News

IWF120y/44 – 1968: Kaarlo Kangasniemi, an icon of Finnish weightlifting

This story starts in Kullaa, a tiny town in the western part of Finland. On February 4, 1941 Kaarlo Kangasniemi is born there and is part of a big clan: he is one of the 11 children of the family. There are eight boys and three girls, and five of these men will practice weightlifting throughout their lives. Kaarlo will be the most successful one. After a seventh place at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, he takes part in his second Games in 1968, in Mexico City. At 27, he becomes the first (and only one so far) Olympic champion for his country in weightlifting, earning gold in 172.5-157.5-187.5-517.5 (in the 90kg category). Four years later, in Munich 1972, he arrived in Germany with an ongoing injury, but still managed to place sixth. At the 1968 and 1972 rendezvous, his younger brother Kauko was also part of the Finnish delegation and was ranked seventh on both occasions. After the achievement in Mexico, Kaarlo was again the best at the World Championships, in Warsaw 1969. In 1971, he gets his second medal (silver) at the IWF showcase. Throughout his amazing career, he established 17 new World Records, and his best result at the international level was achieved at the 1970 European Championships, when he lifted 177.5-160-192.5-530. Only two other athletes from Finland medalled in Olympic weightlifting: Jouni Grönman and Pekka Niemi, both getting the bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, respectively in the 67.5kg and 100kg category. At the World Championships, only one woman managed to get the gold so far: Karolina Lundahl, in 1994 and

IWF120y/43 – 1891: The first of the 89 World Championships so far

Despite being hard to conceive, the first recognised “World Championship” contest took place in March 1891 in London. Fourteen years before the foundation of our International Federation, the event gathered seven athletes from six nations: for the history books, Edward Lawrence Levy (GBR) was the first “world champion”. With awkward athletic exercises and no formal frame, these “championships” had five more editions (1898, 1899, 1903, 1904, and 1905) until IWF’s ancestor saw the day, in June 1905. Since then, things have become more organised, but the “world” event was still totally dominated by Europe. In 1937, after a 14-year hiatus, the 23rd edition takes place in Paris (FRA) and seven lifters from the Americas are present. The following year, in Vienna (AUT), a third continent is represented: Africa. Four continents (including Asia) sent their best athletes to the 1949 event in Scheveningen (NED) and in 1958 (in the photo: Ike Berger, USA, winner in the 60kg category), the entire world meets in Stockholm (including for the first time two lifters from the fifth continent, Oceania). Participation numbers also grow steadily – Vienna 1954 reaches for the first time 100 lifters (only men at the time, and until 1986), Ljubljana (YUG, now SLO) 1982 gathers 205 athletes, and Donaueschingen (GER) 1991 is attended by 308 competitors (200 men and 108 women). If from 1964 to 1984 (included) the Olympics counted as World Championships for that year, the IWF showcase in the year preceding the Games is normally more attended than non-qualifying ones. It was for example the case in 1999 (before the Sydney 2000 Games), when the Worlds in Athens (GRE) registered the highest male participation so far – 395 lifters. Overall, the 2023 edition in Riyadh (KSA) – a qualification event for the Paris 2024 Olympics – was the most attended in IWF’s history, with 682 lifters (348 men, 334 women). Only once, in 2022 in Bogota, female lifters were more numerous than their male counterparts – the Colombian rendezvous attracted 265 women and 263

IWF120y/42 – 1992: Hall of Fame honours the ‘best of the best’

The ‘Hall of Fame’ concept first appeared in 1936, when the US Baseball League created its Pantheon to honour and celebrate the feats of its biggest stars. Other sports quickly adopted the idea (both on a national and international level), but weightlifting waited until 1992 to implement its Hall of Fame. The project was launched by renowned French sports journalist Alain Lunzenfichter, who was for many years the President of the AIPS (International Sport Press Association) weightlifting commission and deputy editor-in-chief of L’Équipe newspaper. Since then, a Board of Trustees (formed by IWF top officials) may nominate a maximum of 10 new members each year. Nominees may be athletes, coaches, officials, journalists, or sponsors. However, certain conditions must be fulfilled: Athletes must have retired for at least 5 years; Coaches and Officials must have worked for weightlifting for at least 25 years; other individuals are eligible provided they “have significantly assisted the sport of weightlifting”. Since the first induction in 1992, many Olympic and world champions have been on the list and are accompanied by several other protagonists in the life of our International Federation. The most recent inductees in the IWF Hall of Fame are Karl Rimböck (GER) and David Montero (BRA – left in the photo, holding his certificate), distinguished IWF official, honoured at the 2024 IWF Congress, held last December in Manama (BRN).

IWF120y/41 – 2016: Lasha Talakhadze ascends to stardom

He is the most titled Olympic athlete in the history of Georgia and one of the very few lifters with three gold medals at the Games: Lasha Talakhadze is presently the brightest star of our Sport! His successful trajectory starts with his first world title, in 2015, in Houston (USA). Since that initial success, the Georgian ace (born in 1993) will never lose any major international competition in which he takes part. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, he gets his first title in the super-heavyweight category, with a 215-258-473 performance. At the Tokyo 2020ne rendezvous, he claims his best result so far at Olympic level, clinching gold in 223-265-488. Finally, in Paris 2024, his victory was achieved after a 215-255-470 outcome. In parallel, at the World Championships, he earned seven consecutive gold medals between 2015 and 2023, having skipped the 2024 edition in Manama (BRN). His best performance at the IWF showcase was achieved in 2021 in Tashkent (UZB), with 225-267-492, the current World Records in the heaviest category. These are also the best-ever results achieved in history (regardless of the changes in the bodyweight categories) for the Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and Total. At the continental level, he is also the absolute master between 2016 and 2023, with seven European titles. Throughout his amazing career, he has established 26 World Records so far. In his national team, Talakhadze is trained by Giorgi Asanidze, the only other lifter who won gold at Olympic level for Georgia (at the 2004 Games in Athens, in the 85kg

IWF120y/40 – 1973: Olympic weightlifting at the core of the IWF activities

Throughout its history, the International Weightlifting Federation has incorporated many activities that have since then gained their independence in the sports scene. It starts from the very beginning: in 1905, the “Amateur Athletes World Union” also comprised wrestling, a sport that was dissociated from our Federation in 1920. But in 1950, at the Paris Congress, the delegates approved the inclusion of the “movement of physical culture” (bodybuilding) to the activities of the Federation, dictating also the change of name from FIH to FIHC (translating from the French acronyms: the International Weightlifting Federation became International Federation of Weightlifting and Bodybuilding). This move was certainly dictated by the more intense activity of bodybuilders around the world, some in a professional manner (something not allowed then in the Olympic sphere). It’s not a coincidence that the present International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation indicates 1946 as the official year of its foundation. Anyway, the scope of bodybuilding activities within our Federation remains vague and even the rules to implement the “Nicest Athlete of the World Contest” were difficult to implement. In 1968, at the Mexico City Congress, a joint proposal from Great Britain, Germany, and Mexico to remove “bodybuilding” from the rule book was accepted. But at the same gathering, a majority of votes decided on the inclusion of “powerlifting” (Squat, Bench Press, and Dead Lift) in our Constitution. This novelty lasted even shorter, as in November 1972, the founding meeting of the International Powerlifting Federation took place in the USA, the country also hosting the initial World Championships of this sport in 1973. From then to date, the IWF concentrated its efforts on developing and creating the best possible competitive frame for Olympic

IWF120y/39 – 2023: A day to be remembered by the weightlifting family – October 16

After some years of uncertainty concerning the Olympic future of our Sport, the IOC held its Session in Mumbai (IND) in 2023, and among its many decisions, one was particularly celebrated by the IWF: weightlifting was confirmed in the programme of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. On the same day of that important milestone – October 16 – the IWF President Mohammed Jalood expressed his joy and satisfaction. Present in Mumbai, the IWF leader considered: “My first thoughts today are for our global weightlifting community – and especially the athletes – for whom this news will be both a great relief and a cause for rejoicing. It is thanks to everyone’s collective efforts that we are here today, and we thank the members of the International Olympic Committee for recognising our unity, commitment to change, and the great progress we are making as a sport. Today is a moment for weightlifting to celebrate, but it should not be seen as an end. We must – and will – continue, in line with our strategic priorities, towards a new future for weightlifting as a healthy, modern, and athlete-centred sport.” The importance of this decision and the way it reflected the positive evolution of weightlifting’s reputation within the Olympic Movement, prompted the IWF to establish the creation of an annual World Weightlifting Day (WWD), precisely on October 16 – the first WWD was celebrated in 2024 by lifters and national federations in the five continents.