Albert Ian delos Santos during the Junior men’s 67kg category in the IWF Youth and Junior World Championships. IWF PHOTO
Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships 2025 gold medalist Albert Ian Delos Santos made his mark in his first appearance in a senior competition.
The 19-year-old set a new junior world record after lifting 185 kg on his third attempt in clean and jerk in the 71 kg division at the 2025 IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway.
Delos Santos finished eighth overall in his weight class, lifting 136 kg in the snatch and 185 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 322 kg.
The Zamboanga native's snatch was 12 kilos shy of the junior world standard, while his total was 6 kilos short of the junior world standard.
Weeraphon Wichuma, 21, from Thailand bagged the gold with a total lift of 346 kg. Japan's Masanori Miyamoto clinched silver at 345 kg, one kilo shy of Wichuma.
China's He Yueji nabbed bronze with a total lift of 344 kilos.
According to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) website, IWF president Mohammed Jalood joined the well-wishers who lauded Delos Santos for his feat.
Even before the competition, Delos Santos was confident he would make 185 kg.
"Promising to get a world record makes me sound cocky, which I’m not, but that was pretty special. My big target here was making the top ten and hitting that 185. There’s plenty more improvement in me, and I know I need to find 15 kilos more in snatch. But things are going well," he said in a report on the IWF website.
After his success in Forde, Delos Santos now has his sights set on the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand happening in December.
On his Instagram, coach Julius Naranjo congratulated Delos Santos for the feat.
"This wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and progress in training. Our preparation is always for the platform and you’ve worked hard and earned your spot as one of the best juniors in the world at just 19 years old," he wrote.
"You’ve worked hard for this and have been patient with your progress after years of building our trust and foundations together with your parents, (who are your first coaches) and coach @getjeked . Needless to say, our team is learning and getting better every competition," Naranjo added.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News last month, Delos Santos talked about joining his first senior competition.
"This is a bit different because this is senior level. And 'yung team namin is wanting me to try out to see where I stand senior level-wise, since I'm still a junior. This is going to be different since I'll see my idols," he said.
Delos Santos already aimed to hit a new personal record in his senior competition debut.
"I hope I do well. Not naman mag-hope ng medal, at least for a PR [personal record], personal best or top 10. I'll take it," he added.
The 19-year-old juniors champion said he started weightlifting because of his parents Alvin and Diwa Delos Santos, who met while they were on the national weightlifting team. His older sister Dessa was also a weightlifter for the national team.
"It was a family thing since both my mother and father, also my sister were weightlifters before me. Specifically, my dad is a heavyweight. So it was passed on to me, literal na yung childhood ko was metal and rust," he shared.
"I'd always watch my senior weightlifters and I'd look up to them. The rest is history. After I stopped a bit, after I picked it up, it was smooth sailing. A couple of injuries here and there, there were breakthroughs since I was still a kid," Delos Santos added.
Delos Santos is training with the HD Weightlifting Academy under coach Naranjo, while also getting tips from Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo.
"My dad figured I might as well train as well with coach Julius [Naranjo] because he also trusted coach Julius. When I went there, I really improved a lot. Especially learning from ate Haidie, it was a privilege talaga," he shared.
The 19-year-old, who is a sophomore trying to earn his business degree, shared his goals.
"To really build a good legacy since this legacy is passed on to me. I want it to be fulfilled. Hopefully to win a gold in the Olympics someday," Delos Santos said.
As he continues his weightlifting journey, Delos Santos always carries with him a piece of advice from his coaches.
"It's just to trust. Trust the process, trust your coach, trust your teammates. Yeah no matter how hard it gets in training and life, you just gotta trust the process and everything will work it your way. I've been taking that to the extreme and so far it's been great," he said.