Archive from

Godelli’s unique medal collection

Moment of the Year by EBSNIK DIZDARI Look at this boy! In fact, he is a World Champion. Daniel Godelli, was born in 1992 in Peqin, a small town in Central Albania with only 9.000 inhabitants. I think it is not easy to find such a small town where a World Champion has been grown up. He is only 19 years old, but already became World Champion in 2011, at the Junior World Championships held in Penang, Malaysia. His coach is Ali Lundraxhiu. Meanwhile, still in 2011, a film dedicated to him, (realized by journalist Ahmet Shqarri and directed by Ylli Pepo) won an Award at the World Sports Cinema Festival held in Milan. He won the gold medal in Penang just right after the film received the Award. Until now Albania won four gold medals ever at World Championships (among all sports) and all of them were won in weightlifting sport: Ymer Pampuri in 1972 at the WWC, Erkand Qerimaj in 2006 and 2007 and Daniel Godelli in 2011 at the JWC. With three silver medals won in 2010 and two silver and a gold medal won in 2011, Godelli is the only Albanian athlete of all time who gained six medals at World Championships. In Penang, the Albanian team obtained the fifth place in the team classification among 29 countries, following Iran, Russia, China and Ecuador. For a country with only three million inhabitants it was a unique case. The Albanian government already understood that weightlifting was very important for the young people in the country and also for the Albanian sport in general. The government gives continuous financial support to the athletes, as well as providing the champions with prizes what was unimaginable some years ago. It is important to know, that even today; Albania is a country full of endless financial problems. At the moment Albania has only two medal winners at World Championships: Ymer Pampuri was World Champion in 1972 and Ilir Suli, silver medallist. At the 2011 IWF World Championships Paris, Albania won the first medal among women, Romela Begaj in category 58 kg won bronze medal in snatch (100 kg). The enthusiastic President of the Albanian Weightlifting Federation and Member of the Executive Board of the IWF, Mr. Esat Ademi is the first Albanian sports official who has ever obtained such an important international position. (Until now, Albania has gained 19 medals at World Championships. Moreover the Albanian athletes gained 36 medals at European Senior Championships, 41 medals at European Junior Championships and 36 medals at European Youth Championships. 75 percent of these medals were won in the last 7-8 years.) Now the main goal for the country is to get an Olympic medal. It is an interesting coincidence that in 2012 it is the 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympic Games where Ymer Pampuri broke the Olympic record (press) and became World Champion. It is the 20th anniversary of Pirro Dimas' (Pyrros Dimas) first Olympic Gold medal, already under the Greek flag, but he is originally from the Albanian city Himara and then grew up in Tirana. A few famous athletes became World Champions or/and Olympic medal winners under the flag of Greece, but were born and practicing weightlifting for a while in Albania, such as: Pirro Dimas (Pyrros Dimas), Luan Shabani (Leonidas Sabanis), Jorgo Xhelili (Yorgos Tzelilis), Leonidha Goga (Leonidas Kokas), Viktor Mitro (Viktor Mitrou). So, can we say that Albania has a weightlifting school? Maybe. What we can confirm without doubt is that the Albanian champions of nowadays intend to create a glory of their country. We wish that 2012 bring them the big explosion… EBSNIK DIZDARI, Shqiptar Editor-in-Chief

Manufacturer identifications on the Olympic Games uniforms

We draw your attention to Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter regarding the advertising – manufacturer identifications on the uniforms. The IOC Executive Board determines the principles and conditions under which any form of advertising or other publicity may be authorised. No form of publicity or propaganda, commercial or otherwise, may appear on persons, on sportswear, accessories or, more generally, on any article of clothing or equipment whatsoever worn or used by the athletes or other participants in the Olympic Games, except for the identification of the manufacturer of the article or equipment concerned, provided that such identification shall not be marked conspicuously for advertising purposes. We invite all our National Federations to consult their NOC. For more information, read the Olympic Charter here:

The greatest…loss

Moment of the Year by Nickolai Dolgopolov Vasily Alexeev was an extraordinary figure – in all senses of the word. I remember flying with him back from Montreal in 1976. Our Russian charter flight was overcrowded with Olympic winners of all sorts. I remember him flirting with our star women divers and blond fencers. So much bottles of the traditional national drink were consumed but nobody looked drunk. It was the generation of winners who managed to keep the winning spirit in spite of all. But Vasily the Great was such a mighty picturesque figure that all outstanding Soviet champions respected him as the undoubtedly strongest man in the world and showed their respect making a kind of a bow or calling him like we are calling our parents – not just Vasiliy but Vasily Ivanovich. And the giant who was sitting in the centre of the first row of the economy class accepted those signs of total admiration without any surprise. He shook hands and what was ridiculous for me signed the autographs to those who seemed to be not less famous and glorious. Even the clan of the Soviet sport celebrities praised Vasily Ivanovich and recognized him as the total winner. And the winner he was. Two other weightlifters, also Olympic champions, who were sitting near him, looked like the kids from the kindergarten. They helped Vasily with the drinks and obeyed his orders. I was in the parade red costume of the Soviet team and also asked him to write a word or two in my notebook. He looked at me with an interest: “Why I don’t know you? I know everybody in the team”, - he asked me. I was a bit confused and explained that I’m a sport reporter from “Komsomolskaya Pravda” and in Montreal I was writing my daily reports and at the same time doing the translation for swimmers, water polo and divers. He looked at me angrily: “One should choose one thing in life and do it properly, - he said with a gasp. – And besides if you are a journalist or an interpreter you shouldn’t wear the outfits of the national team”. I tried to escape taking away my notebook. He stopped me: “Where is your note book? Who told you I wouldn’t give you my autograph?” And he left a line in my notebook lost naturally during all my future travels: “To a hard worker from V. Alexeev”. He was always in the focus of public attention. At the different championships there was a line of reporters eager to speak with him and he used to answer with the sudden humor unexpected from such a guy who was sometimes looked gloomy. There was a joke of him he used to repeat and was evidently fond of: 'I won two Olympiads. The first in Munich in 1972, the second in Montreal in 1976, the third is my wife whose name is Olympiada who is always with me and so I’m the eventual winner.' People in Russia are confident that “large persons are kind”. I wouldn’t call him kind. Years after I came to training camp in Moscow suburbs at which the coach of the still Soviet team Vasily Ivanovich Alexeev was the total master and boss. Everything was in an absolute order. The big hall where the athletes of all weights were training was clean. The celebrities obeyed him not like the slaves on the plantations, no, it wasn’t like that. But the obedience was strict, no objections whatsoever. Still it wasn’t the total dictatorship. Vasiliy Ivanovich spoke politely with the lifters and their coaches. He was especially polite with guys of light weights. In the canteen the “ordung” was total and the meals were delicious. I asked him about his coaching methods and he explained that everything in the world including all techniques and methods of practice were known for each respectful country, even his own theory of physical preparation. And respect towards the people that is weight lifters – is the factor that matters so much it was difficult to imagine. In his mind the weight lifters job was the hardest in all world of sport and one of the main tasks of the coach was to provide, as he put it “the best conditions possible” for his disciples. There are – and were – rumors, that Alexeev was rude. I didn’t notice that. May be with his rivals? He used to say that they “gulped rubbish” (meaning something prohibited) to defeat him but never succeeded. And joked again: 'If they had only known what borsch was being prepared for me by Olimpiada, they would have stopped consuming all that sh..' He was stubborn and I would say proud of himself. Once I was told a story, not by Vasily Ivanovich – by others – that in 1976 the victorious team of Soviet weightlifters was invited in the USA to meet President Carter. The president was late and after some time of useless waiting it was naturally Alexeev, not the coach or the team leader, who stood up and with the words of slightly changed Russian proverb led the way to the exit: seven are not waiting for the one even if this one is the president. Not a single person remained sited, everybody followed the walkout. He was far from his best in his last year, but he was longing to survive so much! Alexeev the Great was sent to Germany. But the job he was doing all his life was really exhausting. He didn’t live up to his 70 years. Farewell, the Greatest! Nickolai Dolgopolov President of the Federation of Sport Journalists of Russia, Vice President of AIPS Send your Most Memorable Moment of 2011 to Dezso Dobor, IWF Media Officer ([email protected]) or the IWF Secretariat in order to be

Wrap-up meeting of the 2011 WWC in Budapest

The President of the French Weightlifting Federation, Jean-Paul Bulgaridhes together with his two closest collaborators National Technical Director, Lionel Gondran and Administrative Director, Alexandra Vigoureux paid a visit to the IWF Secretariat in order to discuss with IWF President, Dr. Tamas Ajan several topics in regard to the 2011 IWF World Championships Paris, France. The competition was spectacular thanks to a professional team working wholeheartedly in order to provide an unforgettable event to the participants. The wrap-up meeting was a great success, and important conclusions were drawn about the organization, execution and delivery of the event. The French Organizing Committee as a fantastic and unprecedented initiative wishes to offer help and knowledge to all future event organizers in challenges they can face while planning such important IWF competitions. The French Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport as well as the French Olympic Committee were satisfied with the high quality organization of the 2011 IWF World Championships and they wish to pay more attention to the development of weightlifting in France. In the future, the French Weightlifting Federation is aiming to create a yearly international competition - Grand Prix - and celebrate in 2014 its 100th anniversary of creation with an unprecedented

President of the Madagascar Olympic Committee visited the IWF

Siteny Thierry Randrianasoloniaiko, President of the Madagascar Olympic Committee since one year paid a visit to the IWF Secretariat. Knowing that Judo, Athletics and Weightlifting are very popular sports in Madagascar and with special regard to promotion of sports, Africa’s biggest sport complex is built in the country. During his talks with the IWF President, Siteny Thierry Randrianasoloniaiko offered his assistance in opening a Weightlifting Center in Madagascar to welcome mainly athletes from the South African countries and the Indian Oceania region. This proposal is in line with the expansive notions with the IWF Development Program, and all these kinds of initiatives contributing to the promotion of grassroots development are supported by the Weightlifting

Dr. Tamas Ajan met Damianos Hadjidamianou, President of the Cyprus Weightlifting Federation

Damianos Hadjidamianou, President of the Cyprus Weightlifting Federation arrived in Budapest for an official visit. He met Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF President and had a highly profitable discussion about the development of weightlifting in Cyprus and relevant issues concerning International Sports. Damianos Hadjidamianou is the President of the Cyprus Weightlifting Federation since 12 years, and also General Secretary of the Mediterranean Weightlifting Federation. Through dedicated work, he aims to reach further development in the country’s weightlifting