News and Media

Archive from 2012

Olympic tickets to go on general sale today

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has confirmed further details of Olympic Games tickets available in the general sale, which started at 11am today. There are still some £20 tickets available in weightlifting. Customers can purchase up to four tickets per session, and can purchase up to four sessions in one transaction for all available sports apart from Football. Tickets for the Olympic Park are also still available. There are also several sports which will not be available for sale as all available tickets have been sold. For more information, visit the London 2012 ticketing

SportAccord Convention in Canada

SportAccord has become one of the key annual events for leading figures involved in the Olympic, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games and other major events, while the sold out gathering in Canada, that takes place from May 20 until 25, with over 830 separate organisations from more than 70 countries represented. IWF President Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF General Secretary Mr. Ma Wenguang and IWF Competition Director Attila Adamfi participate in the 10th annual SportAccord Convention - gathering of the most powerful decision makers in the world of sport. High on the agenda will be the announcement on May 23 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of which bidders have been shortlisted in the race to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games with Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo all involved. Also key will be the much anticipated Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) General Assembly, where Francesco Ricci Bitti will be named as the successor to Denis Oswald as President of the organisation with a high powered battle expected for ASOIF's prestigious seat on the IOC Executive

London 2012: Olympic flame handover ceremony

The Olympic flame has officially been handed over to organisers of the London 2012 Games at a ceremony in Athens. The event was held at the Panathinaikos Stadium, the home of the first modern Olympics in Greece in 1896. The Hellenic Weightlifting Federation President, three times Olympic Gold medallist and Greek weightlifting hero Pyrros Dimas together with the Chinese gymnast Li Ning lit the cauldron with the Olympic flame. They had been chosen to symbolise the continuity from Athens to Beijing to London. It was carried around Greece after being lit on 10 May in Olympia. 300 journalists from all around the world to cover the handover and more than 40.000 spectators got excited in the Stadium when Pyrros Dimas and Li Ning lit the cauldron. The public screamed in unison “Hellas, Hellas”. Right after the ceremony, Pyrros said “When I heard the crowd’s pride and energy, immediately I had a similar feeling as in 2004 during my last competition. I will never forget those moments. The power of weightlifting was with me and in me again”. Pyrros signed at least 2.000 autographs. The flame was than passed by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Capralos to Princess Anne who represented the UK in her role as president of the British Olympic Association. At this moment the flame became London 2012's official

Last competition day in Antigua – The Battle of the Titans

Men’s 105kg After winning a gold medal in the Snatch with 180kg and a gold medal in the Total BERSANOV Ibragim from Kazakhstan became Junior World Champion in the Men’s 105kg bodyweight category. With 391kg, he ameliorated his Total since the 2011 JWC Penang with 16kg. Second place went to PLESNIEKS Arturs (LAT) who also won the silver medal at the 2011 JWC right after ARROYO VALDEZ Jorge David ultimate winner of the Pan-American Senior competition this year. However, the Latvian lifter won the gold medal in the Clean & Jerk. The Iranian Lifter SAYAR Saied won a gold medal in the Snatch and without being on the podium for the Clean & Jerk, he managed to grab the bronze in the Total. JEON Dae-Un (KOR) and NANIEV Timur (RUS) both achieved 212kg in the Clean & Jerk and received respectively the silver and the bronze medal. Men’s +105kg No one managed to take the victory away from the Russian lifter ABUEV Magomed who won the gold medal in the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and also in the Total with 426kg. Even though he showed an impressive strength, the title holder MOULAEI Bahador (IRI) won a bronze medal in the Snatch, silver in the Clean & Jerk and with a Total of 417kg, a second silver medal. The Armenian lifter MINASYAN Gor ended the competition with the same result as MOULAEI (417kg), but as the Iranian lifter was lighter, MINASYAN won a bronze medal in the Total besides a silver in the Snatch and a bronze in the Clean & Jerk. Men Team Classification: CHN, RUS, IRI, TKM, USA, MEX. Junior Men’s points: WU Chao (CHN) in the 69kg bodyweight category with a Total of 342kg won the Sinclair competition with 459.8735 points. Within Men, the following countries obtained 1 Olympic Quota: ECU, BRA, MEX, USA, GUA, VEN,

Competition of the giants

Women’s +75kg In the Total, YAO Chi-Ling the lifter from Chinese Taipei won the gold medal with 240kg. This performance is 3kg less than the one she achieved at the 2011 Junior World Championships Penang, Malaysia where she grabbed the silver medal. She stood up on the first place of the podium with silver in the Snatch and only a 4th place in the Clean & Jerk. The 6 available medals in the +75kg were won by 6 athletes which shows the strength of all athletes present in this bodyweight category. Lifting 1kg less than YAO, the Venezuelan athlete PEREZ Naryuris won the silver and with another 1kg less than the silver medallist AMAECHI Chioma Madonna (USA) was awarded the bronze. Women categories ended at the Cesar Branas competition hall, updates are as follows: Team Classification: RUS, CHN, THA, TUR, MEX, POL. Junior Women’s points: AKHMETOVA Diana (RUS) in the 63kg bodyweight category with a Total of 237kg won the Sinclair competition with 298.1605 points. Within Women, the following countries obtained 1 Olympic Quota: MEX, BRA, CHI,