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Vietnam and China shine on the first day of the 2022 Asian Championships

The 2022 Asian Championships started today in Manama, Bahrain at 4PM local time. The first day featured the Women 45kg and Women 49kg categories. Women 45kg Category In Snatch the 2019 IWF Junior World Champion, Khong My Phuong (VIE) took Gold with 78kg, SEA Games Bronze medalist, Siti Nafisatul Hariroh (INA) won Silver with her second lift of 71kg and Harshada Sharad Garud (IND) finished at third place with 68kg. In C&J, as Phuong couldn't make a successful lift on her third try, she won Silver with 88kg, while Nafisatul lifted 91kg on her third attempt and therefore took the Gold. The C&J podium was completed by Rose Jean Ramos (PHI) with 85kg, the same weight she lifted at this years IWF Youth World Championships in León, Mexico. The Total podium was as follows:  Khong My Phuong (VIE) - 166kg Siti Nafisatul Hariroh (INA) - 162kg Harshada Sharad Garud (IND) - 152kg Khong My Phuong (VIE) @Bahrain Weightlifting Federation Women 49kg category In the Snatch portion of the category, the Chinese and Vietnamese athletes, Jiali Wang and Tran Thi My Dung were both going for Gold based on their starting weights. At the end they both only had one good attempts and as Wang lifted 1 kg more (81kg) she placed first, and Dung the second (80kg). Bronze went to Asian Junior Silver medalist, Jamila Panfilova (UZB) with 79kg. The biggest suprise of the C&J portion of the program was Snatch Silver medalist, Dung bombing out. With her not being a medal contender the field became open for others. In case of the Gold medal, there was no question, Wang with 3 good lifts won the category (105kg). Silver was won by Jing Lin Cheng (TPE) with also 3 good lifts, the best being 102kg and the last medal of the C&J went to 2018 World Champion in the W45kg category, Yulduz Jumabayeva (TKM) with 97kg.   The last Total podium of the day was as follows: Jiali Wang (CHN) - 186kg Jing Lin Cheng (TPE) - 181kg Yulduz Jumabayeva (TKM) - 172kg  Jiali Wang (CHN) @Bahrain Weightlifting Federation Tomorrow the competition continues with the Men 55kg, Men 61kg and Women 55kg categories at 11AM local

IWF Executive Board strengthens commitment to anti-doping during in-person meeting in Rome

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) hosted an in-person meeting in Rome and reinforced its commitment to making improvements across anti-doping, governance, and its Constitution.It was the first time that the IWF Executive Board has met in Italy and IOC Member and Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) President Giovanni Malagò attended the start of the meeting to welcome the members to the CONI Headquarters. The EB followed up on the work done since the last in-person meeting in July and the commitments that had been made, including looking into conducting due diligence of the IWF over the past ten years. Enhancing the IWF’s robust anti-doping programme was also among the key items on the agenda and saw a presentation from Chair of the IWF Anti-Doping Commission Rune Andersen and Director General of the International Testing Agency (ITA) Benjamin Cohen. Proposals to further enhance the programme included expanding investigative powers, improving education, introducing minimum testing requirements for member federations, and addressing resources in intelligence and investigation. Special attention was paid to how the IWF can further enhance education among athletes, coaches, and National Federations.Protecting clean athletes was a clear guiding principle in the proposal around updating the Olympic Qualification System for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 presented by IWF EB member Matthew Curtain, the IF Delegate for Paris 2024. The Executive Board agreed in principle to strengthen the Qualification System, subject to written approval from the IWF Athletes’ Commission. Following IWF Athletes’ Commission approval, the document will be sent to the IOC for final approval.The EB also approved in principle a strict measure to exclude countries where out-of-competition testing is not possible as a further step to supporting IWF’s zero tolerance on doping. The ITA with the Anti-Doping-Commission will look into the legal possibilities and prepare a proposal for the IWF EB as soon as possible.IWF President Mohammed Jalood said:“This meeting was very productive and engaging. The Executive Board is passionate about constantly improving weightlifting for the benefit of our clean athletes. The IWF’s anti-doping programme is recognised as being one of the strongest among Olympic sports but we always want to go further and find ways to enhance it to better promote clean sport. This commitment to progress was clear in our discussions on anti-doping but also extends to our Olympic Qualification System, reforms on governance and the development of weightlifting.”During the Executive Board meeting there were presentations from the IWF Committees and an update on the Athletes’ Commission elections, which will be held during the World Championships in December.IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso delivered an update on the World Championships which will serve as the first qualification event for Paris 2024, as well as the IWF World Youth Championships in Tirana, Albania. Further progress reports were presented on the IWF World Junior Championships Guadalajara, Mexico and IWF World Senior Championships in Riyadh, Saudi

Zacarias Bonnat elected as third athlete representative on IWF Executive Board

Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Zacarias Bonnat of the Dominican Republic has been elected by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Athletes’ Commission (AC) as the third athlete representative on the IWF Executive Board. The IWF Constitution allows for up to three IWF AC delegates to serve on the Executive Board to ensure that the athlete voice is fully represented in the federation’s decision-making processes. Bonnat joins IWF AC Chair Forrester Christopher Osei and IWF Vice-Chair Dora Tchakounte as the three athlete representatives on the Executive Board. The vote was carried out online by the members of the IWF AC and will see Bonnat hold the position until the 2022 IWF Athletes' Commission election on 5-16 December 2022, in Bogota Colombia, on the occasion of the 2022 IWF World Championships. IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso said: “We are delighted to welcome Bonnat to the Executive Board and further strengthen athlete representation among our membership. The IWF is fully committed to promoting the interests of the athletes and having three athletes on our Executive Board ensures that their voice is heard and acted upon.” IWF AC Chair Forrester Christopher Osei added: “The IWF Athletes Commission is very happy to have Zacarias as one of our representatives on the Executive Board. We have complete confidence that he will be a valuable addition and will actively contribute to discussions which will impact our fellow weightlifters. As a silver medallist from the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, he will bring vital experience and perspective as one of the world’s best weightlifters to the Executive

Zhou Jinqiang appointed as Deputy Minister of Sport of China

Mr. Zhou Jinqiang, President of Chinese Weightlifting Association, was appointed the Deputy Minister of Sport of China, the official website of Chinese government made the announcement on September. 29.   Under Mr. Zhou's leadership, China weightlifting national team obtained seven gold medals and one silver medal at Tokyo Olympic Games, the best results achieved by China weightlifting in its history.   Congratulations to Mr.

Marcus Stephen was re-elected as Speaker of the Nauru Parliament

H.E. Marcus Stephen, President of the Oceania Weigthlifting Federation and President of the Nauru Olympic Committee was re-elected as Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru on 28 September 2022. The IWF is sending its warmest congratulations on his achievement and wishing him all the

Senior IWF delegation meets with Colombian Weightlifting Federation ahead of record-breaking 2022 IWF World Championships

A senior International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) delegation led by IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso met with the Colombian Weightlifting Federation in Bogota to discuss preparations for the upcoming 2022 IWF World Championships. The World Championships will take place on 5-16 December 2022 and is set to involve more athletes than ever before. Colombian Weightlifting Federation President William Peña and Colombian Weightlifting Federation Director of Events Andrea Peña met with IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso to update him on progress and was joined by IWF Competition Manager Matyas Lencser, and President of the Pan American Weightlifting Federation Jose Quiñonez. During the visit, the delegation had meetings with local and national sports authorities such as the Minister of Sport, Maria Isabel Urrutia who is a Sydney 2000 Olympic Weightlifting Champion, President of the Colombian Olympic Committee Mr Ciro Solano Hurtado and the IDRD to ensure the smooth running of the event. They also met with media to discuss coverage of the event which will be hosted in South America for the first time. Visits were made to hotels with capacity to serve the athletes of the more than 110 federations registered, as well as the restaurants, gyms, meeting rooms and auditoriums to hold the 2022 IWF Special Congress. IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso said: “We are greatly looking forward to making history with these World Championships in Colombia. It will be the first time our flagship event has been hosted in South America and it is set to attract more of the world’s best athletes than ever. We are grateful for the ongoing support and commitment of the Colombian Weightlifting Federation and Colombian authorities and we have no doubt they will stage a world-class event. With the World Championships also serving as a qualification event for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 we are sure our athletes will put on unforgettable