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IWF120y/92 – 1997: Last major title for Bulgarian ace Yoto Yotov

In a country of great weightlifters in the history of the Olympic Games and World Championships, Yoto Yotov certainly ranks among the most illustrious athletes of Bulgaria. Born in May 1969, he still competes in the junior category when he earns his first medals at international level – silver at the 1988 Junior Champs and gold in the 1989 edition in Fort Lauderdale (photo). In that same year, he also shines at the senior IWF showcase, clinching silver in the 67.5kg category. In 1991, he finally gets his first senior world title – two more will follow, in 1993 and 1997. In between, he takes part in two Olympic Games – Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996. On both occasions, he is the runner-up: in Spain, in the 67.5kg category, he lifts 150-177.5-327.5 (the gold goes to Israel Militosyan, from the Unified Team, with a Total of 337.5kg), while in the USA he competes in the 76kg category, and reaches 160-200-360 (the winner is Pablo Lara, from Cuba, with 367.5kg). Besides these achievements, Yotov has three additional silver medals at the IWF Worlds (1990, 1994, and 1995), and six European victories (consecutive triumphs from 1990 to 1994, and then 1997). Winner of three IWF World Cups (1989, 1900 and 1991), he was voted the 1997 “Sportsperson of the Year” in Bulgaria, and in 2020 he was awarded the highest state honour in the field of Sport – the “Wreath of the Winner”. Last but not least, the Bulgarian ace also set two World Records during his successful career – one in Clean & Jerk (192.5kg) and one in Total (345kg), both established in 1994.

IWF120y/91 – 2004: Nataliya Skakun, the last Olympic winner for Ukraine

As with the other republics formerly integrated in the immense territory of the Soviet Union, Ukraine began to ‘exist’ independently since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Before that, lifters born in what is presently Ukraine shone at the Olympic level (as was the case for athletes from Georgia or Armenia), but their successes never counted as a medal for their country. In 1992, we are in a transition phase, and the ‘Soviet’ team is present in Barcelona under the name ‘Unified Team’ – Timur Taymazov is one of the group’s lifters, and earns silver in the Spanish metropolis, with a result of 185-217.5-402.5. Four years later, already under the Ukrainian flag, he will do better, clinching gold in the 108kg category – 195-235-430. Between his two Olympic appearances, he had been the best at two World Championships, in 1993 and 1994. On the women’s side, the sport integrated the Olympic programme in 2000, so female lifters always competed for Ukraine. The most successful one until today was Nataliya Skakun – after a seventh place in Australia, her moment of glory arrives four years later, in Athens 2004. In the 63kg category, she clinches gold in 107.5-135-242.5. Before that, she was the world champion in 2003 (photo), and the best European in 2002. She remains the last Ukrainian lifter with an Olympic victory. Since 1996, and besides the two golds, Ukraine has one silver and two bronze medals at the Games’ level. At the Paris 2024 rendezvous, Kamila Konotop was the only Ukrainian representative, placing seventh in the women’s 59kg

IWF120y/90 – 1952: The start of an Olympic saga for Arkady Vorobyov (URS)

In the multitude of Soviet lifters that excelled at Olympic and world level between the 1950s and 1980s, Arkady Vorobyov emerges as the most successful and prolific one at the Games level, with two gold and one bronze medal. Born in 1924, Vorobyov serves in the Soviet Army during World War II, mainly clearing mines in the port of Odessa, as a diver. It is there that he starts practicing weightlifting, with notable results at the national level. In 1950, he takes part in the World Championships in Paris, finishing second in the 82.5kg category. Two years later, he travels to Helsinki (FIN) for his first Olympic appearance – in the same category, he earns bronze with a result of 120-127.5-160-407.5. He will do much better in the subsequent two editions – Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960 – where he clinches gold on both occasions. In Australia, he lifts 147.5-137.5-177.5-462.5, while in the Italian capital, his winning performance is 152.5-142.5-177.5-472.5. His supremacy in the 1950s is reinforced by the five world titles between 1953 and 1958, a silver in 1959, and a bronze in 1961. During his golden years, he sets 16 new World Records, including nine in Snatch, his most successful movement (with a best of 145kg, lifted in 1957). After his retirement, he becomes a coach of the Soviet team and is one of the first in his country to apply computer programmes to the training methodologies. With a renowned academic career, he was a member of the IWF Technical Committee, the IWF Scientific and Research Committee. Vorobyov passed away in 2012, at the age of

IWF120y/89 – 2008: Maryam Usman, Nigeria’s strongest woman

Besides Egypt, an early and traditional powerhouse in our sport, the continent of Africa only medalled with two other countries at Olympic weightlifting events: Nigeria (one silver and one bronze) and Cameroon (one bronze). The Nigerian success story has two women playing the leading roles: Ruth Ogbeifo and Maryam Usman. The first one shone at the 1999 World Championships (bronze), successfully qualifying for the Sydney 2000 Games, the first edition open to women. In Australia, in the 75kg category, she earned the silver, lifting 105-140-245. By that time, Usman was only 10 years old, but would become a collector of successes at the highest level. In 2007, she was a silver medallist at the African Games and one year later, in Beijing, she got the Olympic bronze in the +75kg category, with 115-150-265 (she was initially fifth, but was upgraded after two athletes tested positive for prohibited substances). It was the pinnacle of a career that would also include a third place at the 2011 IWF World Championships, four African titles, and one victory at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Usman took part in two more editions of the Olympics: in London 2012 she bombed out in the Clean & Jerk section (after making her best at international level in the Snatch – 129kg), and in Rio 2016 (photo) she finished in ninth place. With a personal Total best of 125-156-281 (at the 2012 African Championships), Usman retired after the Brazilian rendezvous, remaining to the present day the last Nigerian lifter with an Olympic

IWF120y/88 – 2000: Iran celebrates its new star – Hossein Rezazadeh

Weightlifting symbolises strength, and the super heavyweight category is often associated with the ‘strongest men’ on earth. Lifters shining in this category are often elevated to a stardom status, both in the history of the sport and of their respective country. Hossein Rezazadeh, from Iran, is certainly a good example of this principle. Born in 1978, he started to shine at the end of the 1990s, with one bronze medal at the 1998 Asian Games, the gold at the 1999 Asian Championships, and another third place at the 1999 World Championships. Arrived in Sydney (AUS) for his first Games in 2000 (photo), Rezazadeh breaks the hegemony of Soviet/Russian lifters in the heaviest category, earning his Olympic title in 212.5-260-472.5. It was the initial highlight of an outstanding career that would include another Olympic victory in Athens 2004 and four World wins, from 2002 to 2006. He triumphed also in the 2002 and 2006 editions of the Asian Games. Moreover, the Iranian ace established six World Records during his career, with bests of 213kg in Snatch and 263.5kg in Clean & Jerk. In 2008, before the Games in Beijing, he was advised by his medical team to stop weightlifting, and much to the surprise of his fans, he announced his retirement. A true hero in his country, he was immediately invited to join the Iranian Weightlifting Federation as special advisor (then manager and coach) and initiated also a political career, namely as a member of Tehran’s City Council. Having won ‘Iran’s Sportsperson of the Year’ award on four occasions, he is the only athlete in his country to have achieved such an accolade.

IWF120y/87 – 1967: World Championships, an (almost) annual tradition

The 2024 IWF World Championships represented the 89th recognised edition of the IWF showcase, with the first one taking place in London, in the now distant year of 1891. There are more than 89 years between that founding date and the present, but as a norm, World Championships are taking place annually. There are however exceptions. Until 1912, these events were erratic and did not follow a coherent calendar (there were four World Championships in 1911, for example!), but after that, there was some regularity. However, two major disruptions occurred during the period of the two world wars - between 1914-1919, and then 1939-1945. Moreover, the four-year cycle determined by the Olympics also dictated the staging (or not) of the IWF showcase. From the 1948 to the 1960 edition of the Games, World Championships were not staged in those years, something that was replicated between 1988 and 2016. From 1964 (photo) to 1984, the Olympics were also counted as World Championships, while in 2021 and 2024, the IWF event was also organised in an Olympic year. Finally, there are two abnormalities to this sequence: from 1924 to 1936, there were no World Championships, as well as in the single year of 1967. In the first case, the explanation relates to the deficient organisation of the IWF in the 1920s, the internal divisions between weightlifting factions, and the ‘forced’ change for the adoption of a triathlon format (press, snatch and clean & jerk) determined by the IOC to be implemented from the 1928 Games. Concerning 1967, the IWF showcase was scheduled to take place in Japan, but the Asian nation did not have diplomatic relations with the German Democratic Republic (still a trace of the WW II conflict). As visas couldn’t be delivered to GDR lifters, no flag could be displayed or anthem played, the Soviet and Eastern European bloc decided to support their ally and boycott the event – in consequence, the IWF had no choice but to cancel that edition. Fortunately, it remains the last major setback in the history of the IWF World Championships.