Bacaro, Colonia win medals at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships

Filipino Althea Bacaro bagged two gold medals in the Youth women's 45kg division of the 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Saturday.

The 15-year-old Bacaro, a Grade 9 student at the University of Cebu, placed fourth in snatch (63kg) but topped the clean and jerk (183kg) to rule the event with a total of 146kg.

Jay-R Colonia of Zamboanga City also delivered in the Youth men’s 55kg category, winning a bronze in snatch (108kg), silver in clean and jerk (135kg), and silver in total (243kg).

"As a coach, I am proud and happy about Althea's victory because all the hard work and sacrifices we put into training have finally paid off. I am proud of her because this is the first time she has won the overall championship gold medal," coach Christopher Bureros said in an interview.

Bureros, a member of the national team coaching staff, did not go to Uzbekistan as he is also training Olympian Elreen Ando for the Asian Games scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

Bacaro won a silver in clean and jerk (80kg) and a bronze in total (140kg) at the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia last month.

She also got a silver in total and a bronze in clean and jerk in the Youth women's 40kg category at the 2025 IWF Youth and Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru.

The Youth category is for athletes aged 13 to 17, while the Junior is for competitors aged 15 to 20.

-Jean Malanum/Philippine News Agency