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Postponement of the Youth Olympic Games 2022

Senegal and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2022 to 2026 President Macky Sall's proposal was welcomed by IOC President Thomas Bach, following in-depth discussions on the subject. This postponement meets the requirement of responsibility and the concern for efficiency imposed by current circumstances. The postponement of Dakar 2022 allows the IOC, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the International Federations (IFs) to better plan their activities, which have been strongly affected by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, by the subsequent postponements of major international sports events, and by the operational and financial consequences of the global health crisis. At the same time, it allows Senegal to carry on the excellent preparations for the Youth Olympic Games. The two leaders, who praised the progress made so far, have jointly renewed their confidence in Dakar 2022 President Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, IOC Member in Senegal, and both remain fully committed to the great success of these Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic event ever to be organised in Africa. The IOC and Senegal understand that this news will be disappointing for many young athletes. Both parties can only appeal to their understanding. This agreement results from the large scale of the operational challenges which the IOC, the NOCs and the IFs are facing following the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. With this in mind, the IOC will continue to offer all IFs and NOC Continental Associations the full content of the educational programmes of the Youth Olympic Games. This will allow for the objectives of this very important and much-appreciated component of the YOG to be maintained through the many events organised between now and 2026, in particular during the Continental Youth Games. “This amicable agreement illustrates the mutual trust between Senegal and the IOC. I would like to express my sincere thanks to President Macky Sall, a great friend and supporter of the Olympic Movement, for this exceptional relationship of trust and quality. For all these reasons, I am sure that, together, we will organise fantastic Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 for Senegal, the entire African continent and all the young athletes of the world,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “I would like to reiterate that the IOC has my full support for the organisation of the Youth Olympic Games, postponed to 2026. I take this opportunity to reaffirm my confidence in the Executive Board and welcome the commitment of its teams, working side by side with us, to make Dakar 2026, the first Olympic event in Africa, a successful and memorable occasion”, said President Macky Sall. The agreement was approved today by the IOC Executive Board, and will be submitted to the IOC Session for ratification this Friday, 17 July 2020. Source:

Cancellation of the 2020 World University Weightlifting Championships

After careful consideration, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) announced today the cancellation of the 2020 World University Weightlifting Championships that should have taken place in Gangjin (KOR) from 20 to 24 October 2020. In their statement FISU announced the following: " During this challenging period most of countries keep facing today, it is FISU’s duty to make cautious decisions in order to ensure the safety of all people involved in its events. As you know, we have been closely monitoring the current situation and have tried so far to react accordingly in the best possible way. Following the discussions that were held between FISU and your Organising Committee, the situation has been reported and discussed with the FISU Steering Committee that took place on Monday, 13 July. As a result, we hereby confirm the cancellation of the 2020 World University Weightlifting Championship. This has not been an easy decision to make but we truly believe it is the wisest choice in these

Online Education at the Time of COVID-19

The Pan American Weightlifting Federation together with the International Weightlifting Federation held its fifth online seminar on 11th July 2020. The first one was about 'How to live in times of Coronavirus'. It was followed by two (a Spanish and an English edition) Technical Officials' webinar on which International Technical Officials of Category 1 gave presentation to the audience. The last two webinars covered Anti-Doping related topics, again in two languages in order to target all countries of the Pan American Continent and other parts of the world. For the webinars the Zoom platform was used and people could also follow them via the IWF YouTube Channel. Thousands of people from all the world listened to and could benefit from these webinars which are planned to continue with other topics in the near future. To watch all webinars in case you missed them,

Remembering Former World Record Holder and World Champion, Antonio Krastev

It is with great sadness that we have learned that, the Bulgarian born weightlifter Antonio Krastev passed away at the age of 58 due to a tragic accident in the United States. [caption id="attachment_29834" align="alignleft" width="234"] Antonio Krastev - 1987 Ostrava @Bruce Klemens[/caption] With his passing the weightlifting world has lost one of its greatest lifter of all time. Throughout his career he won two World Championships, two European Championships and one Junior World Championships title and hold several world records. He was also named „strongest man on the planet” by an American magazine after his famous snatch of 216 kg in 1987. This record was only beaten at an international competition 30 years later by none other than Lasha Talakhadze (GEO). Although he was considered one of the greatest weightlifter of all time, he never had a chance to compete at the Olympic Games. In 1984, he missed the Games due to political circumstances, in 1988 Bulgaria withdrew from the Games after two of their athletes committed doping offences. Later on, he left Bulgaria for the US where he did not receive an American citizenship in time therefore he missed his third and last chance to compete at the Olympics in 1996. Artie Dreschler, former USA Weightlifting Chair of the Board who was a close friend of Krastev said: "Across the years Antonio trained with us, I had the pleasure of seeing him snatch 200kg on several occasions, and clean and jerk 250kg once, as he prepared for the 1996 Olympics in hopes of earning US citizenship by then, and representing the US in the Atlanta Games. But when he could see that his citizenship could not be gained by then, causing him to miss his third chance at an Olympic Games, he lost his drive to train and retired.” "I’m very sad to see that Antonio came to such an early and tragic end, but I’m truly grateful to have known him. He was a lifter’s lifter and an independent man. I’ll miss him." Although he is not with us anymore, his memory and famous lifts will stay with us forever. The International Weightlifting Federation offers its heartfelt condolences to the Bulgarian and USA Weightlifting Federation and his loved

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

IWF reports that the sample of Mr Andrei DEMANOV (RUS) has returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone metabolite (4-chloro-18-nor-17b-hydroxymethyl, 17a-methyl-5aandrost-13-en-3a-ol) (S1.1 Anabolic Androgenic Steroids). As a consequence, the Athlete is provisionally suspended in view of a potential anti-doping rule violation. In any case where it is determined that the Athlete did not commit an anti-doping rule violation, the relevant decision will also be published. IWF will not make any further comments on the case until it is

Olympian Mohammed Yaseen Mohammed passed away at the age of 57

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Iraqi weightlifter and Olympian Mr. Mohammed Yaseen Mohammed. He passed away on 24th June 2020 at the age of 57 in Sweden, reportedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously he competed in two consecutive Olympic Games, in 1980 in Moscow and in 1984 in Los Angeles where in the 75 kg category he won the outstanding 6th place. In the same category he was considered the Asian Weightlifting Champion, due to his many victories and second places throughout the years. His long-time friend, the IWF General Secretary Mr. Mohammed Jalood remembers him the following way: „ I have lost Mohammed Yassen, who was like a brother to me. He will always be remembered as a hero in the Iraqi weightlifting community and will be greatly missed by everyone. I am sending all my condolences to the weightlifting family of Iraq.” The IWF and the weightlifting family sends the most heartfelt condolences to the Weightlifting Federation of Iraq and to his family and loved