Continued international exposure is paying off handsomely for the Philippines after its young lifters collected 13 gold medals at the recent Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella told DAILY TRIBUNE that regularly competing overseas has been key to the young lifters’ success against powerhouses such as Japan and Kazakhstan.

The Filipinos dominated the youth division with a 10-3-3 gold-silver-bronze medal haul while adding three golds, three silvers and six bronzes in the juniors division.

“Our coaches now are world-class. In this case, we keep sending them out to compete,” Puentevella said in a phone conversation.

“See what happens when you have international competition? A lot of them went to Colombia to perform elsewhere.”

In the youth division, Althea Bacaro won two gold medals in the women’s 45kg category after lifting 83kg in the clean and jerk and posting a 146kgs total.

Alexsandra Diaz, niece of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, dominated the women’s 49kg event with three gold medals after lifting 77kgs in the snatch, 92kgs in the clean and jerk and 169kgs in total.

Jhodie Peralta added two gold medals in the women’s 53kg category after topping the snatch with an 86kgs lift and posting a 102kgs total.

In the men’s 60kg category, Jerick Icon Castro completed a three-gold sweep after lifting 116kgs in the snatch, 144kgs in the clean and jerk and 260kgs in total.

In the juniors division, Prince Kiel delos Santos won gold in the men’s 60kg snatch with a 120kgs lift, while Peralta added another gold in the women’s 53kg snatch after lifting 86kgs.

Angeline Colonia also contributed a gold medal for the Philippines after topping the women’s 49kg snatch with an 80kgs lift.