Zamboanga teen Albert Ian Delos Santos cemented his rise as one of the Philippines’ brightest young weightlifting stars after delivering a historic performance at the 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he captured three gold medals and set new junior records.
The 19-year-old weightlifter City dominated the men’s junior 70kg division, finishing first in all three categories. Delos Santos won gold in the snatch with a 141kg lift, topped the clean and jerk with 180kg, and secured the overall title after recording a 321kg total.
His performance set new junior records in the clean and jerk and total categories, adding another major achievement to his growing international career. The competition also marked a major breakthrough for Delos Santos, who earned his first gold medal in the snatch after previously chasing a podium finish in the event.
Delos Santos entered the competition after setting a world junior clean and jerk record earlier this year. In May, he broke the record at the 2026 IWF World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Ismailia, Egypt, after lifting 187kg.
That record-setting run came after a difficult period following the death of his father due to liver cancer and a back injury sustained during training. Delos Santos previously shared with the International Weightlifting Federation how he pushed himself through grief while preparing for the competition.
“I deviated from my coach’s percentages in training and wanted to do every lift for my dad. It was my way of trying to get over the pain,” he said.
“I couldn’t even walk for a couple of days. I felt so bad, I was in a deep void. I had only a week to train for this and I was trembling out there, but my dad was with me all the way. This was for him,” he added.
Delos Santos’ latest achievement strengthens his status as one of the Philippines’ leading young athletes as he looks ahead to the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan next month. His three-gold haul also contributed to the Philippine delegation’s medal campaign, which reached 16 gold, six silver, and nine bronze medals after four days of competition.
