25 Weightlifters Ready for IWF Youth & Junior World Championships

LIMA, Peru – USA Weightlifting is sending 25 athletes to compete in the combined 2025 IWF Youth & Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru, which runs from April 30-May 6.  The delegation includes 2024 junior world champion Ella Nicholson along with 2024 junior national champions Nicole Caamano, Kaylee Landa, Jaycee Mann, Kyle Martin Jr., Ryan McDonald, and Sophie Shaft. 2024 youth national champions making the trip include Ella Bays, Olivia Bond-West, Brynn Catalano, Chassity Del Balso, Kaia Jacobs, McDonald, Daniel Marquez, Jaedyn Orton, Amelia Phillips, Autumn Sands, and Diego Yoo. The 25 athletes include eight junior women, three junior men, ten youth women, and four youth men.

Men’s Start List

Women’s Start List

Live Streaming links

Nicholson swept 77 kg gold and outdid the field by 22 kilos at the 2025 Junior Pan American Championships in March in her first competition since becoming a junior world champion last September. That was her fifth international competition, and her fifth time finishing on the podium in each lift. The 18 year old will look to bring her medal streak to six meets and defend her junior world title.

McDonald has moved from 73 kg to 81 kg since posting 282 kg and 284 kg totals at last year’s separate Youth and Junior World Championships. Those totals earned him second and ninth place, respectively. He lifted 137/172/308 at the 2024 North American Open Finals in December, and then posted a 326 kg total while competing at a true bodyweight of 83.9 kg at the 2025 Frank Spellman Classic in late January. A 326 kg total would have had him vying for another top 10 finish according to last year’s results in the 81 kg junior category.

The Youth World Championships will be 16-year-old Diego Yoo’s first competition since breaking a Pan American U15 49 kg clean & jerk record (101 kg) at the 2024 Youth Pan American Championships in Ecuador. Yoo hit all six lifts and swept U15 gold and U17 silver with a 75/101/176 that added nine kilos to his PR. Another dominant lifter from last year’s Pan Am Championships was Orton, who went 6-for-6 and swept 45 kg U15 gold while also taking U17 bronze in the snatch and silver in the clean & jerk and total. Her 59/73/132 from Ecuador remains a personal best as she heads into Peru as the top-rated youth lifter on the women’s side.

Men’s Schedule

All times local (GMT-5)

April 30

11:30 a.m. - 55kg C Diego Yoo

May 1

9:00 a.m. - 67kg C Daniel Marquez

1:30 p.m. - 67kg B Chris Cruz

May 2

11:30 a.m. - 73kg B Roy Maher, Carter Sing

6:30 p.m. - 81kg A Ryan McDonald

May 3

1:30 p.m. - 96kg B Kyle Martin Jr.

Women’s schedule

All times local (GMT-5)

April 30

11:30 a.m. - 45kg C Jaedyn Orton

May 1

9:00 a.m. - 55kg C Brynn Catalano

11:30 a.m. - 49kg B Amelia Phillips

1:30 p.m. - 55kg B Jaycee Mann

May 2

9:00 a.m. - 64kg C Chassity Del Balso, Autumn Sands

1:30 p.m. - 64kg B Anna Rucker

6:30 p.m. - 64kg A Sophie Shaft

May 3

9:00 a.m. - 71kg C McKenzie Hatcher, Brooke Buzzell

11:00 a.m. - 71kg B Kailey Papas

1:30 p.m. - 76kg B Ella Bays, Grace Montgomery

4:00 p.m. - 71kg A Nicole Caamano

6:30 p.m. - 76kg A Ella Nicholson

May 4

6:30 p.m. - +81kg A Olivia Bond West, Kaia Jacobs

May 5

9:30 a.m. - 87kg A Kaylee Landa