador for Prevention of Competition Manipulation. The Athlete Role Models will be on the ground in Dakar to engage with athletes, providing support and advice and taking part in educational workshops. These workshops cover topics such as career management, injury prevention and mental preparation, among many other things. Weightlifting will be present within the Engagement Programme of the Games, whereby demonstrations of our Sport will be provided to the local fans. African young lifters will animate the exhibition area, and Mr Osei will have the opportunity to share his experience with those champions-to-be. Moreover, he will be an enthusiastic promoter of the place and value of Weightlifting in the Olympic Programme. “The Games are held for the first time in Africa, and I am very proud and honoured to be part of this great event. My roots are in this continent and I am quite excited to demonstrate the significance of Sport for the younger generations in this part of the world. The 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games will be a privileged occasion to inspire many boys and girls to the benefits of getting together and practice a physical activity. Weightlifting is also growing in Africa, and the Senegalese event will surely provide a huge step forward in terms of development and investment,” considered Forrester Osei. IWF
