European U17 Weightlifting Championships: Armenia and Türkiye Win Team Events

In Madrid, Spain, the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships for athletes under 17 years old have concluded. Representatives from more than 34 countries took part in the tournament, with the team victories claimed by Armenia (boys) and Turkey (girls).

After a long break, a team from Russia also took part in the European Championships, but without a flag.

Team Standings
Boys U17

1. Armenia – 562 points

2. Ukraine – 529 points

3. Turkey – 470 points

4. Poland – 443 points

5. Spain – 381 points

6. Georgia – 341 points

Girls U17

1. Turkey – 541 points

2. Ukraine – 532 points

3. Poland – 427 points

4. Italy – 372 points

5. Romania – 371 points

6. Spain – 365 points

Russian athletes competed under neutral status, and their results were not included in the team standings.

Individual Awards
Best Male Weightlifter (Robbi Points): Dan Betca (Moldova, 65 kg) – record total in the biathlon
Best Female Weightlifter (Robbi Points): Katarina Malashchuk (Ukraine, 48 kg) – three new European records

U17 European Weightlifting Championship Results by Weight Category

Boys

56 kg:

1. Lucian Cambey (Romania) – 227 kg (107 + 120)

2. Erdogan Yigit (Turkey) – 222 kg (100 + 122)

3. Muammer Kurt (Turkey) – 219 kg (98 + 121)

60 kg:

1. Ramazan Yilmaz (Turkey) – 252 kg (111 + 141)

2. Danu Secrieru (Moldova) – 251 kg (114 + 137)

3. Evgeny Butuzov (Russia) – 247 kg (112 + 135)
   6th place: Davit Arakelyan (Armenia) – 246 kg (113 + 133)

65 kg:

1. Dan Betca (Moldova) – 269 kg (123 + 146)

2. Harrison McGrogan (Ireland) – 267 kg (118 + 149)

3. Sergey Plotnikov (Russia) – 264 kg (116 + 148)
   6th place: Artush Grigoryan (Armenia) – 257 kg (116 + 140)

71 kg:

1. Arseniy Kurochkin (Russia) – 286 kg (125 + 161)

2. Sergey Lukanin (Russia) – 274 kg (119 + 155)

3. Rafik Darmoyan (Armenia) – 273 kg (121 + 152)

79 kg:

1. Yuriy Klimovich (Ukraine) – 297 kg (139 + 158)

2. Samuele Di Marzio (Italy) – 297 kg (136 + 160)

3. Maksims Vasilonoks (Latvia) – 295 kg (138 + 157)

4. Karapet Karapetyan (Armenia) – 286 kg (125 + 161)

88 kg:

1. Sergey Kotelevski (Ukraine) – 318 kg (141 + 177)

2. Sefkan Sumen (Turkey) – 317 kg (145 + 172)

3. Andrey Solopiy (Russia) – 311 kg (142 + 169)
   5th place: Alen Zurabyan (Armenia) – 295 kg (125 + 170)
   6th place: Hayk Harutyunyan (Armenia) – 286 kg (125 + 161)

94 kg:

1. Grigor Ghazaryan (Armenia) – 338 kg (148 + 190)

2. Alexander Bagayev (Russia) – 330 kg (146 + 184)

3. Jumber Bekoshvili (Georgia) – 308 kg (139 + 169)

+94 kg:

1. Harutyun Hovhannisyan (Armenia) – 346 kg (160 + 186)

2. Djaba Tkeshelashvili (Georgia) – 341 kg (155 + 186)

3. Semyon Karavev (Russia) – 330 kg (154 + 176)

Girls

44 kg:

1. Tugba Kaya (Turkey) – 134 kg (58 + 76)

2. Fatma Kolchak (Turkey) – 133 kg (60 + 73)

3. Alexandra Shilyaeva (Ukraine) – 127 kg (58 + 69)
   6th place: Kristine Babayan (Armenia) – 113 kg (51 + 62)

48 kg:

1. Katarina Malashchuk (Ukraine) – 169 kg (76 + 93)

2. Boyana Kostadinova (Bulgaria) – 160 kg (75 + 85)

3. Evelin Gomez Sosa (Spain) – 152 kg (67 + 85)

53 kg:

1. Maria Stratoudaki (Greece) – 181 kg (81 + 100)

2. Alexia Sipos (Romania) – 177 kg (79 + 98)

3. Adelina Lorint (Romania) – 158 kg (70 + 86)

58 kg:

1. Nikoleta Cojocaru (Moldova) – 190 kg (85 + 105)

2. Amelie Pelta (United Kingdom) – 182 kg (81 + 101)

3. Ilayda Ertugrul (Turkey) – 178 kg (77 + 101)

63 kg:

1. Enkilda Charya (Albania) – 204 kg (93 + 111)

2. Sudenaz Sevim (Turkey) – 180 kg (82 + 98)

3. Natalia Sargsyan (Armenia) – 178 kg (81 + 97)

69 kg:

1. Darya Kuznetsova (Russia) – 199 kg (91 + 108)

2. Iga Burda (Poland) – 196 kg (88 + 108)

3. Alexandra Chmukh (Ukraine) – 188 kg (84 + 104)

77 kg:

1. Varvara Kuzminova (Russia) – 226 kg (104 + 122)

2. Minni Hormarvirta (Finland) – 219 kg (95 + 124)

3. Maria Ivanova (Russia) – 217 kg (94 + 123)
   11th place: Meri Agalaryan (Armenia) – 151 kg (66 + 85)

+77 kg:

1. Sofia Vragova (Russia) – 211 kg (95 + 116)

2. Zeynep Pehlivan (Turkey) – 206 kg (91 + 115)

3. Dorota Gnosa (Poland) – 199 kg (89 + 110)
   6th place: Nare Arakelyan (Armenia) – 198 kg (88 + 110)

Performance of the Armenian Team

The Armenian team showed the best result among the boys and took 1st place in the team standings. Armenian weightlifters had several impressive performances:

• Grigor Ghazaryan (94 kg) – gold medal and two records

• Harutyun Hovhannisyan (+94 kg) – gold medal and one record

• Rafik Darmoyan (71 kg) – bronze

• Davit Arakelyan (60 kg) – 6th place and a small silver in the snatch

• Artush Grigoryan (65 kg) – 6th place

• Karapet Karapetyan (79 kg) – 4th place and a small gold in the clean & jerk

• Alen Zurabyan (88 kg) – 5th place

• Hayk Harutyunyan (88 kg) – 6th place

Among the girls, Natalia Sargsyan (63 kg) stood out, winning a bronze medal.

Conclusion

The U17 European Weightlifting Championships became one of the most successful tournaments for the Armenian team in recent years. Victory in the boys’ team standings and medals in key weight categories provide a solid foundation for the future. Among the girls, Turkey was the undisputed leader, confidently winning the team competition.