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Yerevan, Day 7: Armenia starts its move towards top at European Championships

Weightlifters from host nation Armenia were roared on to the podium by a big crowd at the European Championships here in Yerevan. Davit Hovhannisyan and Ara Aghanyan, first and second last year in Albania, repeated the feat in front of their own fans, helped by a slew of red lights for rivals from France and Italy. The 96kg result takes the host nation up to second place behind Romania in the medals table and with several more chances over the weekend they look certainties to finish top. Another certainty is a packed house at the Karen Demirchyan Complex on Saturday and Sunday. More than 4,000 tickets have been sold for the final men’s super-heavyweight session of the Championships, which features multiple champion and world record holder Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia and the young Armenian challenger Varazdat Lalayan. Hovhannisyan led his team-mate by 7kg in the snatch and stretched the advantage to 13kg, finishing on 172-205-377, with Aghanyan on 165-199-364. Between them they declined three attempts, having seen off all challengers. Cristiano Ficco from Italy made only two good lifts for third place on 165-198-363, ahead of the snatch silver medallist from Turkey, Hakan Kurnaz in fourth on 361kg and Britain’s Cyrille Tchatchet in fifth on 350kg. Both French athletes, Redon Manushi and Romain Imadouchene – fourth at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships last December – bombed out in the snatch. In the other medal event of the day, the women’s 81kg, Iryna Dekha from Ukraine won a sweep of gold medals to claim her fourth continental title. For the third session in a row the winner finished way clear: for Karlos Nasar and Marie Fegue yesterday the margin was 21kg and 27kg, and for 26-year-old Dekha it was 23kg after she made 123-135-258. Dekha has always thrived in the snatch by comparison with clean and jerk, having bombed out twice with three failures in the latter part of a competition – including at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Here she made her first clean and jerk but missed the last two, which is exactly what happened in December at the first Paris 2024 qualifier, the IWF World Championships,  where Dekha won snatch gold then dropped to fourth place. Turkey won four more medals and it has 21, more than any other nation after seven days. Dilara Narin finished second on 101-134-235 and Sara Yenigun on 131kg. Elina Erighina of Moldova was third on total with104-130-234. By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by

IWF launches Athletes Direct Support Programme en route to Paris 2024 Olympics

The IWF is pleased to announce the launch of an Athletes Direct Support Programme, an initiative aimed at assisting 10 weightlifters in their preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (FRA). These scholarships will be awarded to five male and five female athletes from developing nations and under the following eligibility criteria: participation in at least one IWF Olympic qualification event until July 1, 2023; inclusion in the top-25 of the IWF Olympic Ranking; absence of sanction for an anti-doping violation; provision of whereabouts for the entire period of the programme (July-December 2023). Taking these requirements into consideration, the IWF Selection Panel will evenly choose a maximum of two athletes per continent, one competitor per Olympic body category, and one lifter per country. This Panel is formed by the Chair of the IWF Athletes Commission Forrester Osei, a member of that Commission (Maude Charron), the IWF Vice-President Pyrros Dimas, and an independent member (Ioannis Mournianakis). The allocated amount for this project is US 30’000, including US 5’000 personally donated by the IWF President Mohammed Jalood. Each of the selected athletes will receive US$ 3’000, to be distributed in three payments (July, October, and December 2023). “We would like to show our appreciation to the IWF Executive Board for taking this very important initiative. It shows that our leadership is listening and taking into account the athletes’ voice. The support given to these 10 athletes will be a strong help in their qualification path for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. As Athletes Commission, we are very happy to ‘pilot’ this project, which we hope won’t be limited to 2023 but will become part of our yearly budget in the future,” considers AC Chair Forrester Osei. “To all those trying to qualify for Paris, we wish them the best of luck – we hope to see them in the Olympics, representing their nation with pride and dignity. The AC has a lot of projects that align with their goals – we are here for them and fighting to ensure their voice is heard,” Osei concludes. To apply for this programme, interested lifters have to send their application form to the IWF by no later than May 31, 2023. The relevant documents on this topic are: Athlete Scholarship Application Form IWF AC Direct Support Program

Yerevan, Day 6: Two more weightlifting world records for sensational Bulgarian teen Nasar

The world's most remarkable teenage weightlifter claimed two more senior world records along with the continental 89 kilograms title on day six of the European Championships. Karlos Nasar made five good lifts and declined the last one having already bettered his own world best in clean and jerk and claimed the total record from Italy’s Antonio Pizzolato, who withdrew after weighing in because he was not fully fit. The 18-year-old Bulgarian made 174-221-395 and now holds 11 world records in youth, junior and senior weightlifting. That total not only puts him top of the 89kg Olympic rankings, it would place him second in the 102kg category, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Meso Hassona of Qatar. A large crowd turned up to cheer on Armenia's Andranik Karapetyan, who surprised Nasar by outperforming him in the snatch but was a distant second on 178-196-374, with Marin Robu from Moldova third on 166-198-364. Nasar bombed out in the snatch in the first Olympic qualifier, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, last December, where he came out and broke the clean and jerk world record but failed to register in the Paris rankings. After his sensational performance here, he could simply enter, weigh in and wave to the crowd at three more qualifiers in the next year without having to lift, because he is not going to drop out of the top 10 with a 395kg total. What will he do? "I very much want to compete and make more records in the remaining competitions, not just weigh in," he said. "I really enjoyed it here in Armenia, I prepared well, good arena, nice environment - everything was good and I’m happy to perform so well here. "I won’t have time to celebrate because I’m flying home tonight, but back in Bulgaria I will celebrate according to our customs." Bulgarian weightlifting has been stuck in a rut for two years of constant wrangling over the National Federation’s leadership, during which the athletes went unpaid and threatened to go on strike. That is resolved now and Arif Majed has taken over as President. "I’m happy that things are getting along, finally," Nasar said. "When people work together great things can happen." Nasar indicated just how great when asked about his best clean and jerk in training. The answer was 233kg, which means we will very likely see more world records before the Olympic Games in August 2024. Pizzolato, who set the beaten world record total of 392kg in an epic contest with Nasar in last year's European Championships in Albania, decided to withdraw rather than risk worsening an injury. The Italian, third in the Tokyo Olympic Games at 81kg, is without a total after the first two Olympic qualifiers but he has five more opportunities in the next year and was not 100 per cent. He has had a long-term back injury and arrived in Armenia hoping to compete for the first time in nine months, but his pre-competition training did not go as well as expected. "A possible serious relapse would really jeopardise the route to Paris," said a statement from the Italian Weightlifting Federation (FIPE). "During the last training sessions in Armenia, the technical and health staff encountered the possibility of a serious relapse after the lumbar problems already encountered at the end of 2022, the same ones that prevented him from being present at the Bogotá World Championships." Pizzolato said, "I'm really sorry I can't compete to defend the title and I'm sorry for the fans but I can't compromise my work for qualifying in Paris. "I believe it is right to announce before the competition that I will perform the qualifying, weigh-in and presentation routine, but I will not go on the platform." The next qualifier open to Pizzolato is the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba in June. Krenar Shoraj from Albania also pulled out, taking into double figures the number of nations who have withdrawn lifters after the weigh-in at Olympic qualifying events. A buzz went around the large crowd at the Karen Demirchyan Complex when the scoreboard signalled Pizzolato’s withdrawal after lifting had started, and the buzz became a roar when Karapetyan came out and made all three snatches. When it dawned on them that their man had no chance against Nasar in clean and jerk, the audience showed their appreciation for the new champion, who had more media attention afterwards than in any of his previous five competitions. Both Armenia and Latvia had two medallists today. Tatev Hakobyan was second on total in the women's 76kg on 104-122-226, behind the clear French winner Marie Fegue. In this non-Olympic weight category, the 31-year-old Fegue, who won Commonwealth Games gold for Cameroon before switching, made 113-140-253 to win by 27kg, a wider margin than Nasar. Latvia's Daniela Ivanova moved up from fifth in snatch - where Israel’s Nicole Rubanovich was third - to third on total with 96-126-222, after her team-mate Amands Mezinskis had taken clean and jerk bronze in the men's event with 198kg. Nico Mueller of Germany was second on 199kg. By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by

Yerevan, Day 5: Fourth European title for Toma and Italy’s Reyes wins first gold

World champion Loredana Toma added another continental title to her long list of achievements today with an easy win at the European Weightlifting Championships here in Armenia. Giulia Miserendino was 10kg back in second place, and her team-mate Oscar Reyes made it a great day for Italy by winning the men’s 81kg later in the day. Toma did not have to match her efforts in the first Olympic qualifier last December, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Colombia, where she set a snatch world record and totalled 256kg. This time four good lifts and 110-130-240 was enough, giving Toma her fourth continental title to add to two silver medals in the past 10 years. Miserendino made 105-125-230 and Sarah Davies was Britain’s second medallist in two days after Zoe Smith finished third at 64kg yesterday. Davies, who took silver in clean and jerk and bronze on total with 100-126-225, improved on her World Championships effort by 3kg but might have moved up to second place. A controversial “no lift” decision on her second clean and jerk was eventually upheld by the jury, after a lengthy deliberation, when Britain’s coaches made a challenge. “When I went out for the third lift I was powered by rage, I wasn’t thinking much other than ‘I’ll show you,’ that’s the polite way of putting it,” Davies said. “I’d like to see the replay and see what they (referees and jury) saw. “You can throw a lift down and celebrate when you know it’s a bit dodgy but there was nothing wrong with that lift.” Britain’s coaches agreed, but the jury finally decided there had been a press-out. “I’m disappointed, but we got there,” Davies said. “I was in much better shape than the board shows but to have another total in the Olympic rankings… I can’t really complain.” Her next outing will be at the IWF World Championships in Saudi Arabia in September. There were good performances by the Israeli-American Celia Gold and Eyglo Sturludottir from Iceland, who finished fifth and sixth behind Germany’s Lisa Marie Schweizer, the snatch bronze medallist. Both have to fit in their weightlifting training with full-time work or studies but both made personal bests in international competition. Gold, who works for Google, made 99-123-222 and failed only with her final attempt for a medal, while 22-year-old medical student Sturludottir posted 96-121-217. Gold, who won a Pan American junior title for the United States, switched to Israel and made a lower total at 76kg in the IWF World Championships. Sturludottir is two years into a six-year medical degree course and will have to study another few years after that when she chooses a specialism as a doctor. “It’s school and gym every day,” she said. “I have a boyfriend but he doesn’t get much attention! He’s a bodybuilder and physio who stopped lifting weights when I started lifting more than him.” Although her daily schedule is full, Sturludottir says it would be “too much” to go full-time in weightlifting. “It’s good to have school to get away from weightlifting, and weightlifting to get away from school.” Reyes claimed a fifth medal of the Championships for Italy, on total, with two more chances of gold to come from Antonino Pizzolato at 89kg and Cristiano Ficco at 96kg in the next two days. Reyes, 26, who moved from Cuba and is now an Italian citizen, was able to decline his last two attempts because none of the other contenders could catch him after he made his first clean and jerk at 188kg. He finished 155-188-343, ahead of Batuhan Yuksel of Turkey on 152-187-339. Armenia’s Rafik Harutyunyan was cheered on by a large crowd but missed three lifts in making 150-187-337 for third place. Hmayak Misakyan, of Armenian descent and lifting for Austria, also had plenty of support and took bronze in the snatch. For the second day in a row an Albanian failed to make a total, maintaining the team’s dreadful record. On Tuesday Briken Calja completed a hat-trick of bombouts in the 73kg, and today Daniel Godelli took his stats to seven bombouts in his past 11 competitions on the IWF database. By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by

Yerevan, Day 4: Latvia’s Suharevs and Britain’s Smith fit and firing at European Championships

Two weightlifters whose careers were stalled by physical and mental setbacks had a day to remember at the European Championships in Yerevan, Armenia. Ritvars Suharevs from Latvia, who has had surgery on both shoulders since finishing sixth at the Tokyo Olympic Games and now has to have a third operation, won a tense men’s 73kg when he just managed to deny Spain’s David Sanchez a victory from the B group. There was only 1kg between the top three finishers Suharevs, Sanchez and the Olympic bronze medallist Mirko Zanni from Italy, whose only failure was his final attempt at 182kg. Earlier Zoe Smith put in her best performance for two and a half years to win Britain’s first medals of the Championships within weeks of “everything going terribly” when she was suffering anxiety and mental health problems. Smith, who has also had serious shoulder trouble during her long career, took gold in clean and jerk and bronze on total in the women’s 64kg, in which Nuray Gungor won Turkey’s second title of the week. Suharevs was full of praise for his coach Eduard Andruskevics, back with Latvia after a year in charge of Saudi Arabia’s team, and physio Arnis Noveicuks for helping him back to full fitness after surgeries that followed the Tokyo Games in 2021 and the European Championships in Albania last May. “They are the best team, they have given so much time to me,” said Suharevs. “We prepared for this not just one month but for four months – I owe them so much. “In all that time I didn’t speak to anyone, I only focused on preparing for this.” Suharevs had training camps in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Estonia and Armenia, and his hard work paid off. He will have to have a third operation, though, because of a rotational problem in his right shoulder, he said. Suharevs made five of his attempts to finish 152-184-336. Sanchez made six from six for 150-185-335, and Zanni – who came out first in clean and jerk after winning the snatch – made 155-180-335. Albania’s Briken Calja had a third straight bombout, all in world or continental championships, and never looked like making any of his snatches at 151kg and 152kg. Bozhidar Andreev of Bulgaria was third in snatch, Yusuf Genc of Turkey won the clean and jerk gold on 186kg and Max Lang of Germany was third. In the women’s event Gungor finished on 99-120-219 ahead of the Ukrainian Mariia Hanhur, who made only two good lifts for 98-116-214. Britain’s double Olympian Smith failed with her final attempt at 122kg, which would have put her above Hanhur, but still surprised herself by making 93-121-214. “To be honest, when I first started preparing for this I didn’t expect anything,” Smith said. “I’ve really been struggling with some strange anxiety, yips, a mental health issue, particularly in the snatch and I barely snatched more than 80kg in training for long while (her best is 100kg). “In the first three months of the year it was going terribly and my goal at that point was just to put some lifts on the board. “But training has got better in the past month, probably because I relaxed a bit more and didn’t pressurise myself so much, and I started to think I could maybe put in a good performance. “It wasn’t my best lifting ever but I’m getting there, I will be back.” Smith suffered a devastating shoulder injury that kept her out of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and had to work part-time to survive when Britain lost funding for weightlifting after Rio. Funding became available again before Tokyo, where Smith finished eighth – two places better than London 2012 – and the support has remained. “That’s all down to Emily Campbell’s fantastic performance (in winning silver) – she secured us that support,” said Smith. Smith’s next Olympic qualifier is likely to be at 59kg, at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Saudi Arabia in September. As time goes by Smith, who will be 29 next week, is thinking about her future in the sport. She has jointly opened the East London Weightlifting Club in Bethnal Green, London with Britain’s former head of coaching Giles Greenwood and her team-mate Fraer Morrow – who is recovering from injury and hoping to start on the Paris qualifying path at 49kg at the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba in June. “That’s three classes a week… the older I get, the more I’m looking at coaching as another avenue,” Smith said. “I’ve given my life to this sport and it might be a love-hate relationship but the love wins and it would be silly to ever leave it.” Smith’s “support system” watched her performance on livestream from London – “mum and dad, my boyfriend Matt and my black Labrador Luna”. She was off to celebrate with a nice meal with her long-time friend Anni Vuohijoki from Finland, who retired after finishing ninth on 202kg, ending a career that began in 2012. By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by yantsimages.com and Brian

Yerevan, Day 3: Konotop heads Paris weightlifting rankings after sensational European triumph

Kamila Konotop outperformed the Colombian world champion Yenny Alvarez and moved to the top of the women’s 59kg rankings for Paris 2024 with a record-breaking victory at the European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan, Armenia. The host nation had its first win in the evening session when 19-year-old Gor Sahakyan was cheered on by a large crowd to finish clear in the men’s 67kg. Ukrainian Konotop made all six lifts, four of them record-breakers, to finish 26kg clear of Nina Sterckx, the world and European 55kg junior champion from Belgium. Konotop’s previous best total was 223kg when she finished sixth behind Alvarez at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Bogotá last December, the first qualifying event for Paris. Here she made 106-129-235 for a 12kg improvement that was 1kg more than Alvarez’s winning total in Bogotá. “I prepared very well and I know the numbers make me top of the rankings – I’m very happy but I’m not surprised,” said Konotop, 22. “I started preparing for this as soon as I got back from the World Championships.” She is hoping her next competition will be the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba in June but there are complications because Ukraine will withdraw if “neutral” athletes from Russia take part there, which remains a possibility. The contest was over by halfway in Yerevan. In the snatch there were 18 red lights for attempts between 90kg and 98kg, and every one of the other 10 lifters had at least one failure. Unfortunately for Lucrezia Magistris three of the red lights were hers, and so for the second time in two Olympic qualifiers the Italian failed to make a total. As soon as Magistris had walked off the platform after failing at 98kg, Konotop came out and easily made her first attempt at 100kg. She followed up with a European record snatch of 104kg, then bettered it on 106kg to build a lead of 13kg. Sterckx did well enough in the clean and jerk to force Konotop out before everybody else had finished, but missed her final attempt at 120kg and ended on 93-116-209. The 20-year-old Belgian lifted at 49kg in Colombia and now features in the rankings at both weights. Konotop claimed all three senior continental records. Her 29-year-old team-mate Nadiia Shpilka made only two good lifts but took third place on 93-114-207. Sahakyan was also a wide-margin winner who made a big improvement on his previous best total. He failed with a world junior record snatch attempt at 147kg but his 145-175-320 was 18kg up on his previous best total and far too good for the rest of the field. Acoran Hernandez took second place on 140-165-305. The 32-year-old Spaniard was sandwiched by two teenagers, Sahakyan and Kaan Kahriman from Turkey, who made 141-160-301. Two others made the podium in clean and jerk: Ferdi Hardal of Turkey was second and Bulgaria’s Valentin Genchev third, both on 166kg. By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by yantsimages.com