News

2019 IWF World Cup in Tianjin concluded with glory for the home team

The 2019 ‘Shengxin’ IWF World Cup, a Silver Level Qualification event for Tokyo 2020 was successfully declared on the 12th of December with towering success for China over the other 19 participating countries. After the highly successful World Cup in Fuzhou, China delivered the second of such event within one year. This time Tianjin, "The Diamond of the Bohai Gulf" welcomed all participants. Thanks to the leadership and organizing of Mr Zhou Jinqiang, CWA President, the audience witnessed another highly enjoyable event, where 60 women and 52 men competed for great money prizes and to improve their chances for the Olympic Games next year. [caption id="attachment_28681" align="alignleft" width="300"] Shi Zhiyong (Photo: Chinadaily/Xinhua)[/caption] Team China piled up 29 gold, 23 silver and 7 bronze medals altogether, topping the medal table by far at both genders. At the women, PRK was second (9,7,2) and AUS came in third (3,0,0). Second on the men's medal table was KOR (6,1,5) and BOT followed (3,0,0). Two Chinese athletes broke World Records on this occasion. DENG Wei swept the women's 64kg bodyweight category winning all the gold medals and setting the Snatch record at 117kg. In the men's  73kg, SHI Zhiyong excelled and the new Clean and Jerk record is 198kg. Fiji born CIKAMATANA Eileen, who recently started to lift under Australian flag set up two new Junior World Records in the women's 81kg bodyweight category: Clean and Jerk 150kg and Total 260kg. Dr Tamas Ajan, IWF President, Mr Mohammed Jalood and members of the IWF Executive Board were also present at the event. To commemorate the seven-year anniversary of cooperation between the IWF and the Zhen-Ao group, an official sponsor for the federation, a meeting was held where Dr Ajan received a keepsake of appreciation. Zhen-Ao, is a fast-growing company in the health industry developing nucleic acid products and targets to provide health protection for weightlifters who refuse doping. Tokyo 2020 delegation led by Ms. Reiko Chinen with IWF Technical Delegates visited the ZKC factory to coordinate and supervise the production of the ZKC Olympic sport equipment.  

Arabic Weightlifting Federation Elections

[caption id="attachment_28710" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mohamed Jaloud, Dr. Tamas Ajan and Mohamed Yousef Al-Mana[/caption] The Arabic Weightlifting Federation held its elections on 13 December in Amman, Jordan on the occasion of the Arab Senior, Junior and Youth Championships. The President Mr. Mohamed Yousef Al Mana (QAT), AWF President was re-elected unanimously for another term by the delegates of 19 countries present at the Election. Mr. Mohamed Jaloud (IRQ), IWF General Secretary's position as General Secretary of the Arabic Weightlifting Federation was also reassured for the next term. Congratulations to all the elected

Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games to Feature Historic Increase in Weightlifting

A meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Lausanne last week approved a significant increase in the quotas for young male and female weightlifters at the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games. The total number of weightlifters will rise to 144, from 110 at Buenos Aires 2018, with an equal number of places for boys and girls. Six bodyweight categories will continue to apply to girls and six to boys. “In the space of just a few years, we have gone from questions over the place of weightlifting on the Olympic Programme to this significant show of confidence from the IOC,” said IWF President Tamas Ajan. “This remarkable progress is the result of a huge effort from so many people whose commitment to weightlifting has been truly humbling. And for the IWF, there could be no greater satisfaction than seeing the next generation of weightlifters being the first to benefit from greater Olympic opportunities.” Dakar 2022 bodyweight categories for boys will be 55kg, 61kg, 67kg, 73kg, 81kg, +81kg. For girls, they will be 45kg, 49kg, 55kg, 59kg, 64kg, +64kg. These bodyweight categories will be new for Dakar 2022 and reflect changes made for weightlifting competitions at the senior level. The changes in bodyweight categories formed part of a wide range of recommendations from the IWF Sport Programme Commission aimed at ensuring this new chapter in the sport’s history prioritises the achievements of clean athletes. “The IWF’s work to promote clean sport and protect clean athletes is far from over. Securing weightlifting’s place on the Olympic Programme and obtaining more chances for young weightlifters at the Youth Olympic Games is just the beginning,” continued Ajan. “The IWF is determined to ensure a lasting culture of clean weightlifting as a key characteristic of our sport at every

DEADLINE REMINDER FOR 2020 IWF JWC PRELIMINARY ENTRIES/WHEREABOUTS INFO

The new host for the 2020 IWF Junior World Championships, Bucharest, Romania was selected last week by the IWF Executive Board and the final dates have just been confirmed: IWF CONGRESS / 13 MARCH 2020 COMPETITION / 14-21 MARCH 2020 We would like to inform you that the deadline for submitting the Preliminary Entries for the 2020 IWF Junior World Championships expires on 14 DECEMBER 2019. ENTRIES SHOULD BE REGISTERED THROUGH THE IWF ONLINE ENTRY SYSTEM http://www.iwf.net/e-entry   PRELIMINARY ENTRY – 14 DECEMBER 2019 According to the IWF TCRR the FINAL LIST of athletes can be selected only from those included in the Preliminary Entry! Member Federation must submit the Preliminary Entry (Long List) of a maximum number of athletes: 20 MEN and 20 WOMEN Please make sure to include all your athletes to the Preliminary Entry, because no additional athletes can be entered after 14 DECEMBER 2019.   FINAL ENTRY – 14 FEBRUARY 2020 Member Federation must select the final list of athletes from the Preliminary Entry (previously submitted by 14 December 2019): Maximum 12 (10+2 Reserve) MEN and 12 (10+2 Reserve) WOMEN ELIGIBILITY In accordance with Article 5.6.5 of the IWF Anti- Doping Policy an Athlete who is not listed on the IWF’s Registered Testing Pool but wishes to participate in an IWF Event shall provide accurate and complete whereabouts information as set out at Annex I of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations for a period of at least three (3) months prior to the IWF Junior World Championships. Athletes who wish to compete at the IWF Junior World Championships shall submit their whereabouts information for the period outlined above at the latest on 14 DECEMBER 2019. An Athlete who does not comply with this provision is not eligible to compete at the IWF Event. The Competition Regulations shall be soon available on the following

SHI Zhiyong set a new World Record at first day of IWF World Cup

The 2019 'Shengxin' IWF World Cup kicked off yesterday in Tianjin, China with the participation of 60 women and 52 men, representing 21 countries from all around the world. [caption id="attachment_28681" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Shi Zhiyong (Photo: Chinadaily/Xinhua)[/caption] As a highlight of day 1, Chinese weightlifter SHI Zhiyong set a new Clean and Jerk World Record in the men's 73kg bodyweight category and dominating the field, took all 3 gold medals with 363kg Total. "Although I broke the world record, I'm not satisfied with my form. And I would be more stable over the next few months," Shi said after the game to Asia Pacific Daily. In the men's 81kg, Olympic Champion LYU Xiaojun, still suffering from his back injury that happened at the World Championships in Pattaya, finished second place behind also Chinese competitor and silver medallist at the Worlds behind LYU, LI Dayin. The first day of the competition was stuffed with Chinese success, 2019 World Champion LI Fabin took all gold in the men's 63kg bodyweight category, with a Total of 311kg, while FENG Lyudong won the men's 67kg category and JIANG Huihua managed to overtake PRK star athlete RI Song Gum in the women's 49kg category. The IWF World Cup, which is also a Silver Level Qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games will be ongoing until the 12th of December.

IWF and ITA representatives discussed plans for the future

On 3 December 2019, representatives of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) met at the ITA’s headquarter in Lausanne to evaluate the cooperation and discuss the future plans aimed at protecting clean athletes and promoting clean sport. The respective Directors General Attila Adamfi and Benjamin Cohen led their teams as the two organisations reviewed both the work already accomplished in 2019, and the future plans for 2020. “The IWF family continues to work hard to implement robust reforms in its anti-doping program and the discussions held today are encouraging as we continue to work in close cooperation to support and implement the many steps undertaken by IWF to promote a doping-free culture in the sport of weightlifting,” said ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen. “I believe the ITA has made a meaningful contribution towards ensuring the IWF maintains its position as a leader in the fight against doping as we head into an Olympic year and we are determined to see that this remains the case.” The partnership started on 1st January 2019 with out of competition testing, Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) and Education. The transfer concluded in September 2019, whereby all key areas have been transferred to ITA, including: detailed risk assessment, test distribution planning and management, in-competition testing, management of the IWF Athlete Biological Passport programme, results management, and long-term storage and re-analysis of samples. The ITA handled in-competition testing for the 2019 IWF World Championships for the first time, which included the collection and analysis of more than 300 samples. “I highly appreciate ITA’s contribution to an unprecedented busy year considering the record number of qualification events. Taking over such complex Anti-Doping Program during the Qualification Period was a great challenge, however ITA’s professionalism ensured the smooth and efficient transfer. I am confident that the cooperation of our committed teams will lead to a cultural change to ensure clean sport for future generation of Athletes,” said IWF Director General Attila