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Anaheim, USA to Host 2017 IWF World Championships

PENANG, Malaysia — The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Executive Board reallocated the 2017 IWF World Championships to USA Weightlifting. This comes after the original host city, Penang, Malaysia, encountered difficulties and resigned from the organization the event. USA Weightlifting will bring the event to Anaheim, USA. “We are saddened that Penang will not be able to host the 2017 IWF World Championships. The people of Penang and Malaysia are always so welcoming to our athletes,” IWF President Dr. Tamás Aján said. “We are grateful that Anaheim stepped in to host the world’s biggest weightlifting competition of 2017.” The City of Anaheim is located in close proximity to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and is home to Disneylandâ Resort , the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This will be the first time the IWF World Championships will be held in the city, which has hosted major sporting events including the 1984’s Olympic Games wrestling matches, held at the Anaheim Convention Center. The 2017 IWF World Championships will be held Nov. 28 - Dec. 5, 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center. This is the first time the event will be held in Anaheim, California. “It is an honor to welcome the 2017 IWF World Championships to the United States,” USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews said. “We thank the IWF Executive Board for their trust in hosting the sport’s biggest event of 2017. We look forward to working with our partners at the IWF and Visit Anaheim to hold a great event for the athletes.” The IWF World Championships were last held in the United States in 2015 when Houston hosted the event. “The 2015 IWF World Championships in Houston were magical,” USA Weightlifting Board of Directors Chair Ursula Garza Papandrea said. “We cannot wait to host the world’s best athletes back here in the United States. It will be a great competition.” The Anaheim Convention Center is located in the Anaheim Resort district, centrally located between Los Angeles and San Diego, Anaheim is easily accessible from four nearby airports including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), to easily shuttle IWF athletes to their accomodations in Anaheim. “We are thrilled to welcome the 2017 IWF World Championships to Anaheim,” said Jay Burress, President & CEO, Visit Anaheim. “Anaheim is a world-class sports destination that is only growing through the work and partnerships our Sports Anaheim team has been forging. We look forward to hosting IWF in 2017 and some of the sport’s greatest athletes in our city.” PRESS CONTACTS: Anna Resman USA Weightlifting [email protected] 507-261-9920 Tania Weinkle Visit Anaheim [email protected]

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING’s Rio Olympic issue is published online

No.138 of WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING is dedicated to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Read the online version

Executive Board finished 2 days of meetings in Beijing

In the past 2 days, the IWF Executive Board has completed a highly productive meeting in Beijing, China. Ahead of its Congress in a month’s time where the IWF Constitution and By-Laws and the Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations will be updated by the delegates for 2017 and onwards, the Board has gone through the document extensively in order to make recommendations on each article and point to the Congress delegates in Penang. Among the technical rule modifications now approved by the Board, there are two of historic significance: Reaching gender parity in the sport, women will also have 8 bodyweight categories (just like men) as of 1 January 2017. The new categories are: 90kg and +90kg for senior and junior; and 75kg and +75kg for the youth competitors. Another epic change may be the abolishment of the bodyweight advantage (in the case of equal results) which is expected to make weightlifting competitions easier to understand and increase the competitiveness. The EB received a detailed report on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in particular the successful weightlifting events. As usual, the current status of the sport’s anti-doping activities with a special focus on the reanalysis situation was assessed by the

Four-time Olympian Norbert ‘Norb’ Schemansky passed away

DEARBORN, Mich. - A four-time Olympian and metro Detroit native died Wednesday night. Norbert “Norb” Schemansky, of Dearborn, died while he was being cared for in hospice. He was 92. Schemansky was an American weightlifter and the first to win four Olympic medals during his career. He won a silver medal in his first Olympic games in 1948, a gold medal in 1960, and a bronze in 1960 and 1964. He lived in Dearborn for 56 years and worked for the city. A park in Dearborn is named after him. By John Steckroth - Digital news editor Copyright 2016 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights

Tokyo 2020 aims to make some noise, says Reiko

By Brian Oliver in Rio de Janeiro A ‘brains trust’ of Olympic weightlifting competition managers met in Rio to talk about times past and future. There was Wang Yan from Beijing 2008, Matthew Curtain from London 2012, Pedro Meloni from Rio 2016 and the woman who will be in charge for Tokyo 2020, Reiko Chinen. Reiko, a popular figure among the IWF technical officials, was hugely impressed by the atmosphere at the Riocentro arena and says it will be Tokyo's aim to match it. “The spectators in Rio have been great. They know when to make a noise and when to stay quiet. Their clapping and cheering created a very good atmosphere and we really need that in Tokyo. “The Japanese people are a little bit shy and quiet compared to Brazilians, who can be very excited. We will have to do something for spectators to excite them, to make big noise for the athletes. Language and communication will be a big challenge for us.” One big difference between Rio and Tokyo will be the site of the venue. The Tokyo International Forum, a multi-purpose exhibition and cultural center, is right in the heart of Tokyo. “There are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops right outside, and many subways and train stations nearby,” said Reiko. Spectators will get extra value with their tickets, as they will be able to watch training. The venue has 11 floors, and one of them will be the training area. Spectators will be able to watch without disturbing the athletes, said Reiko. Reiko has been involved in weightlifting since 1986, when she started as an athlete. She is a coach and a high-ranking technical official. In 1993 Reiko gained her International Category 2 Technical Official licence, and five years later she was the first female TO to get a Category 1 in Japan. In 2014 Reiko was technical director of the IWF World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She is a member of the Asian Executive Board and chairs the Asian Technical Committee. Japan has about 4,000 registered weightlifters and is implementing a programme for younger starters. “Most of them are students who start at 15, but we want more starting at nine or 10,” said Reiko. “The sport is growing, especially among the

8th Women bodyweight category

Following the IWF Executive Board decision in Tbilisi on introducing an 8th Women bodyweight category, the IWF President conveyed a meeting in Rio on the occasion of the Olympic Games involving all IWF bodies linked to the conceptualization: Technical Committee / Medical Committee / Coaching and Research Committee Athlete’s Commission / Women’s Commission Based on the IWF database including results from 1998 and considering the received proposals, the IWF Secretariat will proceed to the compilation of the data and elaborate the final proposal to be presented to the IWF Executive Board at its upcoming