Young Filipinos scoop up four more Asian weighlifting tilt golds

July 30, 2023 Times Europe

Philippines’ Angeline Landag Colonia. –POOL PHOTO

Angeline Colonia, a 16-year-old from Zamboanga coming from a family of ex-national weightlifters, bagged three gold medals in the 45-kilogram category on Sunday as Team Philippines continued to rake in the medals in the Asian Weightlifting Youth and Junior Championships.

Colonia ruled the youth and junior snatch events with a 75-kg effort and another triumph in the youth total at 158 kg even as Rose Jean Ramos pocketed the fourth gold junior total (162 kg) plus two silvers in the snatch (75 kg) and clean and jerk (87 kg) in the same weight class.

Older brother Nestor, a veteran of the 2016 Rio Olympics and uncle Greg, the country’s 1980s star who suited up in the 1988 Seoul Games, are Angeline’s guiding forces.

“My uncle is my coach. Together with my brother, who taught me his techniques, they inspired me to get into weightlifting,’’ said Colonia, a silver medalist in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia a few months back.

FILE–Filipino weightlifter Rose Jean Ramos rules women’s 45kg division. IWF PHOTO

Ramos, meanwhile, played like the favorite that she is in her weight class and joined Colonia, Prince Keil Delos Santos, Alexandra Ann Diaz and Eron Borres as the country’s gold medal winners in the event in New Delhi, India.

Delos Santos and Borres picked up all three gold medals available in the men’s 49 kg while Diaz collected the fourth gold on Saturday in the women’s 40 kg division.

In a related development, the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas won the bid to host the 2024 Asian youth and junior champs during the Asian Weightlifting Federation Asian Executive Committee meeting held last Friday.

With no other bid presented, the Philippines won the rights unanimously.