Powerlifting America will send 65 athletes to the 2026 IPF Sub-Junior and Junior World Championships, held August 18 to 29 in Sun City, South Africa. The team splits almost evenly across the meet’s two halves: 31 entries in the equipped championships that open the event, and 34 in the classic championships that follow. Of those, 36 are men and 29 women, 31 Sub-Junior and 34 Junior, with birth years running from 2003 to 2010.
The most striking entry on the American card belongs to a Sub-Junior. Justin Nguyen, born in 2009, is nominated at 670 in the classic 59kg class, half a kilo above the IPF Open world record of 669.5 that Sergei Fedosienko has held since 2016. The Sub-Junior record in the class is 590.5 and the Junior record 658, so his nomination clears the division above him by 12 and his own by 79.5.
The heaviest nominated totals on the American card belong to the equipped Juniors. Ryan Creasy enters the 120kg class at 980.5, the largest nomination on th team, and Ashton Fischer follows at 940.5 in the 105s. In classic, Lawrence Jones leads the Americans at 897.5 in the Junior 105kg class, with Evan Ross at 867.5 in the 93s.
The women’s card is anchored at 84kg and above. Mena Reeves brings the top equipped nomination at 547.5 in the Junior 84kg class, matched exactly by Kathryn Tranum, whose 547.5 leads the American classic entries at 84+kg. Esperanza Delgado is nominated at 540 in the Junior 76s and Octavia Hill at 506 in the equipped Junior 57s.
Fifteen weight classes carry two American entries apiece, among them the Sub-Junior 84+kg classic places filled by Anika Klawikowski and Anika Olson. The youngest American is Elaina Canales, born in 2010.
Selection follows the published criteria for each national team; full details are on the National Teams pages. The full schedule, roster, and event information are on the event page.
Schedule
All times Eastern. Sun City is 6 hours ahead of Eastern, so most American sessions fall in the early morning at home. Every session streams live on the IPF’s YouTube channel.
| Day | Time (ET) | Session | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Aug 18 | 3:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior and Junior 53 to 66kg, equipped | 6 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Women Sub-Junior and Junior 43 to 57kg, equipped | 8 | |
| Wed, Aug 19 | 3:00 a.m. | Women Sub-Junior and Junior 63 to 76kg, equipped | 3 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior and Junior 74 to 93kg, equipped | 7 | |
| Thu, Aug 20 | 3:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior and Junior 105 to 120+kg, equipped | 5 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Women Sub-Junior and Junior 84 and 84+kg, equipped | 2 | |
| Fri, Aug 21 | 3:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior 53 to 66kg | 3 |
| 9:00 a.m. | Women Sub-Junior 43 to 57kg | 1 | |
| Sat, Aug 22 | 3:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior 74kg | 2 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Women Sub-Junior 63kg | 1 | |
| Sun, Aug 23 | 3:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior 93 to 105kg | 3 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Women Sub-Junior 69 to 84+kg | 5 | |
| Mon, Aug 24 | 2:00 a.m. | Men Sub-Junior 120 and 120+kg | 1 |
| 5:00 a.m. | Women Junior 43 to 52kg | 3 | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Men Junior 53 to 59kg | 3 | |
| Tue, Aug 25 | 4:00 a.m. | Women Junior 57kg | 2 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Men Junior 66kg | 2 | |
| Wed, Aug 26 | 4:00 a.m. | Women Junior 63kg | 2 |
| 8:00 a.m. | Men Junior 74kg | 1 | |
| Thu, Aug 27 | 8:00 a.m. | Men Junior 83kg | 1 |
| Fri, Aug 28 | 3:00 a.m. | Women Junior 76kg | 1 |
| 7:00 a.m. | Men Junior 93kg | 1 | |
| 11:30 a.m. | Women Junior 84 and 84+kg | 1 | |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 3:00 a.m. | Men Junior 105kg | 1 |
The Roster
Men’s Classic
Sub-Junior: Ahmed Al Fatli (53kg), Justin Nguyen (59kg), Masato Gentle (59kg), Ben Tran (74kg), Graham Steel (74kg), Ethan Cohen (93kg), Austin Wilson (105kg), Michael Cruz (105kg), Austin Oakley (120kg)
Junior: James Medrano (53kg), Cardin Do (59kg), Timmy Truong (59kg), Evelio Gonzalez (66kg), Hassan Coleman (66kg), Brayden Molinyawe (74kg), Dillon Johnson (83kg), Evan Ross (93kg), Lawrence Jones (105kg)
Women’s Classic
Sub-Junior: Katelyn Plourde (57kg), Arden Hyatt (63kg), Gianna Ancona (69kg), Hayley Csepella (76kg), Sonia Espitia (76kg), Anika Klawikowski (84+kg), Anika Olson (84+kg)
Junior: Brennan Fallon (43kg), Emma Horn (47kg), Lola Cheramie (52kg), Eleni Guerrera (57kg), Ellie Weinstein (57kg), Marina Maxwell (63kg), Sophia Fortin (63kg), Esperanza Delgado (76kg), Kathryn Tranum (84+kg)
Men’s Equipped
Sub-Junior: Trey Nguyen (53kg), Ethan Andrews (59kg), George Cunningham (66kg), Angel Flores (74kg), Joshua Thompson (74kg), Wyatt Gremillion (83kg), Steele Rogers (105kg), Noah Shotwell (120kg), Caeden Stearns (120+kg)
Junior: Brayden Hollier (53kg), Bodie Lacoe (59kg), Brady Price (66kg), Lawson Lillo (74kg), Logan Edmonds (74kg), Carter Lewis (83kg), Ty Felle (83kg), Ashton Fischer (105kg), Ryan Creasy (120kg)
Women’s Equipped
Sub-Junior: Crystal Anaya (43kg), Joanie Cannon (47kg), Lylah Jones (52kg), Celeste Godinez (69kg), Juliette Brewer (69kg), Elaina Canales (84kg)
Junior: Kennedi Kullman (47kg), Isabelle Gazdecki (52kg), Katelynn Billiot (52kg), Elizabeth Pizarro (57kg), Octavia Hill (57kg), Baylee Donovan (76kg), Mena Reeves (84kg)