Teenagers from Kazakhstan and Spain went head to head in the best session of the week at the IWF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, the men’s 88kg. Tunisia claimed gold in the women’s 77kg, in which the Philippines won its sixth medal on total.
Nurzhan Zhumabay and Erik Guadamud Pico, whose combined age is 31, marked themselves out as athletes for the future in a classic session that featured four world record attempts.
Nurzhan Zhumabay (KAZ)
Only one was successful, but there are sure to be more attempts in the coming months and years.
Zhumabay, 15, won on 155-193-348. In beating the clean and jerk world standard he confirmed Kazakhstan as the strongest men’s team in the world in this age group in recent years.
Nine of the 11 world titles Kazakhstan has won since 2022 have been by men. Since new weight categories came into effect last year Kazakhstan has claimed five men’s youth world records, all within the past nine months.
Zhumabay looked unimpressed after finishing on 155kg in snatch, a kilo behind the 16-year-old Spaniard, having missed his second attempt. Guadamud Pico went for the world record on 161kg but failed.
Erik Guadamud Pico (ESP)
They pushed each other in clean and jerk too. Guadamud Pico would have had a sweep of world records if he had made his final attempt at 194kg. He failed and finished 156-188-344. Zhumabay then took a shot at 200kg but could not clean it.
Zhumabay has won all three of his international competitions, Asian Youths, Asian Youth Games and now the World Youths, improving his total by 33kg in a year.
Since making his international debut 15 months ago Guadamud Pico has taken his total from 295kg to 344kg and he now has a national senior record in snatch. He is already being described in the media as “one of Spanish sport’s great prospects”.
He was born and raised in Spain, whereas his older brother Juan is competing for Ecuador, where he was born. The brothers’ father is Eduardo Guadamud, who lifted for Ecuador at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Third-placed Jose Mantilla from Mexico was also in good form. His 151-184-335 gave him a sweep of continental youth records.
To complete a truly global top four – Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa – Mohammed Albakhnasi from Libya was next on 141-172-313, a day after Abdulrauf Khalifa became Libya’s first ever World Youths medallist.
Ghrissa Ghofrane (TUN)
Africa had a winner in a tight finish in the women’s 77kg. Ghrissa Ghofrane from Tunisia held on for victory after building a lead in snatch. The continental youth and junior champion Ghrissa, whose brother Rayen lifted at the 2023 World Youths, made 90-110-200.
Jea Mae Palagtiw from the Philippines made the same total and would have won if she had opted for (and made) a kilo more on her final attempt. Palagtiw finished 88-112-200, becoming the sixth medallist on total for her country in Cali, five of them female.
The Women’s 77kg category podium
Polina Kalnyk from Ukraine won clean and jerk gold and finished third on 87-112-199. The silver and bronze snatch medallists – Iris Valencia from Ecuador and Flavia Hreapca from Romania – dropped to fourth and fifth on total.
By Brian Oliver
Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia
