News

IOC Session approves 25 core sports for 2020 Games

During its meeting at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the full IOC membership agreed on the 25 sports that will form the core for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Tokyo was elected as the host city of the 2020 edition. The 25 sports, as proposed by the IOC Executive Board (EB) in February, are: athletics, rowing, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, weightlifting, handball, hockey, judo, aquatics, modern pentathlon, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing and volleyball. Wrestling, governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), will not be included on the list of core sports after Rio 2016, but is included as an additional sport on the Olympic programme for the Summer Olympic Games in 2020 and 2024. The other two sports in the race for one open slot were baseball/softball and squash. In an effort to ensure the Olympic Games remain relevant to sports fans of all generations, the Olympic Programme Commission systematically reviews every sport following each edition of the Games. Golf and rugby sevens were added in 2009 as additional sports to the 2016 and 2020 Olympic

Thomas Bach named new President of International Olympic Committee

Thomas Bach (GER) has today been named as the new President of the International Olympic Committee, succeeding Jacques Rogge. The 1976 Olympic fencing gold medallist became the ninth President of the IOC since it was founded in 1894. Congratulations!

Tokyo 2020 Celebrates Host City Election

After two years of hard work and planning, the results are in and Tokyo has been elected as the host city for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. Following three very passionate presentations from the candidate cities – Istanbul, Tokyo, and Madrid - the Tokyo 2020 team was already feeling confident about their chances. Yuko Arakida, the Tokyo 2020 athletes commission chair said, “All the Japanese people are behind us and supporting us, so we have confidence in winning the right to host the Olympic Games in 2020 and we are ready to deliver the fantastic Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.” A few hours later, IOC President Jacques Rogge delivered the final result to a worldwide audience and the joy of the Tokyo 2020 team was evident as they all erupted from their seats in the auditorium. Tokyo 2020 Vice President and CEO Masato Mizuno underlined the responsibility that the whole team had felt during the bid: “It’s incredible and I do appreciate all the people that supported us.” He continued, “We had so much responsibility to make this bid a success and the team did wonderful work. It’s incredible! This is a result of all our efforts.” Bid ambassador Christel Takigawa, was lost for words immediately after the announcement but was “so happy” that Tokyo had held off the challenge from Madrid and Istanbul. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also spoke of his joy at the victory when he said, “I talked about the Olympic Games in 1964 then I was only 10 years old but a lot of kids were inspired like me by them and had dreams and hopes. We wanted to have aspirations of winning a medal but for many it was not possible. When I heard Tokyo announced I was overwhelmed because I was the person that had got this medal and the joy was more than when I was first elected prime minister, the joy was greater.” As well as the elation felt by the entire Tokyo delegation with several members shedding tears of joy, the spirit of friendship and respect was not forgotten, with Bid Chair Tsunekazu Takeda and Tokyo Governor Inose both congratulating Istanbul and Madrid for their efforts and expressing the belief that while only one city could win that their friendship would endure. Source:

Comparative analysis of weightlifting results at the London 2012 Olympic Games

The article deals with the comparative statistical analysis of the results of male and female lifters, achieved in London, UK, at the 2012 Olympic Games. It has been established that in case of male weightlifters there are significant differences between the results of different bodyweight categories; the winner of the given category would have been on the average only the 7th in the next, heavier weight category. In general there is a rather high homogeneity within the categories, the performance level of the lifters on the 6th places is only 6.16 % (SD= 2.35 %) less than the results of the gold medalists. On the contrary, in case of female competitors results are not balanced. The no homogeneity is high; there are huge differences between the results of the winners and the others. The gold medalists of the given category would have been still 5th in the next category, and the results level of the lifters on the 6th places is 11.87 % (SD=4.85 %) less than the winning result. Read the FULL

2013 IWF World Championships Wroclaw website

The President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski took the Honorary Patronage over 2013 IWF World Championships Wroclaw, Poland which will be held on 19-27 October at the Centennial Hall in Wroclaw. For updates, info, regulation and photos about the 2013 IWF World Championships Wroclaw, Poland, check out the official website of the event by the following links: www.wwc2013.pl ;

IWF Development Program – documents available

The IWF continues supporting the National and Continental/Regional Federations in the framework of the IWF Development Program. As the IWF held its elections in May 2013 and the new Executive Board has approved the Program, the documentation package is now available. Please click here to download the Guidelines and Application Form. We remind you that the deadline to return the completed forms is 1st October 2013. Please send the filled in documents to