News

IWF at the Paris 2024 Weightlifting Operational Test Event

Paris 2024 Weightlifting Operational Test Event was held at the South Paris Arena 6 on Saturday 12 August 2023. Comprising of men’s +102kg and women’s 71kg, twenty-five (25) French lifters in total competed across the two bodyweight categories. The event was hailed as a success as the Organising Committee was able to successfully validate planning objectives such as testing the venue transition, field of play, warm up area, sport equipment, national technical officials, sport specific volunteers, and timing, scoring and results. Matthew Curtain, IWF Executive Board Member and IF Delegate, as well as Moira Lassen, IF Delegate said they were very pleased to see things run smoothly.  The competition also gave all weightlifters and officials the chance to experience being associated within the dynamics of an Olympic environment and so it was certainly a great event for everyone involved. IWF President Mohammed Jalood, IWF Executive Board Member and Technical Committee Chair Sam Coffa, IWF Executive Board Member and Medical Committee Chair Faithi Masmoudi, IWF Executive Board Member Boukar Tikire and FFHM President Michel Raynaud were

Successful urban weightlifting event at the EYOF in Maribor (SLO)

Following the second edition of the “Swiss Street Weightlifting”, held in early July in the Olympic capital Lausanne (SUI), the urban version of the sport was again in evidence at the start of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), running from July 23-29 in the historical Slovenian city of Maribor. Besides the 11 official sports on the programme, weightlifting made a very successful demonstration event, gathering 16 athletes from seven nations, in a mixed-gender international team and individual competition format. Each team was composed from one boy and one girl from different countries. This initiative generated a lot of success and enthusiasm among the participants and certainly constitutes and important step forward in the implementation of new popular events within the weightlifting programme. Speaking to Inside the Games, Antonio Conflitti, President of the European Weightlifting Federation and IWF Executive Board member, was a happy man with the event: “People would say they could just stop by and watch for five minutes, but they ended up staying for one and a half hours and they really enjoyed it. We told the athletes, ‘we are writing a new chapter of weightlifting history and you are the protagonists - enjoy the moment'. They did that, and some of them said they were so relaxed in the environment they had better results than at the European Youth Championships in Moldova two weeks ago.” The IWF’s Vice-President Attila Adamfi was also in Maribor and praised the organisation of this urban weightlifting demonstration: “Since the IWF organised the first international Street Weightlifting event in Lausanne, in 2022, more and more such events are held around the world. Recently, Lausanne organised the second edition already, a demonstration was held in June in Havana, Cuba, and now this superb event in Slovenia. Jamaica and the European Weightlifting Federation in Olympia (GRE) are also planning to host urban weightlifting events where our sport is delivered to the spectators in a new format.” Both IWF officials are members of the Working Group coordinating the creation of the first-ever Strategic Plan for our International Federation. On this roadmap for the period 2024-2032, the implementation of new events and innovative formats in the sport is clearly a priority. “All these events provide great experience that shall be collected and evaluated. As part of our strategic objective to introduce new, innovative disciplines, a consolidated 'urban weightlifting' format shall be elaborated soon, with the active participation of the Athletes,” Mr Adamfi says. Antonio Conflitti, Laszlo Fabian (General Secretary of Hungary's NOC) and Attila Adamfi  Mr Conflitti goes in the same direction: “We need to make weightlifting more attractive to a wider audience and these events help to do that.” Competition-wise, lifters from Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia were in action in Maribor. Team winners were Gabriela Frlan (CRO) and Gabor Bunasz (HUN), while individual best performances went to Janez Paternoster (SLO) among boys, and to Chiara Reljac (CRO) in the girls’

IWF updates its TCRR as of July 26, 2023

The IWF sent yesterday to all its National Member Federations a communication on the new, updated version of the IWF Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations (TCRR). This new document, valid as of July 26, 2023 is accompanied by an Annex explaining the main changes compared to the previous version. They essentially concern the mandatory use of Video Playback Technology (VPT) at all Olympic Qualification events, the change in the maximum height of the competition stage, the precisions on the weigh-in protocol, and the update on the regulations concerning the attendance of athletes at medal ceremonies. The changes to the IWF TCRR were proposed by the Technical Committee and approved by both the IWF Executive Board and Athletes Commission. Relevant documents: IWF TCRR 2023ANNEX – IWF TCRR MODIFICATIONS AS OF 26 JULY

Successful IWF/ITA “Clean Sport Webinar” attracts more than 260 participants

More than 260 members of the IWF family, including athletes, support personnel, and officials from National Member Federations took today part in a “Clean Sport Webinar”, jointly organised by the IWF and the International Testing Agency (ITA). In this successful initiative, participants were briefed on five important topics related to anti-doping activities: anti-doping landscape; 2023 Prohibited List; medications & supplements; risk of using anabolic agents; IWF 2023 Anti-Doping Rules – summary of changes. The webinar – held in two identical sessions taking into account time-zone differences around the world – was moderated by Armando Urban, a member of ITA’s Education Team. From the IWF side, Forrester Osei, Athletes Commission Chair and Executive Board member, and Melody Exhenry, Anti-Doping manager, welcome all those who attended the webinar. “This kind of webinars is essential to properly educate our athletes and respective support personnel, thus ensuring our Sport is protected in the Olympic movement. All those taking part, in any capacity, in our Sport should know that we are doing our utmost to ensure a safe environment and fair events for everyone. I am sure that you will all find this learning time a very rewarding and fruitful one,” considered Osei in his introduction. Urban then briefed all participants on the importance of correctly knowing all aspects concerning the procedure of anti-doping rules, especially the knowledge of the substances that are part of the Prohibited List. An entire section of the presentation was devoted to the risks of having an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) associated with the intake of supplements, with ITA clearly defending a food-first approach to cover and provide all necessary nutrients athletes need during training and competition. After emphasising the rights, but also the responsibilities all athletes have in this matter, the ITA lecturer was also very clear on the associated, severe, and sometimes irreversible risks that the ingestion of prohibited substances may have on the lifters’ health.   Following the conclusion of the Q&A period, Melody Exhenry thanked all the participants for their presence and contribution. “We will continue and reinforce these webinars in the future. In parallel, please be aware that many anti-doping activities will be held during the IWF World Championships in September in Riyadh, namely the organisation of an anti-doping seminar, the implementation of an information booth, and the presence of an ITA Ambassador to provide all necessary data on this so important field. For the ones not travelling to Saudi Arabia, the next available webinars will be staged a couple of months after the conclusion of IWF’s major event,” Exhenry

Executive Board reconfirms Policy for AIN participation at IWF events

Following its decision on May 12, 2023 the IWF Executive Board reconfirmed on July 19, 2023 its policy concerning the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) at the IWF events. If the decision taken in May only included athletes and respective support personnel, the latest IWF deliberation also concerns the Technical Officials with Russian and Belarussian passports. The principle of the policy remains unaltered, as participants under this status must observe a strict neutrality during their participation in those events. Moreover, each of those participants must sign an Eligibility Declaration and Undertaking. Finally, individual checks will continue being performed by independent agencies on all athletes, respective support personnel and technical officials with Russian or Belarusian passports, who are aiming to take part in IWF competitions. Relevant documents: IWF Policy (amended as of July 19, 2023)Declaration & Undertaking (amended as of July 19,

IWF leadership meets ASOIF President in Lausanne

The IWF President Mohammed Jalood and General Secretary Antonio Urso yesterday held a working meeting in Lausanne (SUI) with the ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. The discussions focused on enhancing the already excellent co-operation between the two entities, the progress made by the IWF since the election of its new Executive Board in the summer of 2022, and topics related to preparation for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The IWF highlighted its recent decision concerning the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes in weightlifting events, following the previous recommendations of the IOC on the complex matter. Mohammed Jalood (IWF President), Francesco Ricci Bitti (ASOIF President) and Antonio Urso (IWF General Secretary) Mr Jalood and Mr Urso also emphasised the significant efforts that the IWF is making in anti-doping, specifically the important partnership with the International Testing Agency (ITA), the increased resources and results in the IWF’s fight against doping cheats and the federation’s full determination to deliver a clean sport for the benefit of all IWF athletes. Other subjects addressed in the meeting included the strengthening of good governance principles within the IWF, the mandate for wide-reaching positive reform, and the further development of the IWF’s headquarters in Lausanne. A tangible example of this spirit of reform is the creation of the first-ever IWF Strategic Plan (covering the period 2024-2032), to be approved in September. Finally, the IWF was also happy to report that the qualification for the upcoming Olympic Games is proceeding without major problems and that hundreds of very motivated lifters around the world are doing their best to be amongst the 120 athletes that can compete next year in Paris. The next qualification event will be the IWF showcase, its World Championships, taking place from September 4-17 in Riyadh (KSA). “It was a very fruitful and pleasant meeting. As a valuable partner of the Olympic Movement, the IWF could always count on a very positive collaboration from ASOIF. We are grateful to President Ricci Bitti for his recognition and support of the path IWF is taking now and in the years to come. This certainly gives us additional motivation to continue working in this direction, for the sake of our National Member Federations and their respective athletes, coaches and officials. Working hand-in-hand and in a spirit of unity is the only route to success,” considered the IWF President after the