News

Yuri Vlasov celebrates 81st birthday

Arnold Schwarzenegger sent him an autographed photograph after their 1988 meeting in Moscow and signed it „To my Idol, Yuri Vlasov”.  The Soviet Union Post commemorated his 1960 victory at the Olympic Games in Rome on a special stamp - only to mention two moments in the life of one of the greatest and most popular Soviet weightlifters, Yuri Petrovich Vlasov, who celebrates his 81st birthday today, on December 5th. Born in Makiivka, Ukraine, Vlasov became an Olympic gold medallist in the category  +90kg 56 years ago. Four years later, in the 1964 Tokyo Games he finished as a silver medallist behind Leonid Zhabotinsky, another Soviet star. In both Olympic Games he was the flag bearer of the USSR delegation. He triumphed four times in the annual World Championships in heavyweight: 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1963. In the European Championships he could stand right at the top of the podium six times and set up altogether 34 world records. A proof of his exceptional qualities: between 1959 to 1963 he won all the competitions he entered. By the way, he was the first weightlifter to clean & jerk 200 kilos and more. After retiring as a competitor in 1968, he became famous as a writer and a politician. Happy Birthday, Yuri

1st Tournament in more than 40 years in Barbados

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of their Independence, the Barbados Weightlifting Association (BWA) joined these festivities by holding the very first single-day-Tournament in the last 40+ years.  This time the Phillips & Springer Classic, on Sunday 27 November, was revived to give the present-day lifters an opportunity to show the world their level of commitment to the sport.  The national coach and all around “commander in chief”, Mr. Andrew CALLENDER, organized this event with the help of two special guests: Dr. Kyle PIERCE (USA) who spoke the day before on strength training, while David COLÓN-ARROYO (PUR) explained the requirements to become an efficient Technical Official.  Also at hand was Category #1, Gabi MÁTHÉ (HUN), who kept the communication flowing from the Marshall’s desk to the speaker. An eager group of about 50 lifters participated in five sessions where a full capacity at the Queen Park Steel Shed applauded every lift from start to end.  Several personal records were improved and the conclusion of this great show rendered no injuries among the participants. The highlight of the Tournament was the presence of Mr. Austin SEALY, IOC Member. This experience demonstrated that the BOA complied with all the technical aspects of the Rules and Regulations included in the IWF Rule Book. The platform, made of a special species of redwood, held nicely throughout the event that used ELEIKO equipment. By the way, this barbell competition set was the result of the intervention of Moira Lassen, IWF Board Member, through Mr. Richard Gonsalves who made it possible for the set to reach Barbados at a nominal cost. Ample photographic evidence of this historical event is available at the following web site address: www.facebook.com/holeindewallgym Special thanks to Ms. Shelley Griffith who worked tirelessly in the administrative aspects that made possible the presence of Kyle, David and Gabi to this beautiful island in the

United World Wrestling partnered with IWF

United World Wrestling in partnership with the International Weightlifting Federation hold a Strength and Conditioning Course for wrestling coaches in Kuortane, Finland between 16th and 20th November supported by the Olympic Solidarity. 30 participants from 17 countries participated at the course where IWF experts, Mr. Tamas Feher and Ms. Karoliina Lundahl delivered theoretical and practical lectures, including the proper weightlifting technique to be utilized during the strength trainings by wrestlers. The course was a great success and IWF hopes to have further cooperation with other IFs in the future. Read the full article on the course by United World Wrestling

EWF Executive Board Meeting and Congress

On 1st December 2016, the European Weightlifting Federation held its Executive Board meeting opened by its President Dr. Antonio Urso. The Israel Weightlifting Federation President Oren Shai gave information about the upcoming European Junior and U23 Championships. The Congress was held on 2nd December. EWF General Secretary Dr. Hasan Akkus informed the members about the record number of participants - 345 athletes that will take part in the championships and gave an inclusive summary about the EWF activities. Report on Seminars organized by the EWF in the framework of the IWF Development Program for Continental Federations were also presented: 24-28 August North Europe Training Camp and Scientific Seminar in Ventspils, LAT 24 September South European Training Camp and Scientific Seminar in Valencia, ESP 7-8 October Coaches Research and Scientific Conference in Dublin, IRL 3-6 November Technical Officials’ Seminar in Split, CRO Upcoming EWF Events were attributed as follows: 2017 European U15 and U17 Championships La Coruna, ESP 2018 European U15 and U17 Championships Tartu, EST The IWF was represented by Ms. Lilla Rozgonyi, Communication and Marketing

Switzerland upgrades coaching by Seminars

One with old traditions but less-than-required presence in the weightlifting scene in our days, the Swiss Weightlifting Federation organized a two-part Seminar within the framework of the IWF Development Program. The first part of the coaching course was held in May while the second part took place during the last weekend of November. Gabriel Prongué and John Lopez, certified coaches, spoke in front of 10 participants - among them athletes, coaches, Technical Officials and the President of the Swiss Federation. The topics covered training planning, competition approach, rules and regulations. Mrs. Ursula Lauper, nutritionist, talked about the importance of proper nutrition in an athlete’s life. The theoretical part was followed by presentations about training programs delivered by the coaches, and the Seminar concluded with practical sessions in the gym. With such Seminars Switzerland aims to upgrade its weightlifting coaching and, ultimately, to raise the level of its weightlifters in an international

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike accepted IOC President’s proposal to review 2020 costs

Yuriko Koike, who took office in August, agreed on the four-party talks, which will involve the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the International Olympic Committee, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the Japanese Government. The IOC President Bach said he was “fully committed to having Games in a sustainable and feasible way” and he was sure that “significant savings” could be made on the figures contained in an interim report by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Such savings would come on top of the USD 1.8 billion savings already made. In looking for savings, the IOC President reminded the Governor not to forget two key principles – he reminded her that the “heart and soul of the Olympic Games is the athletes and that their experience must be respected, with athletes able to come together in one place.”  Secondly, he reminded the Governor of the initial terms on which Tokyo won the hosting rights for the 2020 Olympic Games. “What we also have to respect is the fair competition in which Tokyo won the rights to host the Olympic Games three years ago,” Bach said. “Tokyo and Japan won because they presented a very convincing project.” “I think it's in the interests of Japan, the IOC and Tokyo that we do not change the rules of the competition after the election because we all know that the Japanese people and people of Tokyo are reliable partners who are delivering on their commitment,” he said. Accepting the proposal for a four-way working group, the Governor stressed the need for all parties to work together and to “make maximum efforts to deliver sustainable Olympic Games as described in Olympic Agenda 2020”. A still-to-be-finalised report commissioned by Governor Koike stated last month that the cost of organising the 2020 Tokyo Games could greatly increase compared to the initial budget. Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020, John Coates, commenting on the numbers in the report said: “That’s certainly a figure that seems very large to us. We are very confident that we can work with the Governor; we can work with the Tokyo Organising Committee and the national government. With our experience, we can reduce those figures,” Coates said. President Bach urged the Governor to finalise the report, which she said could be ready next month, so that the working group could start immediately. He told her that “we are ready as soon as you are ready.” After meeting the Tokyo Governor, the President then went on to meetings with Hirokazu Matsuno, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports Science and Technology, and the Olympic and Paralympic Minister, Tamayo Marukawa. Both Ministers stressed the need for all parties to work together for sustainable and ultimately successful Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. TAGSTOKYO 2020 , IOC NEWS