When Hidilyn Diaz won the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, most of the country’s newest weightlifting sensations were still in grade school, some not even teenagers. Five years later, they are no longer just watching their hero. They are following her footsteps, one lift at a time.
The Philippine team turned the 2026 IWF World Youth Weightlifting Championships in Cali, Colombia into its own coming-out party, hauling home medals, smashing records, and proving that the country’s weightlifting renaissance is only getting stronger.
The final flourish came from 14-year-old Cebuana Jea Mae Palagtiw, who looked remarkably unfazed on her world championship debut. Competing in the women’s 77-kilogram class, she snatched 88 kilograms and muscled a 112-kilogram clean and jerk to claim silver in both the clean and jerk and total with an impressive 200 kilograms.
She capped what had already become a spectacular week for Team Philippines.
Leading the charge was 15-year-old Alexsandra Diaz, niece of the Olympic champion, who defended her world youth title in the women’s 48kg division. She did so in emphatic fashion, breaking youth world records in the clean and jerk and total with lifts of 77kg, 98kg, and 175kg.
Another returning champion, 17-year-old Jay Colonia, narrowly missed retaining his crown in the men’s 56kg class. After winning the 49kg title in Lima last year, Colonia settled for overall silver with a 249kg total but captured the clean and jerk gold after hoisting 140kg.
Jhodie Peralta, another product of Diaz’s hometown training program in Zamboanga, also earned silver in her division after totaling 188kg. Meanwhile, Althea Bacaro added another podium finish with bronze after lifting a combined 140kg.
Two medals were contirubted by 15-year-old Rhianne Cabalida despite failing twicein Group B. She was second in snatch, third in clean and jerk, and second with a total 88-105-193.
The common denominator behind the medal rush is impossible to ignore. Many of these young lifters either trained directly under programs established by Diaz or were inspired by the trail she blazed when she transformed weightlifting from a niche sport into a national obsession.
“I am so happy to see youngsters with a barbell, to see how they love the sport,” Diaz said recently. “I am using my status as an Olympic champion to spread the sport in the Philippines.”
Mission accomplished.
Diaz did not just lift an Olympic barbell in Tokyo. She lifted expectations, shattered old ceilings, and opened a door that today’s teenagers are sprinting through. Judging by the fearless performances in Cali, the Philippines may no longer be celebrating just one golden generation. It could be witnessing the rise of the next one.
