At A Glance
- The 25-year-old Cebuano, who is in his fifth stint at the worlds, lifted 131 kilograms in snatch for a new Philippine mark, but settled for fifth place overall in the men's 61kg division with 296 kilos after registering 165 kilos in clean & jerk.
John Febuar Ceniza reset his own national record in snatch but came up short in his bid of a podium finish in the 2023 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

The 25-year-old Cebuano, who is in his fifth stint at the worlds, lifted 131 kilograms in snatch for a new Philippine mark, but settled for fifth place overall in the men’s 61kg division with 296 kilos after registering 165 kilos in clean & jerk.
Ceniza had his chances of improving his previous performance but failed in his final attempt in snatch at 133 kilos.
He also stumbled on his first lift in clean & jerk at 165 kilos before completing it on his second try, then attempted to match his own record at 170 kilos, but failed.
Still, it was Ceniza’s best finish at the worlds after managing at 10th place in Bogota, Colombia last year.
Tokyo Olympics champion Li Fabin retained his title with a total lift of 308 kilos despite coming in second in clean & jerk at 167 kilos. He topped the snatch event with 141 kilos.
Italy’s Sergio Massidda claimed the silver with 302 kilos while Chinese Ding Hongjie bagged the bronze with 301 kg.
Meanwhile, four more Filipinos are seeing action over the next few days with Hidilyn Diaz competing in a heavier weight class at 59kgs with fellow Tokyo Olympian Elreen Ando on Friday, Sept. 8.
Vanessa Sarno and Kristel Macrohon, for their parts, battle on Sept. 12 in the women’s 71kg division.