NINE of the 13 weightlifters set to compete in the Asian Youth and Junior Championships have arrived in Manila over the weekend.

Those who checked in at the Philippine Sports Commission Quarters inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex yesterday were Rose Jean Ramos (Youth, women’s 45kg), Rosegie Ramos (Junior, women’s 49kg), Angeline Colonia (Youth, women’s 40kg), Rosalinda Faustino (Youth, women’s 49kg), Adrian Cristobal (Youth, men’s 61kg) and Christian Rodriguez (Youth, men’s 67kg) from Zamboanga; and Jun Dominic Bohol (Youth, men’s 55kg), Giselle Anne Betua (Junior, women’s 55kg) and Joefry Frasco (Junior, men’s 55kg) from Cebu.

The athletes were accompanied by coaches Allen Jayfrus Diaz (Zamboanga) and Christopher Bureros (Cebu).

The team from Bohol, composed of Vietnam Southeast Asian (SEA) Games double-gold winner Vanessa Sarno (Junior, women’s 71kg), John Raphael Macato (Junior, men’s 67kg), Kiesha Mae Felisilda (Youth, women’s 55kg) and coach Samuel Alegada will arrive on July 10.

Also joining the Uzbekistan trip are Prince Keil de los Santos (Youth, men’s 49kg) of Angono, Rizal, and coach Edmundo Jose Cardan (Manila).

The Asian Youth and Junior Championships will be held from July 15 to 25 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Youth division is for athletes 13 to 17 years old while the Junior division is for 15 to 20 years old.

The Philippines won two gold medals (snatch and total) and one silver medal (clean and jerk) from Sarno and a bronze medal courtesy of Rosegie Ramos (snatch) in the 2019 edition of the tournament in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The Uzbekistan tournament is part of the national lifters’ preparation for next year’s SEA Games in Cambodia and Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Sarno, the reigning Asian champion, won the women’s 71kg gold medal in the Vietnam SEA Games, setting new records in snatch (104kgs), clean and jerk (124kgs) and total (239kgs).

Ramos, on the other hand, defended the women’s 45kg title at the World Youth Weightlifting Championships at the Domo de la Feria in Leon City, Guanajuato, Mexico last month.