ZAMBOANGA pride Alexsandra Ann Diaz delivered two of Team Philippines’ 10-gold medal haul in the recent 2025 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Youth and Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru.
The niece of Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo pocketed two gold medals in the youth women’s 45kg category, as she lifted 70kg in the snatch and had a total of 152kg, while also earning a bronze in the clean and jerk with 82kg.
Fellow Zamboangeno Jay-R Colonia also shone in the men’s 49kg category, capturing two golds and one silver, contributing heavily to the country’s haul, which also included three silver and the same number of bronze medals.
Colonia dominated the clean and jerk with a 121kg lift, took silver in the snatch with 94kg, and clinched the overall gold with a total lift of 215kg.
Cebu City’s Althea Bacaro also made her mark in the youth women’s 40kg class.
Bacaro claimed gold in the snatch (58kg), bronze in the clean and jerk (72kg), and silver in the total (130kg).
In the junior ranks, Jhodie Peralta swept all three gold medals in the women’s 55kg category with lifts of 84kg (snatch), 104kg (clean and jerk), and a 188kg total.
Albert Ian Delos Santos added two more golds in the men’s 67kg class, topping the clean and jerk with 175kg and the total with 309kg. He narrowly missed the podium in the snatch, finishing fourth with 134kg.
Angeline Colonia contributed a silver in the snatch (72kg) and a bronze for her 160kg total in the women’s 45kg category. She narrowly missed another bronze, finishing fourth in the clean and jerk with 88kg, just 1kg behind Thailand’s Khemika Kamnoedsri.
Prince Keil Delos Santos narrowly missed a podium finish in the men’s 55kg division. He placed fourth in both the snatch (110kg) and total (243kg), and sixth in the clean and jerk (133kg).
The team was accompanied by coaches Antonio Agustin Jr., Gregorio Colonia, Diwa Delos Santos, and Christopher Bureros.
They arrived back home on Wednesday and paid officials of the Philippine Sports Commission a courtesy call.
