News

Elections – Weightlifting Federation of Georgia

The GEOWF has conducted an electoral congress recently where a detailed report of the past 5 years activities was delivered by Kakhi Kahiashvili and his team. The success story was welcomed by the congress delegates and media representative. Kakhi Kakhiashvili was voted to the presidency position and delegates acknowledged an important role of female leader and exceptional qualities by voting Rusudan Muradashvili to the position of General Secretary. Athletes’ interests will be presented by Irakli Turmanidze - as an Executive Board Member. Challenges and opportunities were discussed by the elected board members. GEOWF holds the bold ambitions to leverage its medal count and host the most important international events. Source:

Elections – Malta Weightlifting Association

At the General Meeting of the Malta Weightlifting Association held on Thursday 14th January 2021, the Executive Council was elected to serve a four-year term. Matthew Camilleri was elected as General Secretary, Matthew Abela as Treasurer. Jesmond Caruana kept his position as President together with executive members Rodmar Pulis and Ramona Borg.  The Council thanked the predecessors members for their sterling work. Further the association enhances the role of the sport of weightlifting to continue in the right direction of increasing more young athletes and reaching higher goals in top competitions. Source: Malta Weightlifting

2021 IWF Development Program

IWF is glad to inform the Member Federations that the 2021 IWF Development Program is open. Considering the feedback of last year, the type of projects remain the same and the Federations can apply for assistance in equipment, seminar, event support and covid-19 related expenses. The deadline to submit the applications is 24th February 2021. Details regarding the procedure can be found in the application guidelines which is available here with other related documents. For any queries please

WADA Launches New and Improved Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL)

Montreal, 6 January 2021 - Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) launched its Anti-Doping Education and Learning platform (ADEL), which is a new and improved version of the current Anti-Doping e-Learning platform (ADeL) that was launched in January 2018. Via the new ADEL platform, WADA will provide education and learning opportunities for the anti-doping community worldwide; including: athletes, coaches, parents, medical professionals and more. Additionally, on ADEL, anti-doping practitioners will be able to find learning opportunities to help them carry out their roles; and, resources to support development of their anti-doping programs. WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli, said: “WADA recognizes the power of education to its mission for doping-free sport. The launch of the new and improved ADEL is an important milestone. It demonstrates the Agency’s commitment to education and our intention to support the development of balanced anti-doping programs that include education as a core function by Anti-Doping Organizations. ADEL directly supports the objectives of the new International Standard for Education (ISE), which took effect on 1 January 2021 and is a very significant advancement in anti-doping education policy. We are very proud of these accomplishments. They are the result of a collaborative effort that we have led with stakeholders over the past few years.” The ADEL platform will have a modernized look and feel; and, will feature a wider range of educational courses and resources for more target audiences as identified in the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and the ISE. ADEL will also provide new opportunities for the anti-doping community to access technical help on a range of topics. WADA Education Director, Amanda Hudson, said: “Online education is one way to reach target audiences, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new ADEL will support the needs of the anti-doping community by providing education solutions for those responsible for the development of education programs, as well as learning opportunities and technical resources for Anti-Doping Organizations to benefit from. WADA aims for ADEL to become the ‘go to’ place for Anti-Doping Organizations to access resources to support the development of their anti-doping programs and the solutions they need to enable them to educate their communities.” ADEL now includes new education programs for international- and national-level athletes; athletes who are part of a Registered Testing Pool; high performance coaches; and, parents of elite athletes, which complement the Tokyo 2020 Olympics course for athletes and coaches; ADEL for Medical Professionals (MPs); and ADEL for MPs at Major Games. The platform also includes previously published resources; such as, the Athlete and Athlete Support Personnel Guides to the Significant Changes in the 2021 Code; the Athlete and Athlete Support Personnel Guide to the 2021 List, as well as, all Code Implementation Support Program (CISP) resources, including the recently published Guidelines for Education, Therapeutic Use Exemptions and Results Management. WADA aims to publish all courses and resources in English and French, with Spanish to follow; and more courses and resources will be developed in 2021. The new ADEL features The platform and the education content will be fully responsive to allow users to learn via a desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile phone. Learning can happen on the go with the option to complete the courses offline via the ‘ADEL by WADA’ mobile app. Personalized learning plans per role and/or stage of development. Gamification concept, including digital badges and points to collect as users learn. Centralized ADEL Academy for all education offerings. Community learning by exchanging questions and answers with people working in anti-doping. Simple reporting dashboard and customized reports function for Anti-Doping Organization administrators. A dedicated ADEL Helpdesk page with articles to help users solve common issues as well as a dedicated place for Anti-Doping Organizations to request translations of resources. To access the new ADEL: Existing users must activate their accounts upon receipt of an e-mail from: [email protected]; and New users can simply register on the new platform at https://adel.wada-ama.org/ To join the new ADEL webinar to learn more about the new platform: Date: 21 January at 09:00 (EST). How to participate: Once you have registered on ADEL, you can register for the webinar via the platform. For more information, please visit the: ADEL page of WADA’s website; and/or ADEL helpdesk   Source: World Anti-Doping

Former European Champion, Veronika Tóbiás Passed Away

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Veronika Tóbiás, Hungarian weightlifter and former European champion. She passed away on 27 December at the age of 53. The IWF and the weightlifting family sends the most heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones and to the Hungarian Weightlifting

End of Year Message – Dr. Michael Irani, IWF Interim President

Frankly, 2020 has been a difficult year. 2021 promises to be better, but huge efforts will continue to have to be made to ensure this proves to be the case. I do not propose to review everything that has happened at, and to, the IWF over the past year, since much of it was under the leadership of others. The past 10 weeks, however, have seen us call Constitutional and Electoral Congresses. We have extended our partnership with the ITA until 2024, and empowered it to investigate allegations made by Professor McLaren and by WADA. We have created a Disciplinary and Ethics Committee composed of independent experts which is already almost operational. We have also added independent experts to the Reform and Governance Commission, including as chair. As that Commission presses ahead towards the 22 January deadline for the presentation of a new constitution and bylaws, it is making remarkable progress. Consultations have been widespread and they will continue. Thank you to the 13 national federations who have contributed ideas. And thank you to those who have already completed the survey that you can also find here. I would encourage you all to submit your ideas without further delay. The athlete’s voice will be key among those listened to, as will those who decide our Olympic fate. For me, the lowest point of this year as far as the IWF is concerned came when the IOC decided to heavily cut the proposed medals and places available for weightlifters at Paris 2024. Young weightlifters will have been deprived of opportunities through no fault of their own, but by the cheating and malfeasance of others. We must be determined to do better. We should also be under no illusion as to the hard work that lies ahead and the obstacles we must overcome. For example, we must make arrangements so that the Congresses can take place regardless of travel restrictions. We will also need widespread cooperation. For example, Professor McLaren has yet to release the second part of his report to the ITA, the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission or the independent members of the Reform and Governance Commission, despite being asked to do so. I am confident the obstacles can be overcome, despite the ambitious nature of the scope of work we have established and the deadlines we have set. It is vital, too, that we move ahead with planning for the success of the remaining Olympic qualifying events and for the success of the weightlifting competition of the Olympic Games themselves. Tokyo 2020 clearly has the chance to serve as a shining beacon of hope and a true celebration of humanity. We owe it to our weightlifters to ensure the opportunities we provide them are worthy of their dedication. Please allow me to take a moment to express my gratitude to you for the way you have continued to serve weightlifters, despite the hardships of this last year. You have shown great resilience and creativity in doing so, and I am sure your efforts will pay dividends in the form of strong performances at the competitions we all look forward to returning to. Please allow me to also thank the IWF staff, who have continued to work steadfastly despite almost overwhelming difficulty. For some of us, the deadlines we have set for reform mean a busy end of year. I do hope, however, that you all have the chance to enjoy some special time with your loved ones in the coming weeks. Please accept my very best wishes for a Happy New