Lifters superb with 7-gold haul

MANILA, Philippines — The future looks bright for Philippine weightlifting.

Rosalinda Faustino capped the country’s glorious performance in the International Weightlifting Federation World Youth Championships with a gold and a silver yesterday in Durres, Albania.

Faustino, a 15-year-old Asian Youth gold winner, copped the clean and jerk mint with a 100-kilogram lift and snared the silver in the total with 178kg and finished behind Colombian Gelen Yulieth Torres Gomez (182kg).

It concluded a magnificent effort by the five-strong Philippine delegation, which raked in seven golds, four silvers and a bronze, for a sport that delivered the country’s breakthrough Olympic gold courtesy of Hidilyn Diaz in the 2021 Tokyo Games.

The other gold medals came from Prince Kiel delos Santos (two), Albert Ian delos Santos (two), Eron Borres (one) and Angeline Colonia (one).

“This is our future, we’ve proven our point and we’re ready for the 2028 LA Olympics,” said SWP chief Monico Puentevella.