News

Happy Chinese New Year!

The People’s Republic of China is celebrating the arrival of a New Year and we address our warmest and most successful wishes to the entire weightlifting community in this beautiful country! China is a great powerhouse in our Sport and has produced some of the most talented athletes in the history of weightlifting. The achievements at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games demonstrate this strength and devotion. Moreover, China has been and will continue to be a valuable partner of our International Federation. In 2026, our IWF World Championships will be excellently hosted by the city of Ningbo, and I am sure all participants in this showcase will enjoy the great hospitality of the Chinese people. The dedication and tradition in weightlifting led China to inaugurate last October the first-ever museum totally dedicated to our Sport in the world! 2025 will be the Year of the Snake, an animal symbolising wisdom, intelligence, and continuous transformation. As the snake regularly changes its skin, we hope the Chinese weightlifting family can find renewed energy and motivation to continue shining both on and off the platform. On this special occasion, we wish the best of health, happiness, and success to all athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators within the Chinese weightlifting family. May 2025 – the Year of the Snake – bring you excellence and inspiration for great feats! Happy Chinese New Year! Mohammed JaloodIWF

IWF meets with the UNHCR on the Refugee Team programme

Florian Sperl, IWF Executive Board member and coordinator of the IWF Refugee Team project, was yesterday at the headquarters of UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency in Geneva (Switzerland), where he had the opportunity to discuss our International Federation’s programme with representatives of the UN body in charge of this topic.  As a reminder, the first IWF Refugee Team was launched in 2023, and some of its athletes could participate in the IWF World Championships organised that year in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). In 2024, the project continued and two athletes from the team successfully took part in the Paris Olympic Games. Moreover, four of them also competed at the recent IWF World Championships, held last December in Manama (Bahrain). From left to right: Nick Sore (UNHCR), Francesca Bonelli (UNHCR), Florian Sperl (IWF) and Stephen Reynard (UNHCR) Given the success of the project, and to give additional stability to the programme, the IWF decided to open applications for a new Refugee Team for the period 2025-2028, thus covering the entire Olympic cycle until the Los Angeles 2028 Games. The IWF Refugee Team will be composed of two male and two female lifters, to be chosen by the IWF Refugee Working Group. Two additional athletes (one from each gender) can be included in the group, provided they are IOC Refugee Scholarship holders. To be eligible for the Team, athletes must be officially recognised as refugees in the country they reside, in accordance with the UNHCR protocols. The deadline for candidates’ applications is February 16, 2025.  Ramiro Mora, IWF Refugee Team “We had a very friendly and positive meeting! I presented our project to the UNHCR representatives and they were quite happy about the way we are supporting these lifters. It perfectly matches their own objectives and their actions around the world, where millions of people are experiencing challenging experiences as refugees,” considered Mr Sperl after the meeting. The IWF EB member met with Ms Francesca Bonelli (Head, Partnership and Coordination Service – Division of External Relations), Mr Nick Sore (Senior Refugee Sport Coordinator), and Mr Stephen Reynard (Sport Project Coordination Officer), and also discussed further ways of reinforcing the programme. Aline de Souza, IWF Refugee Team Ms. Bonelli shared her thoughts following the meeting: “We appreciate the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) support for refugees. We look forward to celebrating the successes of the IWF Refugee Team and to exploring further opportunities to improve the wellbeing and opportunities for people forced to flee through the sport of weightlifting.” Mr. Sperl concluded: “Another future possibility is to actively co-operate with the UNHCR to provide weightlifting equipment to refugee camps or to reinforce the structures already in place. As sport plays an important role in the integration of refugees into their new life environment, we can certainly offer some support in this area.” IWF Communications

Intense week of activities for the IWF President

The IWF President Mohammed Jalood had an intense week of activities, with successive visits to Kazakhstan, Switzerland, and Armenia. It all started in Astana, the vibrant capital of Kazakhstan, where the President of the Republic Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received the IWF delegation, also comprising the President of the Asian Weightlifting Federation, Mr Mohamed Yousef Al Mana. The two IWF dignitaries were given the 2nd Degree Dostyk (Friendship) Order, awarded to individuals for the promotion of international and civil consensus in society and the promotion of peace, friendship, and cooperation between peoples. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev between Mr Mohamed Yousef Al Mana (AWF President, left) and Mr Mohammed Jalood (IWF President, right) Mr Jalood and Mr Al Mana had the opportunity to discuss the development of weightlifting in the country, a sport with a lot of tradition and good results in Kazakhstan. The IWF President then flew to Switzerland, where he attended in Lausanne (together with the IWF CEO Achilleas Tsogas) the IOC LA28 IF Transition Seminar, a two-day meeting aimed at preparing in the best possible way the transition from Paris 2024 to the upcoming Games, in Los Angeles in 2028. One of the highlights of the gathering was the handling by IOC President Thomas Bach of a Paris 2024 Olympic Torch to each of the highest representatives of the Sports present at last year’s Olympics in the French capital. Mr Mohammed Jalood (IWF President) with Mr Thomas Bach (IOC President) MrMr Jalood then travelled to Yerevan, the historical capital of Armenia, where he had the opportunity to attend the country’s weightlifting federation’s electoral session and congratulate the new President of the national body, Mr. Arayik Harutyunyan. This highly-respected official is well known within the weightlifting family, as he has been Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office. In this quality, he had represented the highest authorities of the country, namely playing a decisive role in the award of the 2027 IWF World Championships to the city of Yerevan. A meeting with the President of the Republic of Armenia, Mr Vahagn Khachaturyan, was also organised. The President of the Republic of Armenia Mr Vahagn Khachaturyan (fourth from the left in the photo) welcomed the IWF delegation in Yerevan. Next to him (fourth from the right), Mr Arayik Harutyunyan, the newly-elected president of the country's weightlifting federation “Weightlifting has many years of tradition in Armenia. The country has always won Olympic medals ever since the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. This shows the significant place for weightlifting in Armenia. Arayik Harutyunyan has done a lot for Armenian weightlifting in recent years, and we are sure that the 2027 IWF World Championships – also an Olympic qualification event - will be a wonderfully organised event,” declared Mr Jalood to the Armenian media.   The IWF President was accompanied in Yerevan by Mr Al Mana and by the IWF Secretary General Antonio Urso. IWF

IWF and ITA formally sign a 2025-2028 agreement

The IWF is happy to announce that it formally signed a 2025-2028 agreement with the International Testing Agency (ITA), for the prosecution of our Federation’s anti-doping programme. This four-year contract highlights the excellent co-operation between the two parties, working together since 2019. This collaboration includes, among other areas, athletes' testing, results management, scientific research, TUE procedures, education, intelligence & investigation, and compliance. The success of these operations was recently demonstrated by the figures related to the lifters taking part at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: both before and during the event, all tests done on the 122 lifters present in the French capital were negative. In a very challenging environment, these achievements are a proof of IWF’s strong commitment to promote clean and fair competitions around the world. The regular update on anti-doping regulations and the technological advancements provided by the ITA are also a guarantee that our International Federation remains at the forefront of this merciless fight. Mohammed Jalood (IWF President) “We are extremely satisfied with this partnership, as it allowed us to pursue on a transparent and independent way our anti-doping strategy. Weightlifting definitively changed from the moment we partnered with the ITA – and this was essential for our credibility and growth as an Olympic sport. We are now a respected International Federation that operated a structural change in the way it looks at this essential area. The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics are already on the horizon and we will get there very well accompanied by the ITA,” considered the IWF President Mohammed Jalood. Benjamin Cohen (ITA Director General) “We are honoured to continue our partnership with the IWF, a collaboration that has proven to be a game-changer for weightlifting athletes worldwide. By placing the utmost emphasis on clean sport, the IWF has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to protecting athletes and ensuring fair competition,” stated ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen. “This renewed trust underscores the IWF’s determination to uphold the integrity of weightlifting and reflects the success of the reforms achieved together since 2019. We congratulate the IWF on their leadership in this critical area and look forward to supporting the weightlifting community on the path to LA28 and beyond.” IWF

Applications are open for the 2025-2028 IWF Refugee Team

The regulations for the future IWF Refugee Team have now been published after the recent approval of the IWF Executive Board concerning the continuation of this successful programme. Initiated in 2023 and renovated in 2024, the new guidelines will now comprise the 2025-2028 quadrennium, thus providing more stability to the project. The IWF Refugee Team will be composed by two male and two female lifters, to be chosen by the IWF Refugee Working Group. Two additional athletes (one from each gender) can be included in the group, provided they are IOC Refugee Scholarship holders. In order to be eligible for the Team, athletes must be officially recognised as refugees in the country they reside, in accordance with the UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency) protocols. In the selection process, priority will be given to lifters coming from war zones and areas affected by environmental disasters. The lifters included in the IWF Refugee Team can compete in IWF events, but will not be considered for the Los Angeles 2028 Qualification System and Olympic Games. This prerogative is reserved to athletes with an IOC scholarship. The members selected to the IWF Refugee Team must fully comply with the IWF Anti-Doping Rules and complete all education activities related to this topic. Besides the four lifters, a Team Manager and a Team Physiotherapist will also integrate the programme. The application deadline to be included the IWF Refugee Team is February 16, 2025. By March 30, 2025 the IWF Refugee Working Group will decide on the athletes and support personnel that will integrate the Team. All relevant information can be found

IWF President New Year’s Message

We come to the end of a very successful year for the weightlifting family. 2024 provided many outstanding opportunities to show the vitality of our beloved Sport, the devotion of our athletes, and the prestige of our competitions around the world. The corollary of these memorable 12 months was the great celebration of weightlifting at the Paris Olympic Games, a privileged occasion to showcase the value of our Sport in the Olympic programme. After a qualification period where our lifters fought for the 120 available places for the Games, the event in the French capital was spectacular: breathtaking performances, new countries getting medals, a packed venue with thousands of enthusiast spectators cheering for their idols, a great exposure through TV and digital platforms worldwide, and a 100% fair and clean competition, with no positive cases before and during the Games. In general, the Games were a remarkable success and weightlifting was part of this achievement. We are proud of this outcome and I obviously take this opportunity to warmly thank our National Federations, and respective athletes, coaches, and officials. The IWF events were also of paramount importance for the prestige of our Sport. From the Youth World Championships, where for the first time a double platform was used, to the significant success of the Junior showcase and the amazing experience provided by the IWF World Championships some weeks ago in Manama, the vibrant capital of Bahrain, everything was put in place to ensure optimal conditions for all participants and to guarantee the maximum possible promotion of these events in the five continents. With a renovated energy and motivation, we can now envisage a great 2025! Despite being a post-Olympic year, we will not rest on our laurels. We will continue setting up great competitions for our athletes, we will proceed with our merciless fight for a clean sport (in co-operation with the International Testing Agency), we will reinforce our Development Programme for the benefit of our continental and national federations, we will remain fully determined in guaranteeing good governance, inclusivity, and sustainability in everything we do, we will strengthen our commercial opportunities and we will increase our institutional partnerships with the major stakeholders in the international sports environment. 2025 is also an electoral year for the IWF. Our National Federations, in a democratic and transparent way, will decide on a new Executive Board for the next four years. I am sure their verdict will reinforce the path of success our International Federation is pursuing in recent years. These achievements and the perspective of future successes can only be achieved in a spirit of unity and solidarity. Despite national and even personal differences, I am happy and proud to say that the weightlifting family is a very united one. We walk together with one common and consensual vision: to make weightlifting a more credible, important, and respected sport on a global scale! We are on the right track but must continue working hard. The competition is fierce, and the political, social, and economic challenges around us are enormous. But we are strong and resilient people, who know to overcome adversity. Let’s keep this same spirit in 2025 and write one more brilliant page in the rich and prestigious history of the IWF. I thank you for your continuous support and hard work and I wish you a healthy, successful, peaceful, and prosperous New Year of 2025! Mohammed JaloodIWF