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First World Champion Title for Malta – Third Day at the 2022 IWF Youth World Championships

The third day here in León, Mexico featured the Women 49kg, the Men 67kg and the Women 55kg categories. Women 49kg Category In the Snatch portion of the category Luluk Diana Tri WIJAYANA from Indonesia didn't leave a chance for the others in the group. She went 3-from-3 with 70-72-75kg and won Gold. Silver went to Oliwia Weronika DRZAZGA from Poland with 70kg, and Darya BALABAYUK from Kazakhstan clinched Bronze with he second lift of 69kg.  In Clean&Jerk Wijayana continued where she left of in the Snatch and easily won first place in C&J with her second attempt of 95kg. She also tried to lift 100kg on her last but it was a no lift. Just like in Snatch Drzazga took the Silver medal with her second lift of 91kg and Bahar KIRAT (TUR) finished third with 86kg. In Total, both Wijayana and Drzazga collected their third medal of the day (Gold and Silver respectively) and Joseline LOPEZ GONZALEZ from Mexico finished third with 153kg infront of home crowd.   Women 49kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas  Men 67kg Category The Men 67kg started at 15:00 local time with 9 athletes competing for the World Champion titles. In Snatch, based on entry totals Yerassyl SAULEBEKOV (KAZ) had the highest chance to win Gold however after he missed his first two attempts it wasn't so sure anymore. On his last attempt however he showed to everyone that he is capable of lifting much more and with that lift placed first. Second and third place went to the two Turkish athletes in the group, Halil Ibrahim AKBULUT took Silver with 122kg and Alaaddin SAYIN the Bronze with 121kg. In Clean&Jerk Bartosz BURSKI from Poland managed to get in between the Turkish athletes and clinched Bronze with his third attempt of 153kg. Sayin won Silver with 157kg, and with just 1kg more Saulebekov took Gold medal with 158kg. The Total podium followed the C&j one, Saulebekov became Youth World Champion with 281kg, Sayin finished second with 278kg and Burski collected his second Bronze medal with 269kg. Men 67kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Women 55kg Category In Snatch based on starting weights Tenishia THORNTON from Malta and Maria Jose HERNANDEZ VERDIN from Mexico had the highest chance of winning Gold. Maria Hernandez who is living in León, Mexico also celebrated her 17th birthday today. Hernandez successfully lifted 75kg on her first lift, while Thornton missed her first one of 76kg. Thornton tried 76kg once again which she managed on her second lift. Then came Noura Essam Helmi Abdelbari MOHAMED from Egypt who on her last attempt also lifted 76kg. Hernandez attempted 77kg on both her second and last lift but sadly couldn't perform another good lift so she won Bronze in the category. As Thornton did a good lift of 78kg, she ensured that she won in Snatch, while Mohamed finished second. In C&J the same podium followed as in Snatch. Maria Hernandez won another Bronze medal with her first attempt of 93kg, Mohamed took Silver with her 2nd attempt of 95kg and Thornton once again won Gold with 100kg.  The Total podium was as follows: Thornton was awarded as the Total Youth World Champion with 178kg, Mohamed took Silver with 171kg, and Hernandez finished third with 168kg.  With winning the category, Tenishia Thornton also won the first ever World Champion title in the history of Malta. Women 55kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Tomorrow the program continues with the Women 59kg, the Men 73kg and Men 81kg categories. Follow the livestream on the IWF YouTube

Day 2 – 2022 IWF Youth World Championships

The second day of the 2022 IWF Youth World Championships featured the Men 55kg (Group B and A), the Women 45kg and Men 61kg categories. Men 55kg category The first session of the day featured the Men 55kg category, starting with Group B and then Group A. In the Snatch portion of the todays first session, between athletes in the first (Majeed M KALITIT ALI from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and the second place (Gurunaidu SANAPATHI from India) there was only 1 kg difference in all the attempts. They both went 3-from-3, but as KALITIT successfully lifted his last attempt of 105kg, he won the Gold medal, while Sanapathi the Silver one. The last medal of the Snatch went to Yerassyl UMAROV from Kazakhstan with his second attempt of 100 kg. In C&J, the Bronze medal was won by Umarov just like in Snatch, with 124kg. The Silver medal this time went to Perhat BAGTYYAROV from Turkmenistan with 125kg, who only placed 6th in Snatch. Finally, Snatch Silver medallist Sanapathi won Gold with his second attempt of 126kg. He also tried 130kg on his last attempt, but it was a no lift. In Total, Sanapathi took the Gold once again with 230kg, second place went to Kalitit with 229kg and Umarov finished third with 224kg. Men 55kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Women 45kg category The Women 45kg category saw 12 athletes competing for the medals. Among the athletes was Rose RAMOS (PHI) last years World Champion of this category. In Snatch, Rosailiz SANTANA (DOM) finished third with 68kg which she lifted on her third attempt. Rose RAMOS (PHI) even though lifted 3 kg more than at last years Youth World Championships with 70kg, it was only enough for second place, as Kerlys Maria MONTILLA MADRID (VEN) outdid her performance with 1 kg and won Gold. In C&J, Montilla after a first successful attempt (82kg) failed to make another one therefore she only clinched the Bronze medal. Silver medal was won by Soumya Sunil DALVI (IND) with 3 successful lifts, the last one being 83kg. With Montilla not managing her last attempts, Ramos had the chance to win in C&J, which she accomplished with her last attempt of 85kg. The Total podium was as follows: Ramos just like last year in Jeddah won the World Champion title with 155kg, Montilla took Silver with 153kg and Dalvi finished third with 148kg. Women 45kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Men 61kg category The final session of the day featured the Men 61kg category which started at 18:00 local time. In the final Snatch session of the day, Luis Alfonso BLANDON PENA from Colombia went 3-from-3 and with 112kg placed third. Two athletes went for the same weight of 113kg and based on starting weights it looked like Hubert PIETRZAK from Poland will make it to the podium, however after missing 113kg on his second and last attempts he missed the podium. With Pietrzak missing his attempts, the opportunity was given to Bassam A AL MARZOUQ MOHAMMED from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reach a podium finish which he managed on his last attempt and won Silver. The strongest of the group was Engin KARA who on his second attempt of 114kg already won the Snatch Gold. He also tried 117kg on his last attempt but it was a no lift at the end. In Clean&Jerk just like in Snatch, Blandon Pena won Bronze with 136kg, while Kara after a Snatch Gold, won a Silver medal in C&J with the same weight as Blandon as he lifted it first. The final C&J Gold medal of the day was won by Kara's teammate Mustafa ELIS with his first attempt of 138kg. The Total medals were awarded as follows: Blandon Pena collected his third Bronze medal of the day with 248kg, Elis after his C&J Gold added a Silver medal to his collection with 249kg, and Kara became the Total World Champion with 150kg. Men 61kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Tomorrow the weightlifting program continues with the Women 49kg, the Men 67kg and the Women 55kg categories. Follow the competition live on the IWF YouTube

First Day of the 2022 IWF Youth World Championships

The first day of the 2022 IWF Youth World Championships featured the Men 49kg and Women 40kg categories in León, Mexico. Men 49kg Category The day started with the Men 49kg Category at 16:00 local time. The category featured 6 athletes from Bulgaria, Ecuador, India and Peru.  In the Snatch portion of the program the first Bronze medal of the Championships was won by Vijay PRAJAPATI (IND) with his second attempt of 78kg, Silver went to Nino SIMEONOV (BUL) with the same weight but as he lifted it first he placed second. Finally, Alexis Javier ENDARA CRIOLLO (ECU) finished first with his second good attempt of 81kg. In Clean&Jerk Simeonov took Bronze with 96kg, Prajapati finished second with 97kg and Endara Criollo once again won Gold with three good attempts from which his best was 103kg. The first Total podium was as follows: Simeonov took Bronze with the Total of 174kg, Prajapati won the Silver medal with 175kg and the Total winner of the category was Endara Criollo with 184kg after he won both Snatch and C&J. Men 49kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Women 40kg Category The last session of Day 1 of the 2022 IWF Youth World Championships featured the lightest Women category (W40kg). In the Snatch portion of the program except one, all the attempts were successful which means that the coaches chose the perfect weights for their athletes. Among the 7 athletes featured in this session Aleksandra BELENKO from Kazakhstan won Bronze with 55kg. Second place went to Lawren Sofia ESTRADA VELEZ from Colombia with the same weight while Akansha VYAVHARE from India finished at the first place with 59kg. In C&J the same athletes won the medals just in different order. This time the Gold medal was awarded to Estrada with 73kg, Belenko finished second with 70kg and the last medal of C&J went to Vyavhare with 68kg. In Total, Estrada won Gold with 128kg, Silver medal went to Vyavhare with 127kg, while Belenko took the Bronze medal with 125kg. Women 40kg Total Podium @IWF/Isaac Morillas Tomorrow the competition continues with the Men 55kg, Women 45kg and the Men 61kg categories. Follow the livestream on the IWF YouTube

ONLINE VERIFICATION OF FINAL ENTRIES OF THE 2022 IWF YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

This is to inform you about the procedure of the ONLINE Verification of Final Entries for the 2022 IWF Youth World Championships to be held in León, Guanajuato, MEX: VERIFICATION OF FINAL ENTRIES tab LOGIN with your username and password to the IWF E-Entry System (click HERE) CLICK on the VERIFICATION OF FINAL ENTRIES tab at the top of the page.  PROCEDURECOMPETING ATHLETE(S) CHECK your athlete(s) BODYWEIGHT CATEGORY/ENTRY TOTAL and modify them if needed SELECT the athlete(s) by clicking the „CONFIRM” button on the left  NON-COMPETING ATHLETE(S) DELETE those athlete(s) who WILL NOT participate by clicking the „dustbin” icon on the left  Please DOUBLE-CHECK your final list of the athlete(s) and CLICK on the „SEND VERIFICATION” button above.  THE PLATFORM FOR THE VERIFICATION IS AVAILABLE UNTILJUNE 09, 2022, AT 12:00/Noon (GMT-5, MEX TIME).  After the deadline, the IWF E-Entry System will be CLOSED, so that NO FURTHER CHANGES CAN BE MADE to your data.  IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CONTACT THE IWF AT

Pathway to Paris 2024: Weightlifting qualification system explained – Part 2

Weightlifting will once again feature at the Olympic Games, with five medal events for both men and women scheduled for Paris 2024.           What is the weightlifting qualification pathway to Paris 2024?   Via Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) - 100 athletes, 50 men and 50 women The weightlifting Paris 2024 qualification period for the OQR begins on 1 August 2022 and concludes on 28 April 2024. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will publish the OQR of each Olympic weight category at the end of the qualification period (...). The OQR will be based on the best total results (snatch, and clean and jerk) the athletes manage to lift in the seven competitions previously mentioned.  One athlete per NOC will be ranked on the OQR, which will be the highest-ranked athlete per NOC in each weight category at Paris 2024. If two or more athletes record the same total result in the same Olympic weight category, they will be ranked according to whoever achieved the result first. According to the OQR, the top 10 athletes of each Paris 2024 weight category will be allocated their quota place. If an athlete ranks in the top 10 of the OQR for more than one weight category, the NOC involved must declare to the IWF which event the athlete will compete in at Paris 2024 by 10 May 2024. If an NOC has more than three athletes per gender across different weight categories in the top 10 of the OQR, the NOC must declare to the IWF which athletes they decide will be allocated the Olympic quotas. Via Host Country - four athletes, two men and two women As the host country, France are guaranteed four quota places in total, two for men and two for women. French weightlifters may obtain quota places through the OQR, as is the case for any other athlete from any other NOC. But if the host country qualifies less than two men and two women through the OQR, they may add additional eligible athletes of their choice to achieve the maximum guaranteed quota places, respecting the maximum athletes per event per NOC. Via Continental Representation - 10 athletes, five men and five women In order to achieve the widest possible representation across the IWF recognised Continental Federations (Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Pan America), one quota place will be distributed to each Olympic weight category using the OQR and the criteria below: The highest-ranked eligible athlete of a weight category representing an NOC whose continent is not in the Top 10 of her/his weight category, will be allocated a quota place. In cases where more than one continent is not represented in the Top 10 of a weight category, then the highest-ranked eligible athlete of this weight category representing an NOC from these continents will be allocated a quota place. If in any Olympic weight category the continental representation is already achieved, then the continental quota place will be reallocated. Via Universality Places - 6 athletes, three men and three women The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will invite all eligible NOCs to submit their requests for Universality Places. The Tripartite Commission will confirm, in writing, the allocation of Universality Places to the relevant NOCs after the end of the qualification period for the sport concerned.   What is the Paris 2024 weightlifting competition format and schedule?   There will be 10 medal events in the weightlifting competition of Paris 2024 and only four weight categories remain the same as the Tokyo 2020 Games. Men’s: 61kg; 73kg; 89kg; 102kg; +102kg Women’s: 49kg; 59kg; 71kg; 81kg; +81kg *Weight classes marked in bold are the events that are the same as Tokyo 2020. As with Tokyo 2020, the Paris 2024 weightlifting competition of each weight category will be composed of two events: snatch, and clean and jerk. For each event, the athletes will have three attempts, with the best result used for the calculation of the total results. The final ranking will be based on the total weight that the athletes manage to lift. The venue of the competition will be South Paris Arena 6 (Paris Expo), with the competition held from 7-11 August 2024. (...)   Weightlifting qualification timelines for Paris 2024   1 August 2022 - 28 April 2024: Qualification Period. 15 January 2024: Deadline for NOCs to submit their request for Universality Places. 28 April 2024: Conclusion of OQR. 1 May 2024: IWF notifies the NOCs which have athlete(s) ranked in the top 10 of OQR in more than one bodyweight category to select the bodyweight category in which the athlete(s) will remain in the top 10 of OQR 6 May 2024: The respective NOCs to notify IWF of the selected weight category of those athlete(s) who are ranked in the top 10 positions of OQR in more than one weight category. 8 May 2024: OQR is updated. 10 May 2024: IWF notifies the NOCs that have more eligible athletes than 3 per gender ranked in the top 10 positions of OQR to select the athletes and weight categories that will remain in the top 10 of the OQR, respecting the maximum number of athletes per NOC. 15 May 2024: The respective NOCs to notify IWF of the selected athletes and weight categories that will remain in the top 10 of the OQR, respecting the maximum number of athletes per NOC. 16 May 2024: IWF notifies the NOCs that have more athletes than 3 per gender eligible to obtain a Continental quota place to select the 3 athletes per gender and weight categories that will remain eligible to receive the Continental quota places, respecting the maximum number of athletes per NOC. 23 May 2024: The respective NOCs to notify IWF of the selected athletes and weight categories that will remain eligible to receive the Continental quota places, respecting the maximum number of athletes per NOC. 24 May 2024: IWF publishes the final Qualification Ranking lists and notifies NOCs about the allocated quota places obtained through the top 10 and Continental representation per weight category according to the OQR. 31 May 2024: NOCs to confirm the use of allocated quota places to IWF. 3 June 2024: IWF to confirm to NOCs the reallocation of any unused quota places. 10 June 2024: NOCs to confirm the use of the reallocated quota places to IWF 11 June 2024: IWF notifies the Host Country of the available host country quota places. 12 June 2024: Host Country to confirm the use of host country quota places 12 June 2024: IWF to inform IOC on the available weight categories for Universality Places. 14 June 2024: The Tripartite Commission to confirm in writing the allocation of Universality Places to the NOCs. 14 June 2024: IWF to confirm to NOCs the reallocation of any host country quota places. 21 June 2024: NOCs to confirm the use of reallocated host country quota places to IWF. 21 June 2024: NOCs to confirm the use of allocated Universality Places to IWF. 24 June 2024: IWF to confirm the reallocation of any Universality Places. 1 July 2024: NOCs to confirm the use of reallocated Universality Places to IWF. 8 July 2024: Olympic Games Paris 2024 Sport Entries deadline. 26 July - 11 August 2024: Olympic Games Paris 2024. Source: MENG Lingcheng - olympics.com                   

Official candidate list for IWF Electoral Congress released

May 24, 2022 - Lausanne, Switzerland  Today, the independent Eligibility Determination Panel (EDP) chaired by Swiss lawyer Gabriel Nigon released the official list of approved candidates for the upcoming IWF Electoral Congress.In a letter shared with the IWF Member Federations and candidates, Mr. Nigon, on behalf of the EDP, thanked all the candidates for their submission. The letter further provided a detailed explanation of the methodology and process used by the EDC to determine the eligibility of each candidate including detailed investigative background checks. Included in the letter was a link sharing the names of the approved candidates for the position of IWF President, Executive Board and various Committee positions.The objective eligibility criteria to be met by all candidates are listed under Article 13.12 and 37.2 of the newly approved IWF Constitution (which can be downloaded from the IWF website). All approved candidates must abide by IWF election and candidate conduct rules.IWF Interim President, Dr. Michael Irani said, “I would like to thank the Eligibility Determination Panel and chair Mr. Nigon for all their hard work. This is a great day for the IWF as we are one step closer in completing the final task asked of us by our Olympic partners – by utilising and following the IWF’s new constitution (completed in January 2022), and introducing robust independent anti-doping procedures we finally come to a transparent and well defined Election process to bring in a new era of IWF leadership and direction.”The IWF Congress is to be held 25-26 June in Tirana,