Roundup of the 2019 IWF Junior World Championships
The 2019 IWF Junior World Championships took place in the capital of the beautiful country of Fiji, 1-8 June and now it has been successfully concluded. The national television of Fiji was present with 6 cameras for domestic live television broadcasting while streaming with professional commentary was available all around the world. The tiny island on the Pacific defied all skepticism, and despite not having prior experience in organizing a weightlifting World Championships, Fiji and the Local Organising Committee under the leadership of Dr. Robin Mitchell, President of ANOC and ONOC, IOC Member; delivered this Gold Level Olympic qualification event in the most professional manner. “In addition to support from the Government, we cannot thank enough to Weightlifting Fiji and its President, Mr. Atma Maharaj for his devoted service by living up to the challenge of a world event and thus confirming Fiji as a strong weightlifting nation even in a global context.” - Dr Tamas Ajan All the participants, including the athletes, officials, and dignitaries found the event spectacular and highly enjoyable. Chinese Weightlifting Association President Mr. Zhou Jinqiang attributed much of his team’s success to the forethought of the Organizing Committee. “They’ve provided us and all of the teams with very good accommodation and transportation,” he said. “That’s why we have good results.” Emphasizing the importance of this championship in the life of Fiji, the President of Fiji, Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konusi Konrote attended the event and demonstrated the warmest hospitality to the weightlifting family. “Fiji is proud to host this important event and the Fijians are doing their best to make everybody feel at home. Never before have so many countries been represented at a sports event in Fiji,” The event was included in the “Voices of the Athletes” Schools Program, which meant students from 12 Fiji schools had the chance to witness an event of this size. Weightlifting Fiji, under the leadership of Atma Maharaj, expects to spark further interest in weightlifting. “We want to be able to set up new high-performance centers in our country,” Mr. Maharaj said. “We want to be able to propel the sport even further.” IWF has chosen NYE Katherine Elizabeth (USA) and OPELOGE Don (SAM) for the Best Lifters of the JWC. NYE won the women's 71kg bodyweight category with a whopping 36kg advantage over the second finisher, while OPELOGE excelled in men's 89kg category, winning the first gold medal for Samoa on a Junior World Championships. In total, 235 athletes participated, 105 women and 130 men from 41 countries. At the women, China won the medal tally (11,1,0), followed by KAZ (6,0,0) and VIE (3,3,0). At the men, Uzbekistan had the most medals (6,0,0) then EGY (3,0,0) and IRI (2,4,9). The favorable results of the IWF’s serious Anti-Doping program and Education, providing a level playing field for all, were clearly visible at this Championships: countries with no World Championships gold medal record now stepped forward like Samoa and New Zealand! Women's Team Classification: 1. USA (615), 2. KOR (431), 3.TUR (409) Men's Team Classification: 1. IRI (622), 2. USA (552), 3. JPN (521) Read more about the results in the RESULTS
