Lifter Delos Santos targets 75 kg

Albert Ian delos Santos will move up to the men’s 75kg category after finishing fourth in the 70kg division of the IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China.

The 20-year-old admitted he was overwhelmed by the occasion, finding himself the youngest and smallest competitor in a field led by lifters from heavyweights North Korea and China.

Delos Santos, however, reset the junior world records in the clean and jerk with a 187kg lift and in total with 331kg, turning an intimidating experience into motivation.

“I was the youngest, the smallest, the skinniest in the field, up against North Korea and China — for the first time ever I felt fear,” said Delos Santos, who took the bronze in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya.

“There was just so much pressure, I was a sheep against wolves and now, after that performance, I feel like it’s an honor to be here and to be this near to the leaders.”

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella praised the young lifter, describing him as a potential Olympian alongside Elreen Ando, who was competing in the women’s 61 kg event at press time.

“We’re now watching another Olympian in the making,” Puentevella said.

Delos Santos acknowledged that moving up a weight class will require major adjustments ahead of the first IWF Olympic Qualification Event in Doha, Qatar, from 7 to 16 October next year.

The Doha meet will be the second qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“It’s going to be a struggle, eating five or six meals a day to get my weight up,” Delos Santos said.