FILIPINO weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos delivered a record-setting performance at the 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships, winning three gold medals in the men’s 70-kilogram junior division on Tuesday night in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The 19-year-old Zamboanga City native topped all three medal events in his category, lifting 141 kilograms in the snatch and 180 kilograms in the clean and jerk for a winning total of 321 kilograms.
His victory in the snatch was particularly significant as it gave Delos Santos his first gold medal in the discipline at the continental championships, while his 180-kilogram clean and jerk also established new junior world and Asian records in the 70kg division.
Delos Santos entered the competition as one of the Philippines’ leading young weightlifters after setting a junior world record of 187kgs in the clean and jerk at the 2026 IWF World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Ismailia, Egypt last May.
The three-gold haul adds to the Philippines’ strong showing in Tashkent, with the national delegation collecting 16 gold, six silver and nine bronze medals in the Asian Youth and Junior championships. (Adrian Co)
