Sixteen-year-old Turkmen weightlifter Shabnam Kerimbayeva has written her name into the history of world sport by setting two youth world records at the 91st World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China. Competing in the 57 kg weight category, the Master of Sport from Turkmenistan set world records in the girls’ division (ages 13–17) in both the snatch, with a lift of 89 kg, and the total for the two lifts, with 201 kg. In the clean and jerk, our compatriot lifted 112 kg, equalling the youth world record set on August 10, 2026, by 15-year-old Snezhana Kashkarova of Kazakhstan at the Asian Youth Championships in Tashkent.
Shabnam Kerimbayeva, who will turn 17 on December 26, delivered a flawless performance, successfully completing all six of her attempts. On the platform in Ningbo, she lifted 83, 86 and 89 kg in the snatch, followed by 103, 107 and 112 kg in the clean and jerk. At the end of the competition, the athlete finished fourth in the snatch and sixth in the clean and jerk. With a total of 201 kg, she placed fifth in the final standings among 14 competitors from 13 countries, finishing just 4 kg behind fourth-place Alexandra Grigoryan of Armenia. The podium in this category was occupied by O Kwang Ok of the DPRK, who won gold with a total of 227 kg (102 + 125); Chen Guan-ling of Chinese Taipei, who claimed silver with 215 kg (90 + 125); and Ukraine’s Olga Ivzhenko, who took bronze with 214 kg (96 + 118).
The young weightlifter successfully combines her sporting achievements with her studies in the 12th grade at Secondary School No. 51 in the Garashsyzlyk etrap of the Dashoguz velayat. Shabnam took her first steps in sport under the guidance of her father, Zeripbay Kerimbayev, and is now continuing to hone her skills as a member of Turkmenistan’s national team under head coach Meretguly Sakhetmyradov. The athlete’s progress has been impressive. As recently as August this year, at the Asian Youth Championships in Tashkent, she competed in the 53 kg category, where she recorded a total of 186 kg (83 kg in the snatch and 103 kg in the clean and jerk). This earned her silver among girls under 17 and bronze among junior athletes under 20.
Turkmenistan is represented by ten athletes at the World Championships in Ningbo. The first Turkmen competitor to take to the platform was Ogulshat Amanova, a two-time world champion among girls under 17. Competing in the 53 kg category, she lifted 85 kg in the snatch and 104 kg in the clean and jerk, finishing 20th with a total of 189 kg among 38 competitors from 33 countries. China’s Zhang Haiqin won the gold medal in this category with a total of 221 kg. Miranda Ulrey of the United States claimed silver with 220 kg, while Kim So-hyon of the DPRK took bronze with 214 kg.
