Interview Sam Coffa (Part 3): “From where do I take my energy? I just don’t stop!”
In the third and final part of his interview, Sam Coffa comes back on the technical changes occurred in the last decades, but confidently considers that while there is always room for improvement, “nothing has substantially changed”. He is also firmly convinced that the work of the Executive Board is and will be decisive for the future of the sport in the Olympic Games. “One step backwards and we lose everything,” he warns. The Chair of the IWF Technical Committee concludes this pleasant talk by sharing some personal details of his current life. At 89, this globetrotter (he has been in 102 countries) still makes a daily walk in the morning and enjoys being with his four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. With his contagious smile, he recognises that his extraordinary career was a “sweet revenge” for the difficult early life in Italy. Let's come back to technical matters. What has changed in weightlifting in these last decades? Or do you think the sport is essentially the same? I think in substance, nothing changed. The Press movement, for instance, was abolished, and this eliminated many lifters, who had specialised in the Press. But the essence of weightlifting remains intact. It’s basically a very beautiful and elegant sport. I wish I could have done it as good as some of the great lifters, but it was delightful to watch all those superb lifts. The Snatch is a fast and elegant movement, the Clean and Jerk is just terrific, as it provides a real sense of strength. Essentially, I don't think there has been such a big change other than when we eliminated the Press, but what has changed is the technical side of things, the technical rules. And you were personally behind many of those changes? I still have a lot in my mind which I haven't been able to produce, but with some humility, I must say, I don't think anyone has done more to change the technical rules as I have. The elimination of the three minutes, that was a brilliant move, in my opinion. But many others, like the introduction of the jury monitoring system, the elimination of the body weight advantage, and the one-kilo increment. It used to be two and a half kilos, but I thoroughly studied the question and we came to the conclusion that the one-kilo solution was a good one. It proved right. Do you think we now have a good competition format? I think we do. I'm not saying it couldn't be improved, it could. There is always the discussion that the time could be shortened, and the competition could be sped up a little bit more. But it takes time and I am quite busy. It’s not just attending meetings, it's replying to the whole world who writes to me. And trying to solve sometimes the details that could be easily solved with common sense. I give you an example: someone came to me about the colours of the Appeal Card, which should be the same as the one allowing the entry in the warm-up area. They had printed it in another colour… Was this wrong, and against the rules? I replied to this person, ‘Look, what is the objective of this card? When you put it up, what is the objective? It's to show the technical controllers that you're appealing. Do you think it’s relevant if it’s purple or white? Will anyone complain about this?’ That’s the kind of problems we have sometimes... At the time of this interview, in May 2025 Do you like the two-platform solution? I'm a purist or, to use your words, a conservatist. I could never see the seniors being on two platforms. For me, the World Senior Championship should be for the best weightlifters in the world. We don’t need big numbers for that. If we keep it reasonable, you can better promote it. Maybe for the youth or juniors, if you've got too many, I can stomach it. We did the experiment twice and it worked. What is the future of our sport in the Olympic Games? I think the future of our sport is in the hands of the Executive Board. There's no turning back from doping and there's no turning back from good governance and that sort of thing. One step backwards and we lose everything. Therefore, the President and the Executive have to be strong and make wise and rightful decisions. You live in Australia, which is far away from everything. You are a true globetrotter. How many countries did you visit? How many countries have I visited? I know that because my grandson was asked to do a project at school. And he came over to me and he said, ‘I want to do a project on you’. I said, ‘Very good. Let’s sit down and find out what you want’. And the first question he asked was, ‘How many countries have you been?’ I had no idea. So I looked at my passports, and I also looked at my technical official card, in which every trip must be registered. And the conclusion is 102. I believe that's good... Family-wise, you told me you have four children... Three boys and one girl... …and how many grandchildren? How many have I got? Nine. And one great-grandchild, a little boy. What is your routine life in Australia? What are you doing when you are not travelling? It's quite mundane really. We all love sports. My children all did their own thing and I never pushed them to do anything. Iolanda, my daughter, did some school weightlifting but she's very deep in calisthenics, which is a big sport in Australia. She's got a daughter who is exceptionally good at Calisthenics. Often my son rings me up, ‘We're going to watch football tonight’. We go and then we have something to eat. We also get together for the big celebrations, Easter and Christmas. Presenting medals at the 2024 IWF Worlds (second from the right) Any special tradition you would like to share? We do certain things that people say, 'What the hell is that?'. For instance, in the wintertime, we used to prepare a calzone with broccoli. It started one year for Anzac Day [celebrated each year on April 25, as a remembrance day for all Australians and New Zealanders who died in situations of war, conflict or peacekeeping operations]. I used to play the trumpet, and I used to go there at dawn, when the sun comes up and you have to play the last post, like they do in the army. But that was early in the morning, six o'clock or half past five. So when we came back, it was cold, and my wife had this food for lunch. It was hot and delicious! It became a tradition that every time I'd come home from such events, you'd eat calzone-broccoli. But you wouldn’t do that at any other time. Things like this. We have those idiosyncrasies, which I'm sure many families have, and we like them. With IWF President Mohammed Jalood From where do you take your remarkable energy? I just don't stop! In the early days, I did a lot of writing, reading - especially when I was learning English. I don't know how many times I've read for instance 'The Count of Monte Cristo' or you know the classics. Now, I just don't have the time to concentrate and so I do things which appeal to me, like cooking a lot. Every morning I go for a walk, not a very long walk, but I go for a walk and I think a lot, you know, I really do. At a certain moment, we acquired a magnificent property near the beach, with a nice garden. I used to go there on a Friday and stay there for the weekend. And some of my best writing and speeches have come whilst digging in the ground… So I've kept myself busy. And including my mind, of course; I think that's where the energy comes. Do you think your successful career was a sweet revenge for the difficult life you had in the beginning? In a word, yes. I wasn't born in a place where things were given to you. You had to work. And I worked hard in my short time in the village before I migrated to Australia. But because my mother and father believed I had something extra that I could give, they tried very hard to find a position where I might do something meaningful. So I did a stint at the post office delivering telegrams, but at the same time learning Morse code and sending telegraphic messages. I also did a stint at the bar coffee where my uncle and aunt had two children: one was a doctor, one was a professor, so no one of them would go for a barman. That’s why they called me. I also learned to be a barber, which was my second trade. The barber himself had two daughters. And he definitely had it that the first daughter was going to be my wife. He just liked me, but it was just before I migrated… and actually knew my future wife, already in Australia! As I said before, I was practical and I think I've been in the right moment, at the right time. In this long road, what is THE moment you specially remember or are most proud of? Marching behind the Australian flag at the 1964 Games. Why? It was a moment in time that will never come back. Other items will always come back in different forms, but that one will never come back. Two obvious questions for the end. Firstly, who is the lifter/idol you admire the most since you got involved with weightlifting? And why? Naim Suleymanoglu. He was a weightlifting prodigy. At youth age he was breaking senior world records. He was one of the few lifters who lifted three times his bodyweight in the Clean & Jerk. Three Olympic gold medals. A magnificent athlete. Secondly, what was the most memorable competition (or competition moment) you witnessed? The 1987 World Senior Championships in Ostrava – Czechoslovakia. There were world records broken or attempted in every category. It was an enormously successful championship, filled to capacity. I was seated alongside Lyn Jones [former IWF Coaching and Research Committee member, from Australia] and we were pinching ourselves to believe we were watching such an event. Anything left to say? I bless the day my father chose Australia for our family to migrate to. Where else in the world a young 15-year-old migrant boy has the opportunity to become the Mayor of one of the Cities of Melbourne, act as a door keeper for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and in the 2000 Sydney Olympics be in charge as President of the Weightlifting Federation of the Host Country. Speaks volume of Australia as a nation! That was a nice conclusion. Thank you and all the best, Sam! By Pedro AdregaIWF Communications Part 1 of Sam Coffa’s interview can be found here Part 2 of Sam Coffa’s interview can be found here As part of the 120 daily posts published for the IWF’s 120th anniversary, Sam Coffa was portrayed on May 17, 2025
