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Tokyo 2020: A Family Affair for Team Madagascar

[caption id="attachment_35225" align="alignnone" width="300"] Team Madagascar at Tokyo 2020[/caption] Siblings are used to sharing things. Whether it is toys as children or memories with their families as adults, siblings have an inherent understanding and appreciation of sharing. Thanks to a scheduling quirk, the ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brothers of Madagascar shared the Olympic stage during the third weightlifting session of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. “Both of us were on this road together and we are so happy to be here,” the older ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brother, Eric Herman, told the IWF after the competition. “It’s a pleasure [to share the Olympic platform with my brother].” Since each National Olympic Committee can nominate only one athlete per bodyweight category at these Games, the ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brothers didn’t expect to compete at the same time. But, since the men’s 61kg and 67kg B groups were combined into one session at the Tokyo 2020 Games, both brothers were able to compete at the same time on the same platform. The brothers are the only athletes from Madagascar in the weightlifting competition at Tokyo 2020. “It was good to compete with my brother,” the younger ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brother, Tojonirina Alain, 26, said. “Our family is very proud about the competition.” ANDRIANTSITOHAINA Eric Herman, 30, had a strong showing in the 61kg B session, posting a 264kg total. His brother, Tojonirina Alain, put up a 285kg total in the men’s 67kg B session. For the ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brothers, weightlifting is truly a family affair.  “Weightlifting has been passed down generation to generation. My father was a weightlifter,” Tojonirina Alain said. Beyond their family history, they also lean on each other for strength both on and off the platform. “It was an extra motivation to have my brother here. It was motivating to have him here,” Eric Herman said. “When I feel bad he is there. When he feels bad I am here. We try to push up each other together every time.” The future is bright for the ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brothers who look to share a coaching business when their competitive days are behind them. But those days will not be here soon. “I pray to God I have the strength to compete again at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. I’d like to go to Paris and compete in one last Olympic Games,” Eric Herman said. As for now, ANDRIANTSITOHAINA brothers want athletes around the world to continue training for excellence. “Weightlifting is a great sport. Just believe in your dreams and train as hard as possible and you can succeed in this sport,” Tojonirina Alain

HOU Zhihui Crowned 49kg Olympic Champion on First Day of Tokyo 2020

HOU Zhihui (49kg) of China wrote a new chapter of the record books as she claimed gold in the 49kg bodyweight category Saturday, the first day of the Weightlifting competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.  HOU set seven Olympic Records overall during her competition, ending the day owning all three Olympic Records with a 94kg snatch, 116kg clean & jerk and 210kg total. HOU went a perfect six-for-six en route to victory at her first Olympic Games. "I was very happy the second I finally did it. I prepared for five years, so it means a lot to me," HOU said. "I just want to be myself, be all of myself, make all my practice (towards a) medal. I'm happy I did it." HOU, the 2018 World Champion, already owns the World and Asian continental records in snatch (96kg) and Total (213kg) in the 49kg bodyweight category. In an exciting clean & jerk session, Olympic Silver Medalist MIRABAI Chanu Saikhom of India set an Olympic Record with her 115kg second attempt. She missed setting a new Olympic Record on her third attempt of 117kg. Combined with her 87kg snatch, MIRABAI posted a 202kg total. It was a moment of redemption five years in the making after MIRABAI failed to make a total at the Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016. India’s only athlete in the Weightlifting competition, MIRABAI brings home a silver medal, her nation’s first Silver medal in Weightlifting ever, and the first medal for India of these Games. "From childhood I had a dream to have an Olympic medal. It's a big thing for me," MIRABAI said. “[Youth in India] will be inspired by this, and it's going to get more medals for India.” MIRABAI exits Tokyo still owning the World Record in the clean & jerk with her 119kg lift made at April’s 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent.  2021 IWF Junior World Champion AISAH Windy Cantika claimed Indonesia’s first medal of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with a Bronze Medal-winning performance. After missing her opening snatch attempt at 84kg, AISAH came back to make 84kg on her second then missing 87kg on her third. AISAH went a perfect 3-for-3 in clean & jerk with a best lift of 110kg to post a 194kg total. "I am really happy. I praise the Lord,” AISAH said. "I am very surprised by this result. I’m surprised at the age of 19 that I can win the medal." Earlier in the day, the women’s 49kg B bodyweight category kicked off Olympic competition. TOUA Loa Dika of Papua New Guinea was the first athlete called to the Olympic platform. She completed a 69kg snatch, making the first lift of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 a good lift.  Later in the competition, Nathasha ROSA FIGUEIREDO saved her second clean & jerk attempt, at 95kg, impressing the small crowd of media members in the venue, and viewers tuned in on television and online from around the world.  The men’s competition gets underway Sunday when two new Olympic Champions will be crowned. The men’s 61kg & 67kg B session gets underway at 11:50AM local time in the Olympic City. The men’s 61kg A session follows at 15:50 followed by the men’s 67kg A session at

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Opens; First Barbell Drops Saturday

[caption id="attachment_35211" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Fireworks illuminate the sky above Tokyo's National Stadium at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Photo: Stephen Galvan/IWF)[/caption] The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 opened Friday with a spectacular show at Tokyo's National Stadium featuring the Parade of Nations, cultural presentations, traditional speeches. It culminated with tennis star Naomi OSAKA lighting the Olympic Cauldron. MIYAKE Yoshinobu, a two-time Olympic Champion (1964, 1968) and Olympic Silver Medalist (1960), and known to be one of Japan's best weightlifting athletes, helped carry the host nation's national flag into the Olympic Stadium at the beginning of the ceremony.  Later in the Parade of Nations, 2016 Olympic Champion and 4-time World Champion Lasha TALAKHADZE carried the flag of his home nation of Georgia. Weightlifting athlete, Cyrille Fagat TCHATCHET II, representing the Refugee Olympic Team, carried the Olympic Flag into the stadium during Friday's Opening Ceremony. The Weightlifting competition begins Saturday at the Tokyo International Forum with the women's 49kg bodyweight category.  One-hundred-ninety-six athletes from 76 National Olympic Committees and one athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team will battle for Olympic glory over ten days of competition.  Download the start list package at iwf.sport and follow your favorite athletes with exclusive and unprecedented coverage on the IWF Social Media

Weightlifting mourns the loss of John Lear

It is with great sadness that we have learned that John Lear, a hugely influential figure in the history of British Weight Lifting and one of the great characters of UK sport for over five decades, has passed away last week in his home town of Shrewsbury. John Lear was born in August 1935, he grew up in Shrewsbury, England where he attended the elite Shrewsbury School. He developed an enduring love of the town and the school and it was here that he was introduced to rowing and his great passion, weightlifting. The pattern of his life had been set. Upon leaving school, John went to the University of Wales in Cardiff, where he met Myrddin John, who was to become General Secretary of the Welsh Weightlifting Federation and a Vice President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The two would become lifelong friends. Upon graduating, John became a P.E. teacher in North London and continued his career as a weightlifter and developed an interest in coaching. His talents were quickly identified, and John was invited to coach the national teams in South Korea, Iran and China. Later the IWF would invite John to tutor a number of Olympic Solidarity Courses around the world. John worked closely with Al Murray and Louis Martin, the World Champion at 90kg. In 1972 John succeeded Al as the British National Coach and then Director of Coaching and the pair wrote many books together on all aspects of weightlifting. Over more than half a century, John played a key role in the development and success of weightlifting both nationally and on an international level. He represented Great Britain as National Coach at nine Olympic Games, nine Commonwealth Games and numerous World and European Championships, as well as tournaments of every hue. He also sat on the British Olympic Committee and worked with numerous British sporting bodies, including British Rowing, to devise and implement weight training programs. His contribution to weightlifting and British sport in general is unprecedented and will likely never be replicated. British Weight Lifting also paid their tribute to John Lear: “John will be remembered for his loyalty, friendship and great humility as well as his willingness to always share his experience with others, often imparted by his wicked sense of humour.” “He was hugely admired and respected by all who were fortunate to meet him, not just in the UK but all around the World.” “British sport has lost a true stalwart, someone who enriched so many people’s lives and sadly his contribution will never be fully recognised or acknowledged. Our deepest condolences go to his wife Teresa, daughter Katie and two sons.” John will be remembered as an inspirational coach, friend and a true ambassador for weightlifting and he will be sadly missed. IWF offers its condolences to British Weight Lifting and John Lear’s

Update On June IWF Activity

On 21 June 2020, the IWF Executive Board had a meeting during which many key decisions were made regarding the direction and future of the sport. A draft of the new Anti-Doping Policy (Rules), compliant with the new 2021 WADA Code, were approved to forward to WADA. There are some provisions that will require some modifications and in the meanwhile those will be addressed by the Anti-doping Policy Assessment Commission. The Executive Board exhibited overwhelming support for the need of a new constitution by approving a successor to the Oversight and Integrity Commission, the Reform and Governance Commission. The newly created RGC, comprised by members of the Oversight and Integrity Commission, whose mandate included governance reform, and members from a previous Constitutional Working Group whose work had ceased in June of 2019. The IWF Executive Board  will add a minimum of two ASOIF or GAISF recommended members to serve and give professional direction on good governance. The ASOIF Good Governance report, released last week, will also serve as a checklist for the commission, who will reference it ensure that the noted deficiencies that have been identified are also addressed. An independent Integrity Commission was agreed upon in principle. The Executive Board has thereby acknowledged that it is paramount that ethics review be conducted by an external and independent commission. The exact members have yet to be named but the IWF has already started soliciting for recommendations from IOC, ASOIF and other reformed international federations. The Executive Board also addressed the need for elections as soon as possible. Given the effects worldwide of COVID 19, there was much discussion about date and location over the last several meetings. The Executive Board voted to approve Lausanne, Switzerland in January of 2021 for the next Congress, which will combine  constitutional and electoral congresses. We are excited to have all of the delegations experience the beautiful city of the IOC headquarters and the new IWF headquarters. The IWF Secretariat is working hard in both Budapest and Lausanne to transition the workloads under a new organizational chart that was approved in May and will be implemented starting July 1.  We are slated to close “floor 4” of the Budapest offices as we downsize. The IWF would also like to welcome Maxat Dastan as the IWF Financial Advisor; he is located and will be working for the IWF from Switzerland. By IWF Interim President Ursula Garza Papandrea June Newsletter - Interim Presidents Message Dear Athletes, Member Federations, Coaches and Weightlifting Enthusiasts, I hope this message finds everyone in good health and back to training. As a former athlete and coach in the international arena, I empathize with the difficulties that the athletes have endured. We have been able to announce the IOC approved modified Olympic Qualification System and now await the revival of a full competition schedule. The Intercontinental commission will meet mid-June to discuss and lay preliminary plans for the next year. There are online competition opportunities but of course, nothing can rival the return to the platform stage. The other event that has dominated press and the world of weightlifting is the McLaren investigation. The investigation findings are shocking and disconcerting to say the least. We will be dealing with the aftermath for a while. Our desire to uncover truth means we must now acknowledge and address the known. They findings afford the IWF the opportunity to rebuild and reform the organization. This is not an option but an absolute necessity. The current Constitution and by-laws are such that little to no oversight is required and the political culture that has become the norm is absolutely unacceptable. The lack of checks on operations have allowed for misdeeds that have robbed the sport from robust and responsive development. The operational goals have been misguided and have greatly affected the support to our members. The focus of the Executive Board over the next few months must be to take the most serious of corrective measures. The Oversight and Integrity Commission will begin its work on a new Constitution and by-laws with asssistance from professionals from ASOIF (Association of Summer International Olympic Federations) and GAISF (General Assembly of International Summer Federations). We are in beginning stages but hope to make quick yet thorough work of it. Operationally we continue our changes in staff and location while attempting to maintain services. We have signed an agreement, with the Anti-doping Division of CAS, created a Anti-doping Task Force, and concluded an agreement to give more authority to ITA and make the ADRV process and member federation sanctioning as independent as possible given current policies. We will continue to serve you and the sport. My main goal is to create an organization worthy of our athletes, member federations, and maintaining Olympic status. Yours sincerely, Ursula Garza Papandrea IWF Interim

McLaren Findings And IOC Support Driving Reform Process At International Weightlifting Federation

Lausanne, 10 June 2020; Following the 4 June publication of Professor Richard McLaren’s independent investigation into the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and weightlifting, a number of key steps have been taken to lay the foundation for future progress. As a first step, copies of the report and associated evidence were immediately shared with other organisations committed to ensuring that any past wrongdoing is uncovered and that the best possible governance practices are established at the IWF. “Our desire to uncover truth means we must now acknowledge and address the known,” said IWF Interim President Ursula Papandrea. “The findings also afford the IWF the opportunity to rebuild and reform the organization. This is not an option but an absolute necessity.” McLaren’s report revealed a number of instances where the IWF’s governance fell well short of that deserved by athletes, member federations, fans and everyone involved in the sport. In addition to being studied by the IWF’s Oversight and Integrity Commission, the report has been provided to the IOC, WADA, the ITA, ASOIF and GAISF. The ITA has been empowered to investigate the potential for anti-doping rule violations that may have occurred. Work has also begun on governance reform at both constitutional and operational levels. “The focus of the Executive Board over the next few months must be to take the most serious of corrective measures,” continued Papandrea. “The Oversight and Integrity Commission will begin its work on a new Constitution and by-laws with assistance from independent professionals from ASOIF. We are in the beginning stages but we hope to make quick yet thorough work of it. We are particularly grateful for the continued support of the IOC in achieving its call for the fundamental reform of both governance and management.” Independent expertise will be allied with athlete input in working to shape the future of the IWF and its relationship with the sport. A number of IWF member federations have already stressed the need for independence and transparency within this process and the OIC is committed to ensuring these principles are