Cali, Review: Teenage stars from all over the world – and 13-year-old Rory leads the way
There were 16 medal events and 15 different nations had a winner. More than half of the 44 teams were on the podium on total. That made the 2026 IWF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia the best ever in terms of spreading the medals around. Georgia led the table with two golds, two silvers and two bronzes, becoming the first team since the World Youths started in 2009 to finish top with only two winners. The Philippines, with six, won the most medals on total ahead of Turkiye on five. Rory van Ulft (ARU) Some might say this spread of medallists, continuing a trend in youth weightlifting that began five years ago, is because China has competed at the World Championships only once and PRK not at all since 2019. The results from the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain last year – where China and PRK contributed to 21 youth world records being set – give weight to this argument. But if you take the best of the best in Cali, the performances stack up well. Two of China’s champions in Bahrain would not have won in Cali with the same numbers, and the top three in the individual rankings at the World Youths – male and female - all performed better than the Asian Youth Games winners at the same weight. One of them is 13 years old. Alexsandra Diaz (PHI) Five of those top-ranked stars in Cali set world records and the sixth tried for them but failed. Rory van Ulft, a dual-national from Canada who is competing for Aruba, broke two world records at 44kg on her international debut aged 13. “That was fun,” she said. On Robi points Rory was joint top, but on GAMX points – newly approved by the IWF – she was the only athlete in Cali to score higher than 1,300. Alexsandra Diaz from the Philippines, niece of the Tokyo Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz, won with two world records at 48kg and said on her return home: “I want to be like Auntie Haidie, to become an Olympian. And to win an Olympic gold medal.” She is 15. Nicoleta Cojocaru (MDA) Europe, which had a successful Championships, provided the third record-breaking champion in Nicoleta Cojocaru from Moldova, who won at 58kg aged 16 and keeps improving. “I sometimes forget to celebrate my wins because I am already focusing on the next one,” she told national media. Ogulshat Amanova from Turkmenistan was out of the medals in Bahrain after three failures but made five good lifts in Cali to win impressively at 53kg. Lidysmar Aparicio from Venezuela made a 250kg total at +77kg for a second straight world title. That is an outstanding effort in all parts of the world except China, whose 15-year-old super-heavyweight Hu Wenxun was among the original entries but did not compete in Cali. Her youth world record total is 288kg. Nurzhan Zhumabay (KAZ) Two of the top-ranked men went head-to-head at 88kg in one of the best youth sessions of recent years. The bronze medallist, Jose Mantilla from Mexico, had a sweep of continental records and was seventh in the individual rankings but he had no chance against the top two. Nurzhan Zhumabay from Kazakhstan won, on 348kg, ahead of Erik Guadamud Pico on 344kg. Zhumabay was the only Cali champion who had also won in Bahrain, which he did at 79kg. He is 15 and will surely keep improving. Guadamud Pico is Spain’s best male prospect in weightlifting for a long time. Muhammed Al Ojaian (KSA) Muhammed Al Ojaian from Saudi Arabia was another top performer, making 253kg at 56kg. Al Ojaian was one of four champions from Arab nations. Mousa Khudhair from Iraq won at 94kg and is already being targeted at the 2032 Olympic Games, while Mohamed Abdelradi from Egypt won at 79kg without nearing his own world records. Ghofrane Ghrissa from Tunisia completed the four by winning the women’s 77kg. Davit Kiladze (GEO) For Europe, besides the efforts of Cojocaru and Guadamud Pico, Russia had its first winner since 2021 in Sergei Plotnikov at 65kg. Turkiye had four silvers as well as one champion, Zehranur Aslan in the women’s 63kg. Georgia’s winners were Davit Kiladze at 71kg and Nikoloz Kurtanidze in the super-heavyweights, where his team-mate Khvicha Kitsmaridze was second. The United States and Mexico had a winner each, Addie Jones at 69kg and Victor Mendez in the men’s 60kg. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
