IWF Commits to Meeting IOC Requirements to Ensure Weightlifting Place at LA 2028
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) yesterday welcomed the decision of the IOC Executive Board to maintain weightlifting’s place on the Paris 2024 programme and reiterated its commitment to completing reforms aimed at safeguarding the sport’s long-term Olympic future.
“On behalf of weightlifters around the world, we express our gratitude to the IOC Executive Board for confirming weightlifting’s place on the Paris 2024 programme,” said IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani. “We take careful note of the IOC’s concerns and we are confident these concerns will be overcome as we continue to implement our wide-ranging reforms.
“We are fully committed to upholding the highest standards of good governance. We held clean and successful competitions at Tokyo 2020. And the adoption of our new constitution reflects our desire to build our future in the right way. The new constitution already guarantees the future IWF Executive Board will have greater athlete representation and improved gender equity than ever before, demonstrating the change of culture the IOC has referenced.
“We expect that by the end of the first semester of 2022 we will be in a position to hold the IWF elections which will mark the beginning of a new chapter in IWF’s history. While we are eager for the elections to be held as soon as possible, it is imperative that we implement governance changes carefully so that this new chapter begins with a strong legal basis that is beyond reproach. I am confident the future Executive Board of the IWF will be well-placed to satisfy the IOC’s requirements and ensure the place of weightlifting on the Olympic Programme of Los Angeles 2028.”
The IWF Elections were due to be held during the Congress scheduled for 20-21 December 2021 but were postponed after receiving the independent IWF Legal Commission’s advice.
