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IWF Congress Successfully Approves Election Process And Timeline

IWF General Congress @IWF/Isaac Morillas The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) successfully held a Congress of its Member Federations today, in Tashkent and online. 101 Member Federations took part (69 in-person, 32 online), approving a clear set of dates and steps related to the holding of elections for the IWF Executive Board and other Committee positions. “Thanks to today’s decisions, the IWF has been able to finish the year as it started: on track towards meaningful reform and culture change,” said IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani. “We were asked to deliver three things: new governance, clean competitions and faces in our leadership team. We’ve already delivered the first two. The third is certain to happen because of the provisions mandated by our new Constitution for more athletes and more women on the IWF Executive Board. And now we have a firm date.” Elections had initially been scheduled to take place during today’s Congress. They were suspended last month, on the basis of advice from the IWF’s independent Legal Commission and will now take place on 25-26 June 2022. Further key dates for the electoral process, which will now be restarted, were also confirmed: IWF Extraordinary Congress - 30 January Call for Candidatures - 2 March Deadline for the completion of candidate vetting by the EDC - 30 April On the agenda for the IWF Extraordinary Congress of 30 January will be amendments to the IWF Constitution aimed at speeding up the electoral process, on the basis that it will be repeating some steps that were recently undertaken. It should be noted that there are no proposals to weaken the strict eligibility criteria against which candidates will be vetted. Today’s IWF Congress also featured a range of reports from the IWF leadership team, as the IWF works towards the forthcoming IWF World Championships, successful weightlifting competitions at Paris 2024 and securing the sport’s Olympic

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

Live Stream – 2021 IWF World Championships

Follow the 2021 IWF World Championships on the IWF Facebook page and on the following website: https://wctashkent2021.go2ex.com/  

IWF Publishes Start Book Ahead of Opening of 2021 IWF World Championships and Commonwealth Championships

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has published its Start Book ahead of the opening of the 2021 IWF World Championships in Tashkent. The flagship event, which will take place from 7-17 December 2021 in the Uzbek capital, will gather the world’s best male and female athletes. Tashkent will concurrently host the Commonwealth Championships, which is a qualifying event for next year’s Commonwealth Games. The competing athletes for the two events have been announced, alongside the groups of juries and referees and the technical officials. There will be 432 athletes (187 female, 245 male) from 74 countries participating in the World Championships. COVID-19 countermeasures have been developed by the IWF, the local organising committee, and medical experts to ensure the World Championships and Commonwealth Championships can be held despite the ongoing challenges with the pandemic. Athletes unable to compete in the Commonwealth Championships will have the opportunity to secure qualification for the Commonwealth Games in early 2022. IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani said, “We’re delighted that the World Championships and Commonwealth Championships are able to go ahead in Tashkent, despite the challenges the pandemic continues to present. We are grateful to the Uzbek Weightlifting Federation for their collaboration, which is allowing us to finish the year on a high by giving athletes the opportunity to fulfil their dream. Together with the organising committee, we have developed COVID-19 countermeasures that will ensure the event is held in the safest possible environment. We are now looking forward to welcoming the world for what is set to be a thrilling few weeks of competition of the highest

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

The International Testing Agency (ITA), leading an independent anti-doping program for the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), asserts an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) against Russian Weightlifter Kseniya Kozina for the use of prohibited substances based on data retrieved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from the Moscow laboratory. The ITA reports that it has asserted an ADRV against Russian weightlifter Kseniya Kozina under Article 2.2 (Use or Attempted Use by an Athlete of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method) of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules (IWF ADR). The assertion is based on investigations conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Intelligence and Investigation Department (WADA I&I) and by Professor Richard McLaren into allegations of systemic doping practices in Russian sport as well as Moscow Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) data retrieved by WADA I&I over time. The evidence was provided by WADA I&I to the ITA in 2021 for further assessment. In particular, these investigations uncovered LIMS data as well as underlying analytical data pertaining to a sample provided by Kseniya Kozina in 2014 which contained the prohibited anabolic agent Ostarine.  The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter. Pursuant to the IWF’s delegation of its anti-doping program to the ITA, the prosecution of the case is being handled entirely by the ITA. Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments during the ongoing

IWF Election Postponed Pending Resolution Of Outstanding Legal Issues

A meeting of the IWF Executive Board yesterday considered the written legal opinion sent by the independent IWF Legal Commission which made it clear the proper legal foundations for the planned IWF Elections had not yet been fully complied. Due to this reason the IWF Executive Board decided, that the Electoral Congress, scheduled for 20-21 December, will not therefore see voting take place on those days. However, the IWF wishes to move forward by holding a General Congress with all other points on the original agenda on 20-21 December 2021. Therefore, preparations will move forward with the same conditions as it was communicated by the IWF before. One of the reasons for this decision was the IWF Legal Commission found that the composition of the IWF’s independent Ethics and Disciplinary Commission had not yet been ratified by the IWF Congress. Consequently, the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission could not properly constitute the Eligibility and Determination Panel required to vet candidates for the election, in the opinion of the IWF Legal Commission. “The IWF is fully committed to good governance and that’s why we adopted a new constitution with near unanimity. It is important that we implement this new governance carefully and in a way that will withstand legal challenge. That’s exactly what we are determined to do,” said IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani. You can read the report of the Legal