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Olympic weightlifter auctions his gold medal for Iran quake victims

What would you sell your gold medal for? Check out Kianoush Rostami's reason! Iran's Olympic weightlifting champion Kianoush Rostami has put his gold medal up for auction to raise money for the victims of Sunday's earthquake which left at least 452 people dead in Iran and Iraq. The 7.3-magnitude quake that struck in the remote border area between Iran and Iraq late Sunday left thousands of people injured hundreds of villages destroyed. The earthquake, the deadliest of the year, was felt as far away as Turkey and Pakistan. Rostami, who won gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, says the disaster has left him desperate to help those affected. "I consider it my duty to take a step, however small, to help my beloved fellow countrymen who have suffered as a result of the quake," Rostami said, according to Iran's semi-official state news agency Tasnim. "I am returning the gold medal, which is theirs by right, to my people. I will auction off the medal and use the proceeds to help the quake victims." According to Tasnim, which quotes the Iranian sports ministry's website, a number of top athletes and sports celebrities are set to meet at Tehran's Shiroudi stadium on Wednesday to raise money for earthquake victims. Iran sits on a major fault line between the Arabian and Eurasian plates and has experienced a number of earthquakes in the past. The deadliest this century occurred in 2003 when a magnitude-6.6 earthquake struck the southeastern city of Bam, killing some 26,000 people. Shirzad Bozorgmehr in Tehran contributed to this article. Source:

Electoral Congress SVK

On 11th of November 2017 in Ružomberok (SVK) in the Electoral Congress of Slovak Weightlifting Federation Mr. Ján Štefánik was elected as a new President of Slovak Weightlifting

WFA Sports Management Course

WFA Sports Management Course held in Hammamet, Tunisia between 10-16 November, 2017. The Sport Management Course was part of Weightlifting Federation of Africa (WFA) developmental program through the Continental Contribution of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The Course targeted General Secretaries, administrators of the national weightlifting federations in Africa. Representatives from seven countries took part: Zambia, Ghana, Republic of South Africa, Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Libya and Tunisia. The following topics were covered in the course: Introduction to sport management, Sports network, International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Basic database of Weightlifting National Federation (WNF), Basic documents necessary for the work of the weightlifting national federation, Event calendar, Weightlifting competition, Risk management in weightlifting, Public relations and social media in sport, Organization of meetings, Decision making and conflict in sport organizations, IWF development program.  Dr. Mustapha CHAOUACHI, President of Tunisian Weightlifting Federation, opened and closed the Course. All participants attended all classes and were very active. There were lectures, as well as discussions how to organize administrative activities of national weightlifting federations with different levels of development. Special gratitude to International Weightlifting Federation and Weightlifting Federation of Africa for supporting this event. Source: Milan V. Mihajlovic President, Serbian Weightlifting Federation IWF TC member EWF CR&SC

IWF AND REDTORCH PARTNER TO GROW WEIGHTLIFTING AUDIENCES AROUND THE WORLD

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and REDTORCH, a London-based digital communications agency, today announced a partnership to increase youth engagement and awareness of the 2017 IWF World Championships in Anaheim, California. Nearly 400 athletes – 216 men and 161 women – from 72 countries arrive for the Championships in the United States at the end of the month. They include 6 reigning 2016 Rio Olympic Champions: Lasha Talakhadze (2015 World Champion), Sohrab Moradi, Sopita Tanasan, Hsu Shu-ching, and Sukanya Srisurat. Also going for gold is Spain's 3-time Olympic medallist, Lidia Valentín. Team USA is fielding a strong team this year and hopes for places on the podium.  Mattie Rogers, 2016 Olympic Bronze Medallist Sarah Robles, plus reigning Youth World Champions CJ Cummings and Harrison Maurus, are just a handful of American athletes with their sights on a medal in Anaheim. As USA Weightlifting CEO and World Championships Organizing Committee member, Phil Andrews, states, "This is going to be a weightlifting meet unlike any other. We're ready to compete and we're ready to welcome the world to Anaheim." “The IWF is proud to hold its 2017 World Championships in Anaheim, and looks forward to working with REDTORCH on a digital campaign that connects people worldwide who have a passion for weightlifting,” says IWF President, Dr Tamas Ajan. “REDTORCH brings significant experience delivering data-driven campaigns, and we know their understanding of international sport and digital channels will help improve how the world sees our sport.” Jonny Murch, Managing Director of REDTORCH, agrees.  “It’s not often you have the opportunity to partner with a sport that has the heritage of Weightlifting.  One of the oldest Olympic sports, and fast becoming a lifestyle for many people worldwide, it is also totally relevant to today’s athletes – regardless of their sport - as they incorporate it into their training programmes. “We can’t wait to communicate the incredible story of IWF as we aim to increase global awareness of the IWF World Championships.” The world’s best weightlifters. Coming to Anaheim. 28 November – 6 December 2017. Make sure you catch all the action! Press enquiries: International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is a permanent non-profit organization composed of 192 affiliated National Federations worldwide, from all five Continents. The IWF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sole controlling body for international weightlifting. Lilla Rozgonyi Communication and Marketing Director Email: [email protected] REDTORCH REDTORCH is an independent digital communications agency that turns data into insight to engage, grow and commercialise international audiences. We believe in a culture of innovation that enables organisations in the world of sport & entertainment to think differently, challenge the status quo, and become more effective. Jonny Murch Managing Director Tel: +4(0)207 036 8081 Email:

Farewell to Naim Suleymanoglu

Hundreds of thousands of people crowded the streets of Istanbul on Saturday accompanying Turkish weightlifting superstar Naim Suleymanoglu on his last journey. The funeral of the triple Olympic, multiple world and European champion was attended by the Prime Minister of Turkey, the Minister of Sport and his family members, but also by several outstanding representatives of the sport from the recent past, e.g. Marinov, Peshalov, Topurov and from Greece his greatest rival and friend, Valerios Leonidis. "Our relationship was not an ordinary one, since beside often competing against each other we were also true friends," - said Greece's weightlifter hero to www.iwf.net . He added that while respecting each other for their achievements, they were also very close as humans. "Naim's death is a giant blow not only for his family and friends, those close to him, but also for weightlifting and universal sports. I was deeply shaken by the tragic news and it really hurts because I lost a true friend and the world lost a true legend. The last time we met at the European Championships in Antalya in 2012 but we kept in touch on the phone and spoke frequently. To me there was no question that I would attend his funeral and accompany him to his last journey. It was my sad duty." Süleymanoğlu has died after having been placed into intensive care at the Ataşehir Memorial in Istanbul. The legendary weightlifter underwent a successful liver transplant early October. Süleymanoğlu was previously placed into intensive care on September 25 due to liver failure. He was the Best Weightlifter of the Century and received the Olympic Order in 2001. He was also member of the IWF Hall of

Seminar in Chile

In Santiago de Chile between 30th September and 1st October Chilean Weightlifting Federation organized a "Strengthening and Evaluation of the implementation of the national technical criteria" seminar. The experts were Mr. Georgi Panchev, Head Coach of the Federation, Mr. Ronald Salina, Technical Manager, Ms. Romina Chang, Technical Secretary and Mr. Juan Miranda, representative of the National Anti-doping Commission. The organizers invited people from the 15 regions of the country and finally 22 participants attended. It is important to note that as a fruit of the different seminars realized in the past years with the assistance of IWF Development Program, during this year's National Games 13 from the 15 regions participated. Attendants heard lectures about the new rules, modifications of the rules, strategic plan of collecting talents, ADAMS system, etc. The seminar was a great success, it achieved its aim. IWF is glad that could support this seminar in the framework of IWF Continental