News

From Mexico with… fair-play!

The final of the women’s 59kg, the only medal event of the fifth day of the IWF Grand Prix in Havana (CUB) had a pair of interesting duels to follow. On one side, the US battle between Taylor Wilkins and Danielle Gunnin. Arrived in Cuba, the latter was in advantage in the Olympic ranking – 220kg, against 217kg for Wilkins. After today’s competition, Gunnin is behind, as she couldn’t get a total (she missed all the snatch attempts), while Wilkins returns home with a 221kg total. Travelling a bit south, Mexico also had its best two representatives in action – Daphne Guillen had a previous total of 217kg, while Janeth Gomez was 3kg adrift (both results were achieved at the Pan-American Championships, held last March in Bariloche, Argentina). The order was reversed at the Pabexpo arena, after a 98-125-223 successful contest for Gomez (overall gold) and a 93-121-214 outcome for Guillen. Janeth Gomez (MEX) With her previous advantage, Guillen was the provisional eighth best in the ranking leading to the Paris Games; with today’s results, she leaves the qualification area, while Gomez “jumps” into the sixth place. Born on October 1997, the now best Mexican hope for the Games in this category, started her international career in the 53kg, with an initial participation at the 2013 IWF World Youth Championships, where she got the bronze. At the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, she was fifth, and already in the 59kg, she was fourth at two editions of the IWF World Cup. Today’s achievement was the most important so far in a path that now extends for 10 years. Daphne Guillen is younger (she is from March 2002), and her main highlights include the bronze at the Bariloche rendezvous, and the 2022 title at the IWF World Junior Championships, precisely held in Leon, Mexico. The 21-year-old always competed internationally in this category, having her first result recorded in 2019, when she was a silver medallist at the IWF World Youth Championships. Daphne Guillen (MEX) Despite hardly fighting for a place in the 2024 Olympic team in the same category (only one athlete per National Federation is eligible to take part in the Games), their complicity was obvious during the award ceremony – Guillen won the bronze in the clean and jerk. After listening to their national anthem, all smiles, they joined the team’s officials in the warm-up area and happily answered together to our questions. “Today, things didn’t go so well. I fundamentally lacked concentration. But, I always take things in a positive way – and this was a great lesson for the future. I will try not to repeat the same mistakes,” humbly recognised Guillen. Next to her, Gomez agreed with her teammate: “We both worked a lot to be here in good shape. I was luckier and it paid off. There are days when everything goes well and today was my turn. The main thing is to continue training hard, in a consistent way. There are many more competitions until we get to Paris, so a lot of things can still happen”. Asked if the victory in Havana was on the plans, Gomez adds: “No, it wasn’t expected. I just wanted to improve from my previous competitions and results. It went better than anticipated and I managed to get the gold… This is a very ‘dense’ category, where everyone is working very hard to get a place in the Games. This gives additional value to our performances”. Agreeing with her teammate, Guillen is also clear: “From my side, I need to recover that first ‘national’ place. And for that, there is only one secret – work, work, and more work. But in the end, we feel both strong and this is good as we can ‘push’ each other”. Daphne Guillen (MEX) The plans for the months to come include participation at the IWF World Championships in Riyadh (KSA), where both will again compete side by side in the 59kg category. From two different provinces in Mexico, the two lifters get together before an international event. “On a daily basis, we are not training together, but when we are called to represent our country, we prepare ourselves in the same area, without any problem. The main goal is that Mexico can be represented in this category in the Games – and with the most prepared athlete – it doesn’t matter who will be from both of us, we will always cheer the one who is in Paris,” states Janeth Gomez. Janeth Gomez (MEX) With a huge smile on her face, Daphne Guillen concludes: “The most important is the mutual support we can provide each other. In the end, it is obvious that each of us would like to be in the Olympics. However, if Mexico can be there, with one or the other, this remains the essential”.   And they leave, together, the warm-up area, in the direction of the bus taking them to the hotel. Sport is mostly fair-play and friendship. In Mexico, in weightlifting, in the women’s 59kg, this is essentially true. Pedro Adrega, IWF Communications

Havana, Day 5: US weightlifters battle in Paris rankings while former team-mate Sasser shines

While two Americans tried to improve their Olympic qualifying prospects on day five of the IWF Grand Prix here in Havana, their former team-mate Mattie Sasser made huge strides towards a place at Paris 2024. Sasser, who lifted for the Marshall Islands at Rio 2016, switched nationality to win medals for the US and has now changed back again, lifted in the 59kg B Group and put herself in a great position for Paris by making 94-120-214. In her first competition at the new Olympic weight of 59kg, having always lifted heavier, that earned Sasser fourth place on total in a competition won by Janeth Gomez from Mexico on 98-125-223. Gomez made a big move in the rankings, improving her best total by 9kg to go sixth. A few kilos more would put Sasser into the all-important top 10, while she also has a good chance of earning a continental qualification for Oceania or even a tripartite invitation, as Marshall Islands is on the list of eligible nations.   Of the US pair, Taylor Wilkins fared better than Danielle Gunnin, who bombed out in the snatch and made one clean and jerk of 118kg. Taylor Wilkins (USA) Wilkins could have won if she had made her final attempt at 127kg. She failed but moved up the rankings to seventh place ahead of Gunnin after finishing on 97-124-221. Third place went to Alina Shchapanava, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, on 95-120-215. Olympic champion Kuo Hsing-Chun withdrew after weighing in, as did the Tunisian Ghofrane Belkhir. Lucrezia Magistris from Italy left the platform in tears after failing to make a total for the second time in qualifying. Magistris made her first lift at 100kg, which was enough for snatch gold, then missed five in a row. She withdrew without lifting at the European Championships and has yet to register a total in the rankings. Sasser, who married an American and lives in Kansas City, was brought up on Mili Atoll, where the population is a few hundred. She moved to the Marshall Islands capital, Majuro, aged 14. Mathlynn Sasser (MHL) “The population has gone down since I left – life is hard there,” said Sasser, who has not visited the Marshall Islands for five years. Her parents still live there and she is planning to go next year. In 2018 she switched to the United States, in 2019 she made a career-best total of 232kg to win 64kg silver at the Pan American Games, and then things did not go so well. “I got injured and couldn’t go to Tokyo with the US because I had to have knee surgery. “There were things going on, a lot of politics, and I knew I would have a better chance of qualifying for Paris with Marshall Islands so I changed back last year.” Sasser usually trains in her garage but for this first competition for her homeland since switching back she trained in Samoa. Helped here by husband Chauncey Miller and coach Casey Knuth, Sasser, 26, performed well and looked capable of more. Mattie Sasser with husband Chauncey Miller (left) and coach Casey Knuth (right) There is a fluid relationship between the US and the Marshall Islands, whose currency is the US dollar, under a “Compact of Free Association” agreed in the 1980s, about 40 years after the US took control of the five islands halfway between Hawaii and Australia. By Brian Oliver, Inside the

Bahrain will be the host of the 2024 IWF World Championships!

Manama, the capital of Bahrain, will host the 2024 edition of the IWF World Championships, after the vote of the IWF Executive Board today in Havana (CUB). The Middle East bid received more support that the two other candidatures for next year’s IWF top-event, Yerevan (ARM) and Tirana (ALB). This will be the most important weightlifting event ever staged in Bahrain, which successfully hosted the 2022 Asian Championships. The President of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation, Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq led the three-person delegation from his country and was visibly a happy man after the outcome. “I sincerely thank the IWF Executive Board for the support and trust in our bid. We promise we will not disappoint you! We will deliver a top-class event and the entire IWF Family will live an unforgettable experience in Bahrain,” Mr Eshaq considered. The 2024 IWF World Championships will be held in November/December, some months after the conclusion of the Olympic Games in Paris (FRA). For 2025, the host of the IWF showcase – Norway – had been already awarded in December 2021. If this was the highlight of the two-day meeting of the IWF Executive Board in the Cuban capital, presently hosting the first 2023 IWF Grand Prix until June 18, other important decisions and discussions were held under the leadership of the IWF President Mohammed Jalood. These include: - Update on the Sustainability Project, namely the ongoing works on the assessment and subsequent work to diminish the IWF carbon footprint; - Under the anti-doping strategy, approval of a motion specifying that the IWF may exclude countries from competing where doping tests could not be taken by the IWF or any Anti-Doping Organisation with testing authority instructed by the IWF. Moreover, the IWF Executive Board approved an early implementation of the principle of Member Federations’ categorisation based on their doping risk from January 1, 2024 to November 1, 2023; - Lift of the temporary suspension for four Pan-American Member Federations (subject to payment of the 2023 annual fee): Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, and the Cayman Islands; - Approval of a financial assistance to the Cuban organisers of the 2023 Grand Prix, in order to compensate for the loss caused by numerous last-minute withdrawals from the competition; - Approval of a policy establishing that for international events, under the IWF umbrella, participation of Member Federations is subject to the payment of the accommodation, entry, and anti-doping fees by no later than 10 days after the submission of Final Entries; - Approval for the hiring of an independent company in charge of elaborating an internal financial audit; - Creation of a Working Group in charge of a policy of “Human Rights and Non-Discrimination”; - On technical matters, three topics were approved: 1. Competition platforms will have a maximum of 80cm height (instead of 100cm); 2. The Video Replay System (VPT) has to be always used in IWF events; 3. The athletes are not allowed to carry flags during medal ceremonies; - Update on the 2024-2032 IWF Strategic Plan, which will be submitted for approval at the IWF Congress next September in Riyadh (KSA), at the occasion of the 2023 IWF World Championships; - Update on the IWF Refugee Team programme: athletes included in this group are ready to take part in the Training Camp, to be held in the end of June in Sweden, under the patronage of barbell company Eleiko; - Presentation of the first Pan-American Street Weightlifting competition, to be held in Jamaica, from August 11-13, 2023; - The EB also finalised the IWF Constitution changes, to be submitted for Congress approval in September

Havana, Day 4: Irawan hits career high at 33 and has record-breaking fifth Olympic medal in his sights

Eko Yuli Irawan posted the best numbers of his career at the age of 33 here in Havana, and is on course to set a weightlifting record for the ages. In more than 120 years since the sport featured at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 no weightlifter has ever won five medals at the Games. “I’m hoping to be the first to do it,” Irawan said after moving up in weight to win at 67kg here in the IWF Grand Prix, the third qualifier for Paris 2024. Eko Irawan (INA) On a day of contrasts for Indonesia, Irawan’s team-mate Rizki Juniansyah later suffered a surprise defeat at 73kg when he failed with all three clean and jerk attempts. Ryan Grimsland of the United States won, ahead of Muhammed Ozbek from Turkey and Andrei Fralou, the Belarusian competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete. Irawan declined his final attempt after making five good lifts for 145-176-321, finishing well ahead of the Colombian 67kg world champion Francisco Mosquera, who made 136-175-311. Sergio Massidda from Italy, who like Irawan had moved up from 61kg, was third on 135-165-300. Sergio Massidda (ITA) “Things change when you are over 30 – recovery, nutrition, sleep – but I’m feeling good and mentally I am prepared,” Irawan said. “Yes, I am up from 61 to 67 but this is my best snatch, clean and jerk and total.” Irawan has had his share of injuries over the years, he said, pointing to his knees, shin, calf and ankle. “My knees are in recovery even now,” he said, “but I’m feeling good.” When he won bronze at London 2012, Irawan discovered afterwards that he had a stress fracture of the shin, having exacerbated a minor problem with “too much lifting”. Eko Irawan (INA) He will eventually go back down to 61kg, where he sits second in the rankings, after returning to the national training centre in Jakarta. This was only his second competition at 67kg in a career that began in May 2006. Irawan started in the sport aged 11, at which time he was herding goats in Lampung province where he grew up. His career highlight, he said, was not a single moment but being at the Olympic Games four times and winning a medal on each occasion – bronze in Beijing and London, and silver in Rio and Tokyo at weights ranging from 56kg to 62kg. Four different men won gold in those contests, from Colombia, North Korea and China twice, and one of those two from China, the Tokyo champion Li Fabin, tops the Paris rankings at 61kg. “Maybe I can beat China next time and finish with gold,” Irawan said. He has two young children and said he did not know if they might take up weightlifting, but he is sure of his own future when his career on the platform ends. “I’m going to be a coach,” he said. In the 73kg, the Tokyo 67kg silver medallist Luis Javier Mosquera began his qualifying effort for Paris by weighing in and withdrawing in the B Group. Mosquera, from Colombia, suffered a serious wrist injury at the Bolivarian Games a year ago. He is one of four Tokyo Olympic medallists trying to qualify for Paris who are in the programme but have yet to make a lift. The other three – Antonino Pizzolato from Italy, Polina Guryeva from Turkmenistan and Aremi Fuentes from Mexico – are all entered here but how many of them compete rather than “participate” by weighing in and complying with anti-doping requirements remains to be seen. Guryeva took a break to have a child and the others have had serious injuries. All four have plenty of time yet to regain full fitness during the qualifying period, in which only the single best total from a minimum of five “participations” counts in the rankings. One of the big names in the A Group, the Italian Mirko Zanni, also withdrew without lifting. Juniansyah, who holds all three junior world records at 73kg, missed an attempt to better his own junior world record in the snatch on 158kg. He led by 5kg going into the clean and jerk but could not make a lift and finished without a total. Grimsland, 21, made only one good clean and jerk on 182kg but he thought he had rescued his second attempt when he ended up facing sideways with 188kg above his head. Ryan Grimsland (USA) The referees said yes but the jury said no because he did not have the bar under control. “It was there, I had it,” Grimsland said ruefully. He matched his career best total on 145-182-327 and will move up four places in the rankings to 14th. Ozbek also failed with two clean and jerks, finishing 144-180-324, which was 7kg lower than his best qualifying total. Fralou made 141-181-322 to edge Grimsland’s team-mate Caden Cahoy off the podium, and the snatch silver medallist Jair Reyes from Ecuador was fifth. By Brian Oliver, Inside the

Arley Calderon (CUB): “The Games were never so close for me…”

Just outside the best 10 in the Olympic ranking before competing in the IWF Grand Prix in Havana, Arley Calderon was the home hero on the third day of the event after getting two bronze medals in the men’s 61kg. At the IWF World Championships, last December in Bogota (COL), the Cuban ace lifted 280kg and was in the “unpleasant” 11th position of the ranking determining the competitors getting their “ticket” for next year’s Olympic celebration in the French capital. At the Pabexpo, and in front of some very enthusiastic fans, Calderon made a personal best of 286kg to finally enter that restricted 10-athlete group. With a 125kg snatch and a 161kg clean & jerk, the 24-year-old climbed twice to the lower march of the podium, precisely in the two-movement variant and in total. This result – a personal best – gives him a provisional ninth place in the Olympic ranking, after three other results above 181kg, which was the 10th-place cut arriving at the Cuban rendezvous.  Arley Calderon (CUB) Arley has now participated in three qualifying events for the Games – after the Worlds in Colombia and before competing at home, he was also present at the Pan-American Championships, last March in Bariloche (ARG), where he got the lowest total so far in this Olympic path, 275 kg (silver in his category). In 2022, in the continental showcase, he was also second in the 61kg, with the same 275kg total. Visibly thrilled after his last attempt in Havana, Calderon hardly finds the words to thank the support he received throughout the competition. “It was quite thrilling to lift here, in my country, and get this personal best. The support of the entire Cuban team and all those who were here in the venue gave me the additional strength I needed to perform well. In the end, it paid off and I am obviously very happy,” confesses the Cuban star. Asked if he immediately understood the importance of his results in terms of entry in an Olympic qualification “zone”, Calderon admits: “During the competition, I didn’t care about that. I was so concentrated that I couldn’t think of something else. I was focused on my technique and on making sure that my lifts were solid. When it was all over, I then understood where this total had put in the ranking…” Things are, however, not over. “If I continue working hard, I believe I can still improve. There is no reason to doubt that. I sometimes competed in the 67kg category and lifted a bit more in that ‘unofficial’ category for me, so I know my body can stand some kilos more… I hope the Cuban people continue supporting me and in return, I promise that I will do the best I can to improve,” Calderon states. “Paris 2024? Of course, I believe in that possibility! With a lot of dedication, work, and faith I can compete in my first Olympics. The Games were never so close for me…” he jokes. Arrived in the world of weightlifting at the age of 13, Calderon immediately got stuck with this “hard sport”. Motivated by his family members, clearly fans of an activity “requiring strength and resistance”, he was quickly spotted by the coaches of the national team. Based in Havana with his teammates (since 2017 – he is originally from Pinar del Rio, the westernmost province), the Cuban star has a very demanding training programme, including double sessions three times a week, and one rest day, on Sundays. Also in the capital, he had time to complete his university studies, in Physical Education. “I want to continue connected with the sport after the end of my career. And, if possible, in the weightlifting world, perhaps as a coach or as a referee”. Reflecting on the challenging economic conditions affecting the Caribbean island, Calderon takes those difficulties with philosophy. “We lack many things and many resources. But we always find the means to overcome those obstacles. We are a country of resilient people, and the athletes are no exception to that. The Cuban competitors have brought excellent results to the nation, and everyone is very proud of those achievements,” he considers. If selected to compete in Paris, the goal is to fight for a medal, but on a more realistic prediction “to finish among the best eight” of his category. His next opportunity to reinforce, and if possible, improve his position in the Olympic ranking will be the IWF World Championships next September in Riyadh (KSA). By Pedro Adrega, IWF

Havana, Day 3: Gold for Indonesia, a good day for USA – and another medal for late starter Gallant

Ricko Saputra from Indonesia won gold, while Hampton Morris from the United States and Arley Calderon from host nation Cuba moved up the Olympic ranking lists on day three of the IWF Grand Prix here in Havana. On a good day for USA, Jourdan Delacruz won despite declining four of her lifts in the women’s 55kg, where Canada’s late starter Josee Gallant made the podium for a second time this year. In the men’s 61kg Saputra failed with two of his clean and jerks – as did seven others – and could not improve on his best qualifying total of 298kg. He remains behind his illustrious team-mate Eko Yuli Irawan, who is aiming for his fifth Olympic Games after winning medals in Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo. Ricko Saputra (INA) Irawan did not lift today because he has moved up to 67kg here for only the second time in a career that began more than 17 years ago. Morris gave out a big yell after his final attempts in snatch and clean and jerk, having made career-bests at this weight across the board on 124-166-290. His coach and father Tripp also made plenty of noise from beside the platform. “That was because we’re now in a really good spot to make it into the Olympic Games,” said Morris, the only lifter to make two clean and jerks. “We were hoping for a total of 290 and got it.” Hampton Morris (USA) Saputra was 10kg clear of seventh-placed Morris in the snatch and finished 5kg ahead of him on total, making 134-161-295. That was 3kg down on his Asian Championships effort and 5kg short of Irawan’s best total to date. Calderon had plenty of support and made 125-161-286, which will put him ninth in the simplified rankings, two places behind Morris. Henadz Laptseu from Belarus, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN), had the rarity of a successful challenge on the way to snatch silver, one place ahead of Muhamad Aznil from Malaysia. They both lost ground in clean and jerk, finishing fifth and fourth respectively on 130-150-280 and 129-156-285. In a bizarre women’s session there were three no-shows from the nine entries in the start book, from North Korea, El Salvador and Haiti, a withdrawal after weighing in by Atenery Hernandez from Spain, and 10 declined attempts by the remaining five athletes. The plan for Delacruz – the only non-Asian ever to post a 200kg total at her usual weight of 49kg – was simply to make career-high openers and she executed it to perfection. Jourdan Delacruz (USA) When Shoely Contreras from Peru failed with her final clean and jerk, Delacruz was the winner from only two attempts on 85-110-195. The consistent Contreras made 87-104-191 for second place and Canada’s late starter Gallant was third on 86-103-189. It was a second podium place in only four international competitions for Gallant after a silver behind Contreras at the Pan American Championships in Argentina this year. There was disappointment for Giulia Imperio from Italy, who failed to make a total after moving up from 49kg and has now made only seven good lifts in three qualifying appearances. Imperio made her first international appearance aged 15, whereas Gallant was twice that age when she made her debut less than a year ago at the 2022 Pan American Championships. Josee Gallant (CAN) “Looking back, I would 100 per cent love to have started out at that age,” said Gallant, who was 31 last week. “I came to this sport via CrossFit and I love it. “I am a perfectionist and weightlifting is perfect for me because it always gives you the chance to perfect your movement a little more, you always want to work at bettering yourself either physically or mentally. This really is a beautiful sport.” It was a challenge today after Gallant failed with her first two clean and jerk attempts before making it at the last chance. “It takes such a mental capacity to come back from that,” she said. “It is hard, it is stressful.” Gallant works full time in communications for her home town of Truro in Nova Scotia, and still puts in the eight training sessions assigned to her remotely every week by her coach Kevin Zimmerman, who lives 4,700km away in Edmonton. When she won the national title at Kelowna, British Columbia last year, Gallant had to travel more than 5,300km, which is 2,000km further than the distance to Cuba. “That was about seven hours of flying. If I go to see Kevin in person to work on technique it’s a six-hour flight,” she said. Gallant won her first national title in May 2017 and would have gone from there into international competition but for personal circumstances. “My mother had cancer and she fell into a coma on the day I won in 2017,” said Gallant. “After she passed away I felt I was doing it for her, it was an homage, and I sort of lost my own passion for it. “It was a long journey. It took me five years to process things and to get back to doing it for myself – that’s why I started so late. “And now here we are, I am doing what my mother would have wanted me to do.” Gallant’s next stop will be the IWF World Championships in Saudi Arabia, after which she will take her time in losing weight to drop down to 49kg and try to qualify for Paris 2024. Most of the people in Truro “have never heard of weightlifting” said Gallant, who is happy to explain its delights to them. But she does have an international team-mate nearby in the super-heavyweight Quinn Everett, who lifts in Cuba next weekend. “He only lives about an hour’s drive away so every now and then we meet up to train together in his garage,” said Gallant. By Brian Oliver, Inside the