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Weightlifting competitions around the world

The last month saw many great weightlifting competitions from the Pacific Mini Games + Oceania Senior Championships in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands to the XIX Bolivarian Games in Valledupar, Colombia and 19th Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria. Among some highlights from the month’s events were the five days of competition with daily awards and various broken records taking place at the Bolivarian Games. Here Colombia was the country that won the most medals in weightlifting. The medal table podium for weightlifting was completed by Ecuador and Venezuela. Speaking about the Mediterranean Games, Dr. Milan Mihajlovic, Technical Delegate for the Weightlifting Competition at Oran 2022 Games and EWF General Secretary said, “I would like to thank the International Committee of Mediterranean Games, the host country, and the Organizing Committee for their dedication to the growth of our sport. Initially we had a limited competitive capacity, but with hard work we helped increase the competition from only two men’s and two women’s body weight categories with two competition days to a four-day event with five competition categories for both men and women”. The Weightlifting competition of the XIX Mediterranean Games Oran 2022 will include the following events: Men: 61 Kg,73 kg, 89 Kg, 102 Kg, +102 Kg Women: 49 Kg,59 kg, 71 Kg, 81 Kg, +81 Kg The widespread weightlifting championships that continue to be held around the world are a strong indication that our sport is growing. And not only growing in one particular demographic but in fact growing in new countries and regions around the world – making for a complete international and representative

Renewal confirmed at IWF Congress

The election of the new IWF President Mr. Mohammed Jaloud, Executive Board as well as Commissions and Committees, demonstrates the strong wish of the IWF member federations for a renewal and change within the organisation.  President Jaloud brings extensive experience within the sport; having been a weightlifting athlete for 13 years, working within the administration for 26 years and spending the last five as IWF General Secretary. His goals for the future focus on uniting the weightlifting federation and promoting the new philosophy for the organisation going forward. While it was essential for some experienced leaders to remain, a total of 12 new members have now join the Board – making for a 66% change in the leadership team. In addition, the female representation was substantially increased above the quota. Furthermore, three dedicated athlete representative positions are now an integral part of the Board (with full voting rights). In relation to the IWF Athletes’ Commission, since the election of the Vice Chairwoman Hiromi Miyake (JPN) to the IWF Executive Board, her position within the IWF AC was left vacant. Due to this activity, the IWF Athletes’ Commission officially elected Dora Tchakounte (FRA) to take over this position. Tchakounte is an Olympian, recently competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where she placed 4th in the 59kg category. She will now join Forrester Osei on the IWF Executive Board as an IWF Athlete Representative. The new IWF President Mohammed Jaloud commented on his new role and the new direction of the IWF, “I am looking forward to getting started with my new team. We have been given the confidence and trust of our members to bring positive change and this is something that I am dedicated to doing. There is a renewed energy within our organisation, I have already had the chance to discuss with my team and we are ready to work and start delivering good things for our sport. We have a lot of new members and a lot of good experience within the newly elected Executive Board. We have a much stronger female and athlete representation than ever before and we are all focused on the future of weightlifting and ensuring that we work with our Olympic

A new chapter begins for IWF

The new Executive Board of the International Weightlifting Federation met at the IWF Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Coming together for the first time since their election, there was a packed agenda set for the new leadership. Among the most important topics were weightlifting’s Olympic status as well as the foundation and future of the sport. At the recent Executive Board meeting discussions focused on the core principles of the IWF, including reviewing the past culture versus the new philosophy of the organisation and next steps in continuing to clean up the sport. Each member of the Executive Board committed to supporting the good governance initiatives already implemented and to the continued improvement of transparency and integrity within the sport. Furthermore, concrete steps were agreed. These included: commissioning the International Testing Agency (ITA) to increase the number of out-of-competition tests and enhance transparency, appointing an international auditing firm to perform a detailed financial, governance and operational due diligence of the IWF covering the past ten year, review the IWF constitution to identify any needs for adjusting operational regulations, and lastly, an adjustment will be made to the current financial management regulations and procedures to ensure a clear link between costs and obtained results. Additional points discussed also included the upcoming events for this year and next year, the support of athletes and member federations, the improvement of sponsorship and ways in which to promote the sport of weightlifting throughout the world. IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso said, “We had some great discussions and made some important decisions for weightlifting; we are looking forward to sharing more on next steps with our members and partners in the coming weeks and months ahead. But we can already promise that transparency will be at the core of everything that the IWF does from now on.” While in Lausanne, the IWF President Mohammed Jaloud, the General Secretary Antonio Urso and the First Vice President Ursula Papandrea were invited to the IOC for a meeting aimed at establishing the path forward for the IWF regarding further improve governance. The meeting was very fruitful, and many points were highlighted by the IWF leadership as to the initial steps taken by the IWF towards positive change for the future of Olympic weightlifting. Continuing on the path forward, the IWF also welcomed ASOIF’s fourth Review on IF Governance this past month. In this report by ASOIF, the IWF is proud to report back to all members that the organization had increased it’s score to secure a strong place in Group B (Group B sits in the middle of the five-group system – A1, A2, B, AT and C). Following a self-assessment questionnaire and independent evaluation conducted by ASOIF and independent experts, the IWF achieved four (4) Top 10 results in the assed indicators. This marks a significant improvement for the organisation and demonstrates the dedication of the leadership to foster transparency, modernisation and

IWF Athletes’ Commission Elects Dora Tchakounte as New Vice Chair

Last week the IWF Athletes’ Commission opened a vote among its members to fill the position of Vice Chair after the previous Vice Chairwoman Hiromi Miyake (JPN) was elected to the IWF Executive Board at the 2022 IWF Electoral Congress in Tirana, Albania.Due to this recent activity, the IWF Athletes’ Commission has now officially elected Dora Tchakounte from France as the new Vice Chairwoman. Tchakounte is an Olympian, recently competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where she placed 4th in the 59kg category. She will now join Forrester Osei on the IWF Executive Board as IWF Athlete Representatives.IWF President Mohammed Jalood commented, “On behalf of the new IWF Executive Board, I would like to congratulate Ms. Tchakounte and welcome her to the Board. The athlete perspective is very important to our sport, we have a lot of good work to do for weightlifting and together with her and the IWF Athletes’ Commission Chair Forrester Osei, I know that we will achieve a lot for our sport together.”IWF Athlete Chair Forrester Osei added, “We are so pleased to have Dora Tchakounte as our new Vice Chair. She is a strong leader within our Commission, and now having her voice included in the important discussions we will have with the IWF leadership about the future of our sport will be invaluable.”Currently there are three positions available for Athlete Representatives on the IWF Executive Board. IWF Athlete Commission Chair, Forrester Osei and now Vice Chair, Dora Tchakounte hold two positions and the third will be filled later on this

A New Chapter Begins for the IWF

Lausanne, Switzerland - July 14, 2022    The new Executive Board of the International Weightlifting Federation met yesterday at the IWF Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Coming together for the first time since their election, there was a packed agenda set for the new leadership. Among the most important topics was the Olympic status as well as the foundation and future of weightlifting.The discussions focused on the core principles of the IWF, including reviewing the past culture versus the new philosophy of the organisation and next steps in continuing to clean up the sport. Each member of the Executive Board committed to supporting the good governance initiatives already implemented and to the continued improvement of transparency and integrity within the sport.Furthermore, concrete steps were agreed including commissioning the International Testing Agency (ITA) to increase the number of out-of-competitions tests. Additionally, an international auditing firm will now be appointed to perform a detailed financial, governance and operational due diligence of the IWF covering the past ten years. The final report will be presented to the IWF Ordinary Congress in December this year. Also, using the learnings from the recent Electoral Congress, a review of the IWF Constitution will be made to identify any needs for adjusting operational regulations. And lastly, an adjustment will be made to the current financial management regulations and procedures to ensure a clear link between costs and obtained results.Additional points discussed also included the upcoming events for this year and next year, the support of athletes and member federations, the improvement of sponsorship and ways in which to promote the sport of weightlifting throughout the world.IWF President Mohammed Jaloud commented, “It was great to have the new Executive Board come together here in Lausanne, the Olympic Capital, and home of the IWF headquarters. With so many new Executive Board members, it was important for us to come together in unity to focus on the future of our sport. We are moving forward on all fronts and are strictly in line with the IOC requirements.”IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso said, “This was a very productive first meeting with the new Executive Board, there was a lot of positive energy. We had some great discussions and made some important decisions for weightlifting; we are looking forward to sharing more on next steps with our members and partners in the coming weeks and months ahead. But we can already promise that transparency will be at the core of everything that the IWF does from now on – including having the detailed minutes of our meeting being published very soon on the IWF

IWF Congratulates Newly Elected General Secretary Antonio Urso

June 30, 2022 – Lausanne, SwitzerlandFollowing the second round of voting (online) for the position of General Secretary, Mr. Antonio Urso of Italy has been elected as the new IWF General Secretary.In a very close race, with 127 valid votes cast, Mr. Urso was elected with 64 votes while Mr. Jose Quinones received 63 votes. In following the IWF Constitution, Mr. Urso received the most votes and thus has been declared the winner.The IWF would like to congratulate Mr. Urso on his election and we are sure that he will make a positive impact on the sport at a crucial time in its history. The IWF would like to thank both Mr. Quinones and Mr Urso for their commitment to the sport of weightlifting with such a close run election proving there is much interest in the sport.IWF President, Mohammed Jalood commented, “I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Antonio Urso. His extensive years of experience combined with this passion for weightlifting will be a great asset for the IWF in the years ahead. I am looking forward to working with him and my new Executive Board in the years ahead – we have a lot to do but I am confident that with this new team we will bring the IWF to an exciting new level.”Newly elected General Secretary, Antonio Urso said, “What an exciting day it has been. I cannot begin to express my thanks to the IWF family for their confidence. I am looking forward to getting to work with our new President and the entire Executive Board. This is a new era for the IWF and for weightlifting!”The online vote was supervised by the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Manager using the LUMI Global system. The completion of this vote brings the 2022 IWF Electoral Congress to a