Archive from 2017

Students from 52 nations to compete in weightlifting at the 2017 Taipei Universiade

One week prior to the start of the competitions at the 2017 Summer Universiade, weightlifting looks to significant FISU Games with record participation. 52 Stucountries have entered nearly 300 competitors to vie for the Universiade titles and medals in Taipei City. Among the athletes we can find 15 Olympic champions or Olympic medal winners and 14 World Championships medallists. Those most prominent highlighting the Universiade events are undoubtedly the double Olympic Champions (2012 and 2016)  Shu-Ching HSU, TPE, the local superstar in the women's 53kg; Jong Sim RIM, PRK in the women's 75kg; or  Yun Chol OM, PRK in the men's 56kg, who took gold in the 2012 London Games and a silver in Rio 2016. Thailand's team will also be studded with their Olympic and world champions like Sopita TANASANand  Sukanya SRISURAT. Two former Universiade champions are hoping to defend their titles, while 27 World University Championship medal winners want to score success in this  field promising to be tougher than ever before at university level. TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — TPE athlete  Hsing-chun KUO, the gold medallist in the Asian Weightlifting Championship 2017 women's 58 kg event, held the torch of the 2017 Universiade when it arrived to the city on its tour in Chinese Taipei. As one of weightlifting athletes in TPE national team, Kuo hopes to break the record she made at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan and keep the gold medal in home.

Rio 2016: Sohrab MORADI (IRI) M94kg became Olympic Champion exactly 1 year ago!

“I trained for two years at my own home. People always asked me why I was training and I knew why I was training. I had a goal.” Live through the fantastic weightlifting competitions again: Men

Rio 2016: Kianoush ROSTAMI (IRI) M85kg became Olympic Champion exactly 1 year ago!

“I wasn’t thinking I was going to win. Sometimes the weights change and sometimes the bodies change. If I have more time in the future I will set more Olympic records and more world records.” Did you know he was also 2016 Jenő Boskovics Award winner for Lifter of the Year among Men? Live through the fantastic weightlifting competitions again: Men

Rio 2016: Jong Sim RIM (PRK) W75kg became Olympic Champion exactly 1 year ago!

“Even when the training was tough I did my best and trained even harder.” Live through the fantastic weightlifting competitions again: Women

London – Rio – Anaheim: through a Competition Manager’s eyes

Last August 6th, the biggest show on Earth was about to start. The Weightlifting venue was starting to fill with people from all parts of Rio and from around the World. Millions of people were watching on TV and were excited to see fantastic athletes lift tremendous weights. For the Rio 2016 Weightlifting staff, it all started during the London 2012 Games. At that moment, I was appointed as the Rio 2016 competition manager. My background as a Weightlifting training center coordinator and a physical education professor in a university got me covered, but that could never fully prepare me for the complexity of the Games. At this point, the participation of the IWF officials and secretariat was decisive. Special praise must be given to the technical delegates Mr. Sam Coffa and Mr. Attila Adamfi, cornerstones of this preparation. Together we accomplished many things. We were happy to see new camera coverage with different angles and modern technologies in the sport of Weightlifting. Thanks to this, the television audience reached an all-time high, surpassing other very popular sports. Weightlifting reached both old and new fans. On the sport side, rules and traditions of the sport were strictly observed. However, we still had room to innovate. The color of the discs was adapted to match the Rio 2016 look, creating a unique photo memory, experience and feelings for athletes and coaches. More television sets were made available in the warm-up area as well as an extra attempt board in the field of play. The newly implemented ‘Last Call Room’ was a success, allowing the television broadcasters to better ‘tell the story’ of the athletes, coaches and officials. Out of the competition venue, the Olympic Village was no more than 5 minutes away by bus, meaning no stress regarding transportation to athletes. The training hall had 50 platforms stocked with plenty of equipment. The same equipment was used in the Spectator Experience Area, where the general audience could enjoy, take photos and even practice some Weightlifting (sometimes even in the presence of the great Mr. Pyrros Dimas). Still talking about the equipment, platforms, discs and barbells were kept as legacy from the Games been used now days by a National Training Center, administered by the Brazilian Navy. One year after the Games I am proud and happy to be involved in a new challenge in a now very active Member Federation. Under the leadership of Ms. Ursula Garza Papandrea (IWF Vice President and USA Weightlifting President) and Mr. Phil Andrews (USA Weightlifting CEO) I now have the role of Events Senior Manager in USA Weightlifting. New role, new challenges: at the end of 2017 we will host the World Championships in Anaheim, California, USA. Once again, I am sure we will all have great memories to revisit one year after! See you all there!   Pedro Meloni USA Weightlifting Senior Events Manager Former Rio 2016 Sport Manager    

Rio 2016: Nijat RAHIMOV (KAZ) M77kg became Olympic Champion exactly 1 year ago!

“I spent 95% of my time training. I guess I was ready for this.” Live through the fantastic weightlifting competitions again: Men