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The Future Is Bright for Women’s Weightlifting

Women’s weightlifting is on the rise, with an increasing number of females of all age groups discovering the benefits of incorporating resistance training into their lives. With role models like Spain’s Lydia Valentín, who scooped the Women’s 2017 Lifter of the Year award, women's weightlifting is becoming more established in the grassroots, feeding an ever-expanding talent pool at an elite level across an unprecedented number of countries. A 2011 survey found that only 0.9% of women used weight training for fitness. However, times are changing. Although more recent figures are not available for comparison, it is worth noting that the #girlswholift trend has been posted an incredible 21.5 million times on Instagram alone, highlighting the irresistible momentum behind the movement. [caption id="attachment_22240" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Lydia Valentin receiving her Lifter of the Year award[/caption] Momentum It's 35 years since the IWF opted to take women’s weightlifting under its wing, with the first international women’s tournament held three years later in Budapest, Hungary. With the foundations put in place by the IWF, World and Continental Championships followed for all age groups, before women’s weightlifting finally secured a spot at the Olympic Games for the first time 18 years ago in Sydney, Australia. Fast-forward to the present day and significant developments are still occurring that will pave the way for future generations of female weightlifters to take to the podium. Last month, at the Asian Youth Championships, Iran, a long-time powerhouse of men’s weightlifting, fielded its first team of female athletes at an international weightlifting event in Urgench, Uzbekistan. Despite having less experience at competing, the team performed impressively, and a fifth-place finish for Elnaz Bajalani in the 63kg division in the Youth Championships underlined the potential long-term impact of the move. Iran’s national federation started training female athletes just over two years ago and in February the federation, with permission from the Ministry of Sports, held a competition to identify lifters who would represent the country at the championships. The federation’s president, Ali Moradi, said that Iran’s female lifters should gain inspiration from Sara Ahmed, who became the first Arab woman to win a weightlifting medal at the Olympics – and the first Egyptian woman to secure a Games model in any sport – with a bronze in the 69kg category at Rio 2016. [caption id="attachment_22313" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Sara Ahmed - Anaheim, 2017. ©ATG[/caption] Inspiration Ahmed is only 20 years old and has already won gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games, World Junior Championships and World Youth Championships. Last month, Mohamed Eldib, the head coach of Egypt’s national weightlifting team, spoke of the impact of her victory on the sport in her country by describing how the number of registered female weightlifters had rocketed tenfold to more than 300 since Rio 2016. Ahmed’s success may serve as an inspiration to female lifters across the Middle East and North Africa region, but the likes of superstar Valentin are already providing a high-profile platform for athletes in her home country and beyond. The Spaniard first produced her trademark lift celebration – a beaming smile and ‘heart’ hand gesture – more than four years ago, and the charismatic 33-year-old is well aware of the importance of engaging with her supporters, of whom there are more than 180,000 on Instagram alone. With more women than ever before experiencing the benefits and buzz of weightlifting, the future for female athletes in a sport that until only a generation ago was dominated by men has never looked brighter. -- Follow IWF: Facebook Instagram Twitter

Who will be dominant in Santo Domingo?

Big-name champions will be among more than 260 of the strongest athletes from across North, Central and South America at the 2018 Senior Pan-American Championships next week. Starting on Monday in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, talents representing a total of 26 countries will fight it out for a place on the podium and the chance to book their qualification ticket for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Oscar Figueroa, Arley Méndez, Leidy Solís and Sarah Robles are just some of the world-beating lifters who will be on show. Colombian comeback Figueroa announced his retirement immediately after becoming Colombia’s first men’s weightlifting Olympic champion at the Rio 2016 Games. However, to the delight of his army of fans in his homeland, he is now stepping up preparations to defend his Olympic title in Tokyo in two years’ time and will compete in Santo Domingo in the 69kg bodyweight category. Also, in the men’s, Méndez will aim for top spot again after securing Chile’s first ever medal at the 2017 IWF World Championships in Anaheim, USA by sweeping the board in the men’s 85kg category with clear victories in the snatch and clean and jerk.   However, he will be challenged by 17-year-old American Harrison Maurus, who is moving up a bodyweight category after ending a 20-year medal drought for the USA with a bronze in the 77kg category at the World Championships.   Brazilian star Fernando Reis, who finished fifth at the Rio Games and sixth at the World Championships, will be among the favourites in the +105kg category, while the outstanding Jorge Arroyo of Ecuador and the USA’s Wesley Kitts, who has a personality as big as his lifts, will be gunning for gold as they compete at 105kg. The 94kg bodyweight category, meanwhile, will be one of the most competitive, with the likes of Nathan Damron, Wilmer Contreras and Paul Ferrin, Victor Quiñones, Serafim Veli and Jason Bonnick just some of the names in the running for medals.     Champion performers No fewer than seven medal-winners from the World Championships will be participating in the women’s competition, including two world champions – Leidy Solís and Sarah Robles. Solís topped the 69kg bodyweight category in Anaheim, becoming the first athlete from Latin America to stand on the podium in this category in the history of the event. Robles, who will compete in the +90kg in Santo Domingo, won USA’s first gold medal at the World Championships since 1994 by breezing to victory in the snatch, clean and jerk and total score in the same category. Ana Iris Segura of Colombia and Martha Rogers of the USA finished third in their respective categories at the World Championships and will be among the front-runners in the 48kg and 69kg. Meanwhile Ecuadorian Neisi Dajomes will be hoping for the perfect gift just days after her 30th birthday as she aims to go one better in the 75kg after picking up a silver medal at the World Championships. In a schedule packed full of enticing contests, a fierce clash is also brewing in the 90kg between Chilean María Fernanda Valdés, who claimed second place in Anaheim, and Crismery Santana, who picked up a bronze medal at the World Championships and will be cheered on by the home fans, as one of 19 competitors from the Dominican Republic across the men’s and women’s

European Weightlifting Championships 2018: Ones to watch

With 124 men and 113 women representing a total of 31 countries across 48 events, the European Weightlifting Championships will bring together the continent’s top lifters for a week of unmissable action in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. Among those competing at the Championships – which will start this Monday, March 26, and conclude on the following Sunday, April 1 – will be Lasha Talakhadze and Lydia Valentín Perez, the winners of the IWF Men’s and Women’s 2017 Lifter of the Year awards. Talakhadze and Valentín were both gold medal-winners at the IWF World Championships in Anaheim at the end of last year and will be hunting gold again in Bucharest. Georgian Talakhadze, lifting in the men’s +105kg division, is gunning for a third consecutive triumph at the European Weightlifting Championships, having topped the podium in Førde (Norway) in 2016 and Split (Croatia) in 2017. [caption id="attachment_20903" align="alignright" width="265"] Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze[/caption] [caption id="attachment_20850" align="alignleft" width="250"] Spain's Lydia Valentin[/caption] COMPETITIVE DIVISIONS Talakhadze will be up against compatriot Irakli Turmanidze, as well as the likes of Hungarian Péter Nagy and Czech Republic lifter Jiří Orság. Elsewhere in the men’s competition, Artūrs Plēsnieks and Krzysztof Zwarycz will hope to go one better after claiming silver medals at the World Championships, but both will have to contend with fiercely competitive divisions. In the 105kg category, Latvian Plēsnieks’ rivals will include Austrian Sargis Martirosjan, while in the 85kg division, Croatian Amar Musić’s record total score of 355kg matches that of Zwarycz. Romanian athletes, who will be roared on by the home support, are set to be in medal contention in several of the men’s divisions. Home hopes will be pinned on athletes such as Nicolae Onica in the 94kg division, Ionut Ilie in the 62kg category and Paul Dumitrascu in the 69kg division, although the latter will face tough competition from the likes of Bernardin Matam, who took a bronze medal home to France following last year’s World Championships. [caption id="attachment_20778" align="alignright" width="248"] Hometown girl - Loredana Toma[/caption] [caption id="attachment_20787" align="alignnone" width="254"] France's Bernadin Matam[/caption] HOME HOPEFULS Romanian fans will also be targeting medals in the women’s competition, with Mădălina Molie and Loredana Toma, who picked up a gold medal in Anaheim, considered by many to be the two front-runners in the 63kg division. Also representing the host nation will be Andreea Aanei, who has the top personal best total score in the +90kg category, as well as Florina Sorina Hulpan and Elena Andrieș, who are seen as two of the top lifters in the 69kg and 48kg divisions, respectively. Irina Lepșa is in the running in the 58kg category, although Latvian Rebeka Koha is likely to start as the favourite due to her bronze in Anaheim and the fact that her personal best total score is 11kg heavier than her nearest challenger. Anastasiia Hotfrid, another member of a strong Georgian contingent in Bucharest, will also start as the favourite in the 90kg, having won gold at the World Championships in Anaheim last December. Meanwhile, in the 75kg division, French lifter Gaëlle Nayo-Ketchanke, who finished in third place in Anaheim, will be hoping to knock Lydia Valentín off the top spot. However, it would be a brave person to bet against Valentín, for whom this event carries extra significance. The charismatic Spaniard picked up her first major senior medal – a bronze – at the 2007 edition in Strasbourg, France, and has gone on to dominate the division at the European Weightlifting Championships, with three golds in 2014, 2015 and 2017. -- Follow IWF: Facebook Instagram Twitter

The European Weightlifting Championships: A Brief History

The European Weightlifting Championships is one of the oldest annual events on the international sporting calendar... The first edition was held in the Dutch city of Rotterdam in 1896 – the same year of the first modern Olympic Games. This landmark year for the sport laid the foundations for the rise in the global popularity of weightlifting in the years and generations to come. After visiting the Austrian capital of Vienna in its second year, the Championships returned to the Netherlands, and stayed there, for the next seven years, with the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam all staging the event. The Championships landed in Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Germany and Hungary in the following years before settling again in Austria for three consecutive editions, up until the start of the First World War. [caption id="attachment_21557" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Halil Mutlu (56kg)[/caption] UNMOVABLE CELEBRATION Since the event’s return to the calendar in 1921, it has never been staged in the same country two years in a row. It was not until after the conclusion of the Second World War that the event became a permanent annual celebration of Europe’s top weightlifters. Since 1947, the Championships has visited 32 different territories and produced some incredible performances in the process. In the European Weightlifting Federation records list, several benchmarks have been set at European Weightlifting Championships over the years. In the men’s 105kg+ division, German Ronny Weller lifted a European record of 260kg in the clean and jerk in front of his home fans in Riesa in 1998. Two years’ later, Polish lifter Szymon Kolecki produced a clean and jerk lift of 232kg in the 94kg category in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, while in 2001, Turkish athlete Halil Mutlu, in the 56kg division, set another European benchmark of 168kg in the clean and jerk at the Championships in Trencin, Slovakia. Those records still stand to this day for European athletes, as does the feat of Croatian Nikolai Pechalov, who produced a total lift of 325kg in the 62kg category at the 2000 Championships in Sofia. [caption id="attachment_21559" align="alignleft" width="274"] Ronny Weller (+105kg)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_21560" align="alignright" width="234"] Nikolai Pechalov (62kg)[/caption] RECORD-BREAKERS While this year’s event in Bucharest, Romania, from March 26 to April 1, will be the 97th edition of the annual European competition for male athletes. For women, this will be the 31st edition of the annual event. The inaugural Women’s European Weightlifting Championships took place in San Marino in 1988, but 10 years later, the women’s and men’s events came together to take place in the same city for the first time – Riesa in Germany. The dual Championships for men and women in the same city has continued to this day. In the Polish city of Wladyslawowo in 2006, Russian Svetlana Shimkova set a new European best of 141kg in the 63kg women’s clean and jerk division, once again proving that these Championships are where records are made. This year’s event will once again feature the continent’s best, with top lifters from across Europe ready to compete for a place on the podium across a total of 48 events. Stay tuned for the results! -- Follow IWF: Facebook Instagram Twitter

Exercises that Prepare You for the Olympic Lifts

Perfecting technique for the Olympic lifts - the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch - is the end goal of Olympic weightlifting. However, instead of constantly repeating the same two lifts in the gym, the world’s top athletes adopt specific training exercises to improve certain muscle groups that help them achieve these ultimate goals. At the heart of these preparations are exercises designed to strengthen the core and give the lifter the explosive power required to raise and hold heavy weights above their heads. [caption id="attachment_21482" align="aligncenter" width="475"] Front squat[/caption] THE CORE The core is crucial for two main reasons – it protects the spine when it is put under pressure, thereby mitigating the risk of injury. It also helps to efficiently transfer force from the legs to the upper body – important for the dynamic movement of Olympic lifts. To strengthen the core, anti-extension, anti-rotation and anti-lateral flexion work is essential. Anti-extension exercises involve resisting extension at the spine. An example of such an exercise is the ‘plank’, of which there are various degrees of difficulty. Anti-rotation exercises involve the rotation of your torso in a controlled manner, like with a ‘Pallof press’, in which you are resisting the cable’s attempt to rotate your body and building stability. Anti-lateral flexion exercises force you to brace your middle section to maintain an upright structure when you have a weight on one side of your body, encouraging you to bend to one side. ‘Deadbugs’ are an example of this sort of exercise. [caption id="attachment_21473" align="aligncenter" width="476"] The plank[/caption] BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES There are numerous bodyweight exercises that can provide a lifter with the core strength needed to perform Olympic lifts. Dips, for example, not only strengthen the triceps, but also help lifters to practice lockout and pressing movements. Pull-ups – and their many variations – strengthen the lats (widest back muscles). Bodyweight squats encourage mobility of the ankle, knee and hip – and the lifter can then progress to the rack, gradually increasing the weight used to squat with. Inverted rowing, meanwhile, helps to improve grip strength, as well as lower back and hip stability. Lots of professional lifters and coaches use plyometric exercises, like the box jump, for developing the explosive power required in weightlifting. [caption id="attachment_21479" align="aligncenter" width="475"] The overhead squat position[/caption] FOUNDATION EXERCISES Aside from the bodyweight exercises, there are also foundation – or progression – exercises with a barbell that can set up an athlete for the full snatch or clean and jerk, ensuring the body is suitable prepared for these complex lifts. For the clean and jerk, the ‘deadlift’ – or ‘clean pull’, which is an extension of the deadlift to pull the bar as high as possible – is a widely-used technique, while the ‘front squat’ builds on the benefits of a traditional squat by, among other things, perfecting the position of the elbows. The ‘push lift’ and ‘push jerk’ also isolate other parts of the lift and allows the lifter to separately perfect the techniques used in each phase. For the snatch, the ‘overhead squat’ is a one of the most testing progression exercises. This can be complemented with the ‘snatch balance’ – doing so will go a long way to perfecting your lifting posture. [caption id="attachment_21480" align="aligncenter" width="476"] Traditional back squat[/caption] VARIETY No athlete can simply pick up a barbell and perform a perfect snatch or clean and jerk. Every lifter will have certain strengths and relative weaknesses in their physique that will need attention in order to perform the most impressive lifts in weightlifting. To keep training interesting, many athletes will mix up their training routines and line up a variety of exercises. Exploring your gym and the training methods available to you will ensure you keep on improving. There are positive things to be taken from most exercises. Remember, if you’re new to the weight room, start slow and light. Don’t sacrifice technique for weight, a good lifter is first and foremost an injury-free lifter! -- Follow IWF: Facebook Instagram Twitter

Oceania Stars to Battle for Glory at Australian Open

Weightlifters from eight countries across the Oceania region will gather in Brisbane this weekend for the 2018 Australian Open at the Sleeman Sports Complex – and the competition is set to be more ferocious than ever. With last year’s event having served as a qualifier for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which will take place in nearby Gold Coast in April, this year’s Australian Open will feature a series of competitors who have lofty ambitions, as well as many who have already established outstanding reputations on the international stage. Amongst the athletes coming from all corners of the host country, Cameroon-born Francois Etoundi, who has been selected to represent Australia at the upcoming Commonwealth Games, will compete in the men’s 77kg category. No fewer than 20 of the competitors will be teenagers, providing an exciting glimpse of the future, including Tasmanian Stephanie Pickrell, who will compete in the women’s 48kg division and has been tipped as an up-and-coming star after a series of impressive performances last year. However, the Australian athletes will need all the support they can get from the home fans, with several weightlifters with Olympic Games experience ready to challenge for places on the podium. Among them will be Jenly Wini, who was the flagbearer for her native Solomon Islands at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics and also competed at the Rio 2016 Games. She will be hoping for a repeat of her gold medal in the 58kg division at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby. Sisters Thelma and Dika Toua from Papua New Guinea will also present significant challenges to the home favourites in the women’s 48kg and 53kg categories, respectively. Thelma Toua won three gold medals at the 2015 Pacific Games, while Dika Toua picked up gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a record total lift for the event of 193kg. [caption id="attachment_21371" align="aligncenter" width="541"] Weightlifting sisters Thelma and Dika Toua. Photo: RNZ Pacific/Vinnie Wylie[/caption] In the men’s competition, it is also worth watching out for the 105kg division, which will feature two gold medal-winners from the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Dancing legend David Katoatau will be targeting further glory after winning Kiribati’s first ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in the 105kg division four years ago, while Steven Kari of Papua New Guinea has moved up from the 95kg category. Morea Baru will also harbour ambitions of bringing a medal home to Papua New Guinea in the men’s 62kg division, having finished sixth in his category at the Rio Olympics two years ago. However, Baru will be up against a number of tough rivals in a competitive division, including Fijian pair Poama Qaqa and Manueli Tulo. [caption id="attachment_21374" align="aligncenter" width="539"] Always putting on a show: Kiribati's David Katoatau[/caption] Qaqa won a gold medal in the Oceania Junior Championships and a bronze in the Oceania Senior Championships in Gold Coast back in September, while Tulo, a former Fiji Sportsman of the Year, claimed gold at the 2016 Australian Open before edging out Elson Brechtefeld and Australian Lynton Hargrave for top spot at the Oceania Championships last year. Hargrave and Brechtefeld are back again for this year’s Australian Open, with a mouth-watering competition in prospect. Remarkably, Brechtefeld will be one of five athletes representing the remote Republic of Nauru, the smallest state in the South Pacific and home to only 11,000 inhabitants, demonstrating the reach of a truly global sport. Keep up-to-date with the Australian Open via the Australian Weightlifting Federation's channels. Follow them on Facebook to learn more. -- Follow IWF: Facebook Instagram Twitter