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IWF welcomed London 2012 Weightlifting Manager

Friday 27th January, with exactly six months until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has welcomed to Budapest, Matthew Curtain London 2012 Weightlifting Manager for a series of important meetings pertaining to Games operations. Agenda discussed included the arrangements for International Technical Officials, evaluation of Test Event observations, quantifying sport equipment deliverables, Accreditation processes, Accommodation requirements, Field of Play designs and Technology review. “The IWF and LOCOG have worked in close synergy since 2005 and so, it is pleasing to observe that their detailed planning will imminently turn to Games delivery in the coming months. Indeed, the IWF is confident London is set to host a memorable Olympic Games” - said Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF

World Championships returns to USA

Moment of the Year by Janis Schmees The moment had finally arrived and the United States Team was summoned into the meeting room in Paris, France where the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) President Dr. Tamas Ajan and the Executive Board were awaiting to see the final presentation of the day. A million thoughts were racing through our minds and surely everyone’s heart was beating as rapidly as mine, as we realized that the many months of bid preparation and hours of hard work leading up to this second were about to unfold. We had one shot at this... one opportunity to share why Houston, Texas in the United States of America, would be the right choice to host the 2015 World Championships. If we couldn’t clearly outline our package or articulate the vision and reasons why our destination would be the right choice at this time, then it would be years of waiting for another opportunity. The United States had bid twice before and the chance to hold this prestigious competition had eluded us each time. In fact, the World Championships had not been hosted in our country since 1978. A haunting fact that we all knew, but hardly focused on due to our belief that tenacity is part of competing, and quite frankly, part of life. The United States Olympic Committee, USA Weightlifting, and Harris County – Houston Sports Authority executives had meticulously rehearsed the presentation together several times, including the night before, to ensure that the technology was going to cooperate and that each piece of important bid information was going to be properly conveyed. From my viewpoint, our team of presenters emerged as professional, passionate, and knowledgeable people about the sport of weightlifting, but as later discovered, that’s how each team appeared. Everyone had put as much time and effort into the process as we had, and each team had raised an unprecedented amount of funding to support the sport of weightlifting. When our allotted time was up and the presentation over, the inevitable vote by the IWF Executive Board needed to take place. We stepped out of the room. Then, what seemed to be an eternity, but was truly only minutes, each country was asked to step back into the meeting chamber to be present during the announced decision. With humbleness and great excitement, we held our breath while waiting for the outcome. That’s when, for me, the most memorable moment of the year took place and something very magical happened… the United States, on its third attempt, was awarded the opportunity to host the grand, 2015 World Championships in Houston, Texas! by Janis Schmees, Executive Director of the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority Send your Most Memorable Moment of 2011 to Dezso Dobor, IWF Media Officer ([email protected]) or the IWF Secretariat in order to be

Tian Yuan in the focus

Regarded as China's "Sports Oscars", the awards honor the most outstanding groups and individuals each year. This year the 11th edition of the event had 11 categories. The nominees' list, which featured five candidates in each category, was voted for by 268 media representatives. Chinese weightlifters pocketed eight gold medals in Beijing, but at the 2011 IWF World Championships Paris, France, they only collected six gold medals in the Total. Chinese male weightlifters competed in five categories and claimed four titles but their women counterparts suffered a big setback, grabbing merely two golds in the Total out of the seven categories they participated in. Chinese young women lifters failed to deliver a satisfactory performance. They still need more training and experience before they can be relied on. One of the exceptions was Tian Yuan (18). Out of the six 2011 Chinese World Weightlifting Champions she was the only one concerned at the "Sports Oscars” Awards ceremony. Newly-crowned 500m short track speed skating World Champion Fan Kexin and Tian Yuan lead the Newcomer of the Year nominees. Tian's debut on the international stage ended in great success. At the World Championships in November, she claimed the gold medals in Snatch, Clean and Jerk and Total in the 48kg bodyweight category. She grabbed the gold medal by 20 kg advantage. To the surprise of all, Tian used to be a sprinter at primary school, where she won the 100m and 200m titles. She caught the eye of a weightlifting coach and turned to this sport in 2006. Only two years later, Tian was crowned the National Champion in Women's 48 kg bodyweight category and set Youth World Records at the first Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore. Her next goal is the "gold medal at the London Olympics" - she said. (Finally the Rookie of the Year was awarded to world champion short track speed skater Fan

Ilya Ilyn and Alexey Ni topped the poll in Kazakhstan

Olympic Champion Ilya Ilyn (23), the gold medallist of the 2011 IWF World Championships Paris, France topped the “Best Athlete of Kazakhstan” poll with the most points. (50 journalists of the Kazakh Sport Journalists Association voted.) Following his victories in Doha 2005 and Santo Domingo 2006 Ilyn won his third World Championships on lighter bodyweight in Paris (94 kg). However he was already positioned number one in 2010 Asian Games there was almost nobody who believed he was able to return on the World Championships podium with an unbeatable performance. After his victory over Artem Ivanov (UKR) and collecting his third World Championships title the Head of Kyzylorda Region (his birth place) provided him 15.000 USD per month salary until the London Olympic Games. They want him to focus only on weightlifting. Alexey Ni (51) received the “Top Kazakh Coach of 2011”

Tom Goegebuer prepared for the London Olympic Games in South Africa

Belgian’s best known weightlifter might be Serge Reding with a silver medal at the Olympic Games of 1968, but the last Belgian Olympian (Beijing, 56 kg bodyweight category), Tom Goegebuer certainly beats all records in terms of representation. With 13 consecutive participations in the European Senior Championships (European Champion in the 56 kg bodyweight category in 2009) and 10 participations in the World Senior Championships he has become a well known face in the world of weightlifting. As he is the only Belgian competitor at World and European Championships, he can only be qualified for the Olympic Games through an individual qualification with a top 15 in the Olympic qualification list (or in extremis by reallocation). With a 254 kg Total at the last World Championships he is still in the run and already preparing hard for London 2012. It was a great pleasure having him in South Africa at the Hottentots Holland Weightlifting Club for a pre-Olympic training camp at Strand. Tom also enjoyed the training with some South African top lifters and assisted them wherever possible. It was much appreciated form lifters and hope it will lead to annual visits. During the European winter the great summertime of South Africa attracts many Europeans, and while they are in the same time zone the absence of jetlag makes it a unique place for training camps. Moreover, when Tom started his career as an international weightlifter, one of his international mates was Aveenash Pandoo, National Coach of the South African Weightlifting Federation. Aveenash is not an active weightlifter anymore, but he is the Head Coach of the successful South African Weightlifting Team since 14 years. Tom Goegebuer: “After 24 years of training it is very important for me to enjoy my lifting in order to stay fully motivated. Coming to South Africa, to meet my old friend Aveenash and to enjoy the warm and dry weather was a very good idea. It was good to get some extra tips from an experienced coach like him and the mix of hard training in the “Holland Hottentots” Weightlifting centre and rest at the beautiful white sandy beaches was the ideal way of loading the batteries for the important upcoming Olympic year…” We wish Tom Good luck in the Quest for the London Olympics Qualification. By Aveenash Pandoo, National Coach

Novikava’s gold enough for second place

Aliaksandra Herasimenia, World Champion swimmer (100 m freestyle) has won the title of Best Athlete in Belarus in 2011 when journalists participated in a poll conducted by Sportswriters Association of Belarus. Paris World Champion Nastassia Novikava became second seven points behind the winner (third Daria Domracheva biathlon World Champion). It is remarkable to note the three best athletes of the country are all women. In Belarus journalists vote for the top ten regardless of their