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African Championships Casablanca

The African Weightlifting Championships came to end in Casablanca, Morocco. Held from 30 October until 3 November, 69 Men and 32 Women from 11 countries participated in the competition. Organized right after the 2013 IWF World Championships; Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, South Africa and Tunisia took part in the African Youth, Junior and Senior Championships. The organization was very successful, and the Moroccan Weightlifting Federation delivered a high quality competition. The WFA held its Executive Board Meeting during the

Happy Birthday to Nicu Vlad

Nicu Vlad, IWF 1st Vice President, Gold Medallist at the 1984 Olympic Games, several times World and European Champion celebrated its 50th Birthday on 1st November. The IWF wish to congratulate on this occasion. Happy

CGF Appoints Director of Sport

London 31 October 2013 – The Commonwealth Games Federation has appointed Matthew Curtain as its first-ever Director of Sport. Currently the Weightlifting Competition Manager at Glasgow 2014, Matthew has also held senior sports positions with a number of Organising Committees associated with previous Olympic and Commonwealth Games, including the highly successful 2012 summer Olympic Games in London and the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Weightlifting Federation and officiated as Technical Delegate for IPC Powerlifting at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. His responsibilities will include managing all aspects of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games sports programmes and their development as well as maintaining positive relations with all International Sports Federations, future host cities and bidding cities. Anti-doping and the co-ordination of the activities of the CGF’s Athletes Commission and Sports Committee will also fall under Matthew’s areas of responsibility. Speaking today in Glasgow Matthew said: “I’m delighted to be taking up this new role within the CGF; it comes at a time when the Games movement is in a strong position with the Gold Coast following in 2018 and positive early interest already expressed by a number of countries for 2022. I look forward to contributing to the continued growth of the Games ensuring that the sports programme continues to be reflective of sport in the Commonwealth’’. Michael Hooper, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation said: “Glasgow 2014 is going to be a huge milestone in the story of the Commonwealth Games and in Matthew; I believe we’ve found the right person to make a significant contribution to the Games position in world sport.” David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014 said: “I warmly welcome Matthew Curtain’s appointment as Director of Sport for the Commonwealth Games Federation. This new role presents great opportunities for the CGF, working in partnership with international sporting bodies, to drive forward the future vision and ambitions for the Commonwealth Games. I wish Matt well and we look forward to working with him and the CGF team in showcasing the Commonwealth Games movement in Glasgow and Scotland next year and delivering a great and memorable Games for athletes, spectators and the Commonwealth.” Source: Commonwealth Games

2013 IWF World Championships concluded in Wroclaw, Poland

The competition where 292 lifters competed for the Gold was a huge success. The Organizing Committee engaged the crowd during the competitions and with outstanding performances, the athletes put on the show at the competition venue. With sports presentation playing a key role, spectators enjoyed their time at the Centennial Hall. Two Olympic Champions from London 2012 were crowned World Champions: OM Yun Chol (PRK) in the Men’s 56kg and LYU Xiaojun (CHN) in the Men’s 77kg. Six World Records were broken: In the 69kg bodyweight category,GULIYEV Firidun (AZE) broke the Clean & Jerk Junior World Record of LIAO Hui (CHN) setting it to 194kg. Also in the 69kg, the first Senior World Record of the event was set by LIAO Hui (CHN) in the Clean & Jerk with 198kg, and still not enough he added a World Record of 358kg in the Total. In the 77kg category, LYU Xiaojun (CHN) took the lead and broke 2 World Records – 176kg in the Snatch and 380kg in the Total. The one and only World Record among Women was set by the Russian lifter KASHIRINA Tatiana in the Clean & Jerk with 190kg in the +75kg bodyweight category. The ELEIKO-IWF Press Commission’s Trophy of “Best Lifter” within Men went to LIAO Hui (CHN) while the “Best Women” Trophy was awarded to KASHIRINA Tatiana (RUS). The World Record Holder World Champions took over their Trophies at the Closing Ceremony of the event. Awards were presented by the Polish Organizing Committee according to the Sinclair points. With a Sinclair of 483.7667, LIAO Hui (CHN) took over the special award and with 348.2253 KASHIRINA Tatiana (RUS) received the Polish Trophy. According to the Team classification, the first 6 best performing Men and Women Team stood up on stage during the Closing Ceremony. Within the 168 participating Men lifters out of 49 countries, the Russian Team finished on the first place. The ranking follows as: People’s Republic of China, Islamic Republic of Iran, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Colombia. Among Women from the 124 participating lifters from 37 countries, Russia, People’s Republic of China, Mexico, Colombia, Poland and Ukraine got awarded. (For more details check out the RESULT BOOK) Altogether 25 athletes from 10 countries won the so highly coveted Gold Medals and according to the Medal Tally, People’s Republic of China won the most with 12 for Women and 8 for Men. We were delighted to witness impressive athletes, World Records, happy surprises, unfortunate defeats and a joyful atmosphere heated by a generous public, great fans and sport lovers. On behalf of the IWF we are thankful to the Polish Organizing Committee led by the President of the Polish Weightlifting Federation Szymon Kolecki for the perfectly organized 2013 IWF World Championships in Wroclaw,

Superheavyweight athletes to shine on last competition day

Men’s 105kg NURUDINOV Ruslan (UZB) Asian Champion in 2012, 2013 and 4th place at the London 2012 Olympic Games won easily with 425kg, 20kg more than the Silver Medallist BEDZHANYAN David (RUS). NURUDINOV won the first Gold Medal for Uzbekistan since it became independent. European Champion in 2012 and 2013, BEDZHANYAN gave himself a chance to win the Total and went from 225kg to an attempt at 236kg, but the weight was too heavy. The Bronze Medallist in the Snatch LOBAN Aleh (BLR) had no successful attempts in the Clean & Jerk and ended without Total result. BONK Bartlomiej Wojciech (POL) Bronze Medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games almost got the second place from the Russian lifter BEDZHANYAN, but failed his last Clean & Jerk attempt and won the Bronze Medal in the Total. First medal of the competition for Iran, BARARI Mohammadreza won the Bronze in the Clean & Jerk followed by 4th place BONK. Men’s +105kg Only three athletes could deliver three good lifts in the Snatch and these are the ones that share the medals in the Snatch. Lifting 209kg, ALBEGOV Ruslan (RUS) took over the Gold, MOULAEI Bahador (IRI) the Silver and LOVCHEV Aleksei (RUS) the Bronze. UDACHYN Artem (UKR) Silver Medallist at the European Championships earlier this year had no successful attempts in the Snatch, but managed to grab a third place on the podium in the Clean & Jerk with only one good lift on 232kg. The final fight for the gold was between the Russian ALBEGOV and the Iranian MOULAEI. Jumping from a first Clean & Jerk attempt on 241kg to 255kg, MOULAEI succeeded in lifting both. ALBEGOV went from 242kg to the same weight and after an unsuccessful first attempt finally managed to lift it. Third and last attempt could have given MOULAEI the Gold Medal, but in the end, he ended the competition with a Total of 458kg and the Silver Medal. Injured during the second attempt of the Clean & Jerk, the Russian lifter LOVCHEV had only one good lift on 230kg – still enough for the third place in the

World’s strongest Women lifted 190kg

Men’s 94kg MAKARANKA, IVANOV and SEDOV – order of the podium in the Snatch. All three athletes ended on 180kg, and bodyweight gave the final order. In the Clean & Jerk, MAKARANKA ended only 7th and couldn’t follow the lead. It seemed that the Kazakh lifter UTESHOV Almas will be awarded the Gold, by the lighter IVANOV Alexandr (RUS) also managed to lift 222kg placing him first. With 402kg in the Total, the World Champion in the Men’s 94kg is IVANOV Alexandr (RUS). Two Silver and two Bronze Medals were awarded to the two Kazakh lifters UTESHOV and SEDOV for their Clean & Jerk and Total. Women’s +75kg In the Snatch, the Olympic and World Champion ZHOU Lulu (CHN) won the Gold with 146kg where the World Record holder KASHIRINA Tatiana (RUS) ended only second. The Russian lifter missed twice on 147kg in the Snatch. The Clean & Jerk displayed an exciting competition between these two impressive lifters. Not coming out for the third attempt, ZHOU Lulu (CHN) lifted 182kg. Jumping from 180kg to 190kg and at the same time setting a New World Record in the Clean & Jerk, KASHIRINA Tatiana (RUS) won the Gold Medal also in the Total. Bronze Medal went to SHKURATAVA Katsairyna (BLR) ending with 291kg – an impressive 41kg less than the Gold