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LA28 building on Olympic Agenda 2020 to deliver innovative Games

The first meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) concluded today, with updates detailing the strong foundations laid by the local Organising Committee, its achievements to date and plans for the coming months as it looks to deliver innovative Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Commission, chaired by IOC Executive Board member Nicole Hoevertsz from Aruba, focused on a number of areas during two days of virtual meetings. Topics included LA28’s vision and mission, sport and venue plans, as well as the success of its brand and commercial programmes. IOC President Thomas Bach joined the opening of the meeting to share his appreciation for all the work being done by the team in Los Angeles despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19. He said: “2020 has provided unprecedented challenges to the world and the Olympic Movement, but we have demonstrated that flexibility and innovation will be embraced to adapt to the new landscape and deliver Olympic Games fit for a post-corona world. We have shown in recent months that we are indeed stronger together. This was uniquely illustrated in the launch of the LA28 brand last month – the Organising Committee’s innovative and creative approach receiving plaudits from across the world.” He continued: “From its inception, the LA28 project has embedded the very essence of Olympic Agenda 2020 in all its strategic plans. These recommendations have opened the door to leverage the unique level of existing event experience present in Los Angeles and the ability to embrace an event-centred approach to planning and delivery. These Games will therefore leave a positive legacy for the citizens of Los Angeles and the United States at large.” Speaking about the work of the Organising Committee, the Coordination Commission Chair Nicole Hoevertsz said: “We’re really pleased with the progress made by the team in Los Angeles, highlighted by the launch of their unique brand and agreements with a number of high-profile commercial partners. “The extensive dialogue we’ve had over the past two days has been very encouraging, reinforcing LA28’s determination to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will leave a legacy for generations of Americans to enjoy. They’ve made a great start and, over the coming years, we look forward to working closely with them, drawing upon the abundance of event expertise within the city and utilising the experience of those within this Commission to deliver truly memorable Games in 2028.” LA28 Chairperson Casey Wasserman said: “Los Angeles is a city that’s always changing and evolving. It’s a place where creativity and innovation thrive. As a world-class sports and entertainment city with a creative edge, Los Angeles is built to host the Games and deliver fans and athletes an unparalleled Olympic and Paralympic experience.” With Los Angeles preparing to host its third Olympic Games and first Paralympic Games, one of LA28’s first major landmarks was highlighted to the Commission. The launch of the LA28 brand on 1 September revealed an animated emblem, built for the digital age and designed to evolve over time. Anchored with a bold and static L, 2 and 8, the LA28 emblem allows for an exceptional spectrum of stories through an interchanging dynamic 'A', illustrated through variations created by athletes, artists and advocates connected to Los Angeles. Updates were also provided on the Organising Committee’s early commercial success. This was highlighted by the confirmation of LA28’s first “Founding Partner”, several licensing agreements and more announcements in the pipeline. Another area on which the Organising Committee reiterated its commitment to deliver is its youth sports promise. As part of awarding the 2028 Games to Los Angeles, LA28 and the IOC agreed that up to USD 160 million would be invested in local youth sports leading up to the Games. While delayed due to COVID-19, discussions centred on the next steps for this project. LA28’s venue masterplan was another important topic covered. Embracing the Olympic Movement’s commitment to sustainability and legacy, and to contributing towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the 2028 Games will not require the construction of any new venues. The Commission heard that this will allow LA28 to focus more on delivering an unforgettable experience for everyone involved in the Games, as well as developing innovative engagement activities designed to bring new fans into the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Source:

IWF REFORM AND GOVERNANCE COMMISSION ESTABLISHED

The first meeting of the IWF Reform and Governance Commission was held over the weekend of Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, with Darren Charles Kane of Australia selected to start as Chair. The Commission will now be responsible for developing a new constitution and bylaws with a deadline of 22 January 2021. The new governing documents are to be circulated to IWF Member Federations two months prior to the IWF Electoral Reform Congress scheduled for 24 March 2021. “I am very grateful to the leading independent experts who have agreed to support the IWF with the huge undertaking ahead of us: revising our governance in just three months,” said IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani. “The goal of complete reform for the IWF’s governance is ambitious but also achievable. It is also overdue, notably in areas like athlete representation, term limits, accountability and transparency. Fortunately, we have reason to be optimistic. The successful reform of the IWF’s anti-doping procedures, based on principles of independent expertise and wide-ranging consultation, points to what can be achieved and how.” Alongside Kane, who also sits on the Legal Committee of FINA, will be Damaris Itzel Young Aranda of Panama, a former international athlete who is also a sports law expert and member of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission. They will be joined by Ximena Restrepo, an Olympic medallist for Colombia who in 2019 became the first ever female Vice President of World Athletics. The Commission will work based on the guidelines of ASOIF in regard to governance measurement and improvement. The independent experts will also be joined by IWF officials. “It’s a great honour to have this chance to help another of the select number of sports to have been part of the Olympic Games ever since they were reborn in 1896,” said IWF Reform and Governance Commission chair Darren Charles Kane. “It’s too early to tell exactly how the IWF’s governing documents will change in the coming months, but we already know the principles we want to see being applied to the reform process, with consultation, best practice, transparency and accountability key among them.” Next steps for the IWF Reform and Governance Commission will include consideration of proposals from IWF Member Federations, consultation of external bodies (including the IOC, ASOIF, GAISF, WADA and the ITA) and the drafting of new

China’s National Weightlifting Championships

China’s National Weightlifting Championships have successfully concluded, with its 4-day competitions for women finished on Oct 19th in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province and 4-day’s competitions for men finished on Oct 25th in Kaihua City, Zhejiang Province. CHINADA has conducted a total of 165 tests including 14 blood tests for the above Championships, with 83 for women and 82 for men respectively. Opening Ceremony of China’s National Weightlifting Championships for Men A total of 482 lifters competed in China’s National Weightlifting Championships, with 207 female lifters and 275 male lifters from all over china. There are a total of 66 times of National Records breaking, with 3 times of them surpassing the World Records in Senior Women's Snatch, once surpassing the World Records in Senior Men’s Snatch and 2 times surpassing the World Records in Senior Men’s C&J. Mr. GOU Zhongwen, China’s Sport Minister and President of Chinese Olympic Committee attended the Championships and presented medals. He highly praised the event organization led by Mr. ZHOU Jinqiang, President of Chinese Weightlifting Association and the competition level of the Championships. Mr. ZHOU Jinqiang, President of Chinese Weightlifting Association presenting medals to Mr. LYU Xiaojun, Olympic Champion and World Record Holder “The organization of our National Championships is to fulfill the needs and desire of the Chinese lifters to compete after 10 months due to the impact of COVID-19, and all the lifters are very excited in the competitions after such a long period.” Mr. ZHOU commented in an interview after the Championships, “The National Championships are also served as simulation competitions of Tokyo Olympic Games for the Chinese National Team. Some athletes made excellence performances while some other not considering the pressure they were under. Nonetheless, this is very enlightening and will be of help for our National Team to make more individualized training plan for the upcoming Tokyo Games. ” Source: Chinese Weightlifting

Majority of the National Federations support the Constitution and Electoral Congress

The IWF is pleased that so far 130 Member Federations have expressed their support of the decision made to hold the Constitution and Electoral Congress during 24-28 March, 2021. The names of the Countries supporting the proposals are: Africa (25): Algeria, Botswana, Cameroun, Comores, Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe Asia (42): Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Democ. P. R. Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen Europe (28): Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia Herczeg., Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine Oceania (13): Australia, Guam, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti,Vanuatu Panamerica (22): Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela The Executive Board is also pleased and appreciative that Colombia has become the first IWF Member Federation to propose improvements and amendments to the IWF Constitution which is welcomed and the Board urges all Member Federations to take this opportunity to make their proposals, their suggestions, which will be forwarded to the Reform and Governance Commission for careful

IWF Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension With ITA, Responds To WADA I&I Report

Lausanne; 22 October 2020; The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) today confirmed an extension of its partnership with the International Testing Agency (ITA) until the end of 2024 and provided an initial response to the report published by the Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) department of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The agreement signed this week will empower the ITA to manage the entire anti-doping programme for international weightlifting, including the investigation and prosecution of all anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs). Since the first weightlifting agreement was signed with the ITA, it has collected more than 2,700 samples from weightlifters and investigated more than 110 ADRVs. “The IWF is grateful to the ITA for its comprehensive management of anti-doping in international weightlifting,” said IWF Interim President Dr. Mike Irani. “Clean weightlifters can rest assured that our sport now benefits from a world-class, independently administered anti-doping programme which will continue well into the future.” Today also saw the publication of WADA I&I’s report into weightlifting, summarizing a number of lines of investigation spanning several years. “The provisional outcomes of WADA’s investigation into doping within weightlifting make for shocking reading,” continued Irani. “The IWF is firmly committed to empowering the ITA with the resources necessary for followup of any intelligence provided to it by WADA.” “The IWF is determined to ensure a level playing field for the clean weightlifters, coaches and officials acknowledged by WADA. We will continue to take the necessary steps to deliver this level playing field, relying on the independent advice of WADA, the ITA and the IWF’s newly-formed independent Anti-Doping Commission.

Jorge Nascimbeni (1940 – 2020)

On Sunday, October 18, at the age of 80, and with more than 40 devoted to the institutional life of the Argentine and South American Weightlifting Community, our dear friend, Jorge Nascimbeni passed away, leaving behind an example of work, honesty and kindness, which can never be forgotten by those who had the privilege of having known him. His life has always been linked to the Weightlifting sport from his youth when He began his activity as an athlete in the mid-1950s, reaching outstanding performances at the National level, along with athletes such as Selvetti, Eguiguren and Novua. In the mid-1970s, he joined the Argentine Weightlifting Federation as a leader and as early as 1978, he joined the Board of Directors, together with Ramón Facal and Basilio Chalak. In the early 1980s he joined the South American Weightlifting Federation, where his performance as Secretary/Treasurer showed considerable institutional growth, and sporting development of the region, which was consolidated when, together with Jorge Zas Fernandez, Basilio Chalak, Oscar Donayo, David Montero, among others, it was possible for the South American Region to obtain the institutional rank of Continent, separated from the Central American region. In 1983, he passed his examination of a world-class international judge, which He performed masterfully at countless International events, for more than 30 years. The immense sorrow caused by the loss of this great friend is compensated by the legacy left to us as leader, judge and fundamentally, as a human being. The Argentine Weightlifting Federation, in this way, pays its most sincere tribute to whom has been its most outstanding personality over the last 50 years. Source: Argentinian Weightlifting