Tomari Kotaro made a big splash at the 2025 Youth & Junior World Weightlifting Championships on Apr. 30. Kotaro, 19, won the Men's 55-kilogram category in his second-ever international competition appearance.
- Zoom In: Kotaro became only the second Japanese athlete to win Junior Worlds in the last ten years. In 2024, Masashi Nishikawa won gold in the Men's 96-kilogram category.
What's more, Kotaro also set two Junior world records in the Men's featherweights just weeks before the IWF will effect its new bodyweight categories. Let's take a closer look at Kotaro's historic performance and put it into context.
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Tomari Kotaro (55KG, JPN) | 2025 Junior World Weightlifting Championships
Kotaro was poised to battle Junior rival K Duong of Vietnam on site in Lima, Peru. At the Junior World Weightlifting Championships last year, Kotaro placed second behind Duong in his international debut.
But this time, Kotaro flipped the script; at the halfway mark of the 55-kilogram event, Kotaro was 10 kilos up on Duong, 123 to 113. When they met at Juniors last year, Kotaro snatched only 108, while Duong set a Youth world record at 115.
Tomari Kotaro (55KG, JPN)
- Snatch: 115, 118, 123 | Junior World Record
- Clean & Jerk: 138, 143x, 143
- Total: 266 | Junior World Record
During the clean & jerks, Duong appeared in pain despite taking the gold in that lift with his 144-kilogram second attempt. He declined a third — just as he'd done in 2024.
Tomari Kotaro, In Context
According to our friends at We Lift Weights, Kotaro is the first Japanese male to hold a world record in 49 years. He swiped the total record from Thailand's Theerapong Silachai (265 in 2022).
More impressive still, Kotaro's 123-kilogram snatch exceeded the IWF standard of 122, which was established in 2018 and had gone uncontested in the seven years since.
- Strength in Numbers: Japan has fielded a team of nine competitors at this year's Youth & Junior World Weightlifting Championships, but will not send any athletes to the Asian Weightlifting Championships, which begin May 9.
With a year still remaining in his Junior career, Kotaro might be Team Japan's next big thing.
Zooming out, Kotaro's performance comes as a notable encore to Senior teammate Masanori Miyamoto. Miyamoto — whose international best total is 350 at 73 — recently hit a 193-kilogram clean & jerk personal record while cutting down for the upcoming Men's 71-kilogram division.
Team Japan hasn't won a Senior weightlifting medal since the Asian Championships last February. With Kotaro on the come-up and Miyamoto cutting down (and looking better than ever), we'd bet their luck is about to change.
