Meet the Young Titans Competing for Gold at the Junior Worlds 2023

As the 2023 World Junior Championships beckon, the city of Guadalajara is primed to witness a spectacle of strength and skill with 281 athletes, among them seven stars from the senior World Championship 2023, ready to compete. This assembly of junior athletes includes two remarkable senior gold winners, indicating an intense competition ahead.

Hampton Morris carries his ambitions into the junior championships with a record-breaking aura.

Despite a bombing out in the snatch at Riyadh, the 19-year-old American powerhouse rebounded to set a junior world record in the clean and jerk, underscoring his resilience and talent.

Chen Guan Ling, the 18-year-old sensation from Chinese Taipei, is set to dazzle once more. Fresh from her remarkable debut at the senior level – where she clinched the 55kg golds.

Chen now enters with the heaviest entry total in her category. Her swift ascendancy marks her as the one to watch.

The roster from Armenia to Egypt, Turkey to Ukraine, teems with athletes poised for podium finishes. Notably, Armenian athletes Gor Sahakyan and Garik Karapetyan, both medalists at the senior level, seek to extend their dominance, with Karapetyan eyeing an unprecedented third consecutive junior title.

Egypt’s Mahmoud Hosny and Rahma Ahmed, alongside Turkey’s Cansu Bektas, arrive with senior medals and are favorites for more honors.

Ukraine’s team, including Mykyta Rubanovskyi, Volodymyr Marchuk, Olha Ivzhenko, and Svitlana Samuliak, brings a blend of experience and emerging talent.

Latin America fields a strong lineup as well, with Venezuela’s Kerlys Montilla, Ecuador’s Kelin Jimenez, and Cuba’s Elizabeth Reyes all eyeing gold. The host nation pins its hopes on Mariana Garcia and Jose Poox, both former silver medalists at the world juniors, to shine on home soil.

As the IWF World Junior Championship prepare to unfurl, the city of Guadalajara stands ready to host a confluence of the world’s finest junior weightlifting talents, all vying for glory and the chance to etch their names in the annals of the sport.