Albert Delos Santos leads PH's medal haul at Asian Youth and Jr Weightlifting Championship

Rising star Albert Delos Santos continued to make his mark on the international stage after bagging three gold medals at the 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship on Tuesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Delos Santos, who overcame grief to rule the 2026 IWF World Junior Championships last May, once again found himself atop after ruling the 70kg of the Junior category in record-breaking fashion.

Delos Santos lifted 141kg in the snatch and 180kg in the clean and jerk for a 321kg total, sweeping all three gold medals and dominating the seven-man field. His clean and jerk and total lifts also set new Asian Championship records, adding to his record-breaking performance at the World Junior Championships three months ago.

Jhodie Peralta also pocketed two gold medals and one silver in the Youth Women’s 53kg category. She topped the snatch with an 86kg lift, settled for silver in the clean and jerk with 102kg, and claimed gold in the total with 188kg.

Delos Santos and Peralta’s medal haul further boosted the Philippines’ tally, with the country leading both the Youth and Junior categories as of posting.

So far, the Philippines has already collected 10 golds, three silvers, and three bronze medals in the Youth division while grabbing six golds, three silvers, and six bronze in the Junior division.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News