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Bahrain, Women’s preview: Six world record holders can take PRK top of medals table again

PRK’s formidable women’s team looks likely to dominate at the IWF World Championships in Bahrain, which starts next Friday and runs for 10 days. Since returning from a four-year absence after the Covid pandemic, PRK has been the top team at the Asian Games, Qatar Grand Prix, Asian Championships and IWF World Cup. But not at the Olympic Games four months ago in Paris, where PRK was ineligible. Four of the five women’s champions in Paris, including all three from China, are taking a well-deserved break and will not be in Bahrain. All six current world record holders in PRK’s maximum team of 10 should be strong challengers for gold. At the five lightest weight categories up to 64kg, PRK athletes set 22 senior world records in less than a year, plus 14 junior world records. It could be that the only anthem played at a women’s session in the first half of the Championships will be PRK’s. Won Hyon Sim (PRK) If there is to be a surprise, it might come at 45kg where Won Hyon Sim holds all three world records on 87-109-196. One of the newcomers in a “second-choice” China team, Zhao Jinhong, totalled 198kg at a national competition last year.   Ri Song Gum, who made her international debut more than 10 years ago as a 16-year-old, set seven world records at 49kg in eight months. Her winning total of 221kg at the World Cup in Thailand in April was 15kg more than China’s Hou Zhihui made for victory in Paris. The main target for Ri Song Gum in Bahrain may be the snatch world record, which she needs for a full set of three. Hou set it at 97kg when she was beaten by Ri in Phuket in April. Ri Song Gum (PRK) PRK fields two top contenders at 64kg, Ri Suk and Rim Un Sim. Deng Wei’s long-standing snatch and total world records, 117kg and 261kg respectively, could be challenged by Ri Suk, who at 21 is seven years younger than Rim. Ri Suk claimed one senior and seven junior world records in 2023, her last year as a junior. Her best performance came a year ago at the Qatar Grand Prix, where she broke the clean and jerk world record and finished 1kg short of Deng Wei’s mark on total. Kang Hyon Gyong at 55kg and Kim Il Gyong at 59kg hold world records, as does Song Kuk Hyang at 71kg. Song goes up to 76kg to avoid taking on Olympic champion Olivia Reeves, who beat her last time. Reeves, from the United States, is the only Paris champion lifting in the women’s events. She finished ahead of rivals from China and PRK – the first American ever to do so – in Phuket before winning in France. A world title to go with her Olympic gold would give Reeves very strong credentials for the IWF’s World Weightlifter of the Year award. Olivia Reeves (USA) The Chinese athlete behind Reeves in that Phuket session, Liao Guifang, did not make China’s Olympic team and is up to 81kg in Bahrain. The PRK lifter at 71kg with Reeves is Jong Chun Hui, who has competed four times at 76kg despite never weighing more than 71.51kg. Egypt’s double Olympic medallist Sara Samir will take on Liao Guifang at 81kg, where PRK’s hopes rest with Kim Kyong Ryong, who has not been seen in international competition since 2019. Sara Samir (EGY) Eileen Cikamatana from Australia, fourth at 81kg in Paris, lifts at 87kg this time. She has competed at this weight twice before, in 2022, when she won Commonwealth Games gold and World Championships silver. Kim Yong Ju, whose best total is 258kg, is the heaviest athlete is PRK’s team while China fields two at this weight, 18-year-old Xu Linyue and Wu Yan, who has made 265kg in a national competition. The super-heavyweight silver and bronze medallists in Paris, Park Hyejeong from Korea and Emily Campbell from Great Britain, are both in action. Paris champion Li Wenwen is absent but China will loom large again for Park and Campbell, in the shape of international debutant Li Yan. Li has the highest entry total on 300kg and made a career-best 145-165-310 in a national championship last year. Eileen Cikamatana (AUS) Colombia has plenty of chances in a maximum team of 10, including Yenny Alvarez, Ingrid Segura, Mari Sanchez and Miyareth Mendoza, but winning gold will be tough. If Reeves, Samir and Cikamatana are not at their best, there is a possibility of Asian women winning all 10 world titles. That has not happened this century. By Brian

Bahrain, Men’s preview: Karlos Nasar in top form as he seeks to add world title to Olympic gold

Karlos Nasar can round off his spectacularly successful year at the IWF World Championships in Bahrain by setting more world records and claiming the one major title that has eluded him at his preferred weight of 89kg. The Championships begin on Thursday and finish on December 15. The highlight of 2024 for the Bulgarian star was winning 89kg gold at the Olympic Games in Paris, where he was the only weightlifter to break world records. He also won at the IWF World Cup in Thailand and claimed the European title in his home country. Karlos Nasar (BUL) Nasar has set 22 senior and junior world records at 89kg, eight of them in 2024. He is unbeaten for two years, during which he has won two continental titles, a Grand Prix, a World Cup and Olympic gold at his preferred weight - but not a world title. He bombed out in 2022 and was unfit to lift in Saudi Arabia last year because of an achilles injury. In his last competition as a junior, 20-year-old Nasar is likely to be the star of the show again. He won those three gold medals this year by an aggregate of 29kg and has been lifting ever bigger numbers during preparations that included a training camp at altitude in Bulgaria. Competing for Heinsheim in the German Bundesliga, Nasar made 180-220-400 weighing 92.2kg on November 9, then 185-230-415 weighing 93.9kg on November 23.  That 415kg total is only 1kg lower than the 96kg world record held by Sohrab Moradi from Iran – the longest-standing world record in the sport which was set more than six years ago. Rizki Juniansyah (INA) Rizki Juniansyah from Indonesia is the only other men’s winner from Paris in the start book. Super-heavyweight Lasha Talakhadze is taking a break, as are China’s five champions (two men and three women). China is sending a second-choice team. Rizki lifts at 73kg, the weight at which he won in Paris, while his team-mate Rahmat Erwin goes at 81kg. Both men are in B Groups. Rahmat, who holds clean and jerk world records at both weights, last competed at the IWF World Cup in April, where he was beaten by Rizki and knocked out of Paris. He lifted in the B Group at the past two World Championships, setting clean and jerk world records both times on his way to gold and silver on total at 73kg and 81kg respectively. Luis Mosquera from Colombia, who won 67kg silver in Tokyo and was fifth in Paris, and the junior world champion Caden Cahoy from the United States are in the 73kg B Group with Rizki. All 10 athletes in the A session have an entry total between 340kg and 345kg. Another Indonesian, Eko Yuli Irawan, first lifted at the senior World Championships in 2006 but he wants to prolong his career at the age of 35. Irawan, who bombed out in Paris while trying to win a fifth Olympic medal, will lift in Bahrain at 67kg. His younger team-mate Ricko Saputra is a medal contender at 61kg. Ri Won Ju (PRK) Asian athletes are expected to dominate the lighter weight categories once more, even though all 10 of China’s men will be competing internationally for the first time. Judging by their best performances in national competitions, Yang Yang at 55kg, Wei Haixian at 61kg and Zheng Xinhao at 67kg all look likely to challenge for medals. PRK, which was ineligible to send a team to Paris, will be aiming to top the medals table yet again. There are seven world record holders in the PRK team, six women and one man, Ri Won Ju at 67kg. There are strong challengers from PRK in all seven weight categories up to 89kg. Ro Kwang Ryol has the third highest entry total at 89kg, after Karlos Nasar and last year’s winner Mir Mostafa from Iran. Ro missed three attempts at the IWF World Cup in Thailand in April, finishing fourth behind the men who won the Paris medals – Nasar, Yeison Lopez from Colombia and Nino Pizzolato from Italy. Yeison and Pizzolato are both absent this time. Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) Two other Olympic champions will lift in Bahrain. Ruslan Nurudinov, who won 105kg gold at Rio 2016 but did not compete in Tokyo or Paris, is bowing out of international competition aged 33. “I’m feeling my age, but I will try to finish with a medal in Bahrain,” he said earlier this year. At 102kg the Tokyo champion Meso Hassona from Qatar will attempt to bounce back after the disappointment of a bombout in Paris.   Kazakhstan has medal chances from a strong team that includes Nurgissa Adiletuly, who led the 102kg Olympic rankings for a while. Adiletuly and team-mates Alexey Churkin and Artyom Antropov all tested positive for a banned substance after winning medals at the Asian Championships in Korea in May, 2023. They served reduced suspensions after it was shown that they had not intentionally taken the substance. Adiletuly lifts at 96kg in Bahrain, Churkin at 73kg and Antropov at 109kg.  Gor MInasyan (BRN) The host nation has a gold medal contender in the super-heavyweights. Gor Minasyan, who won Olympic bronze in August, will be up against the man who finished one place ahead of him in Paris, Varazdat Lalayan from Armenia. The youngest man in the A group, the final session of the Championships, is 20-year-old Ali Ammar Yusur from Iraq. He needs a clean and jerk of 247kg or more to complete a sweep of junior world records, having set the snatch and total records when he finished sixth in Paris. Seven nations field a maximum men’s team of 10 athletes – Armenia, China, Colombia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Korea and Mexico. By Brian

Another milestone for the IWF: 100% of the lifters qualified for Paris were tested before the Olympics!

The International Testing Agency (ITA) released its “Paris 2024 Pre-Games Report” (link here) and weightlifting appears as one of the very few sports to have tested all its participating athletes in the period of six months before the Olympics! The IWF had a quota of 120 lifters in the French capital (two more athletes, representing the Olympic Refugee Team, were also part of the competition) and ALL of them were controlled in the lead-up to the Olympic celebration in Paris. “These numbers and unprecedented level of testing demonstrate our full determination in the fight against doping in our Sport. It also certifies that we had a fair and clean competition in Paris. The IWF, together with the ITA, is taking this matter very seriously and we are happy to see that this strategy is proving successful. I take the opportunity to thank our National Federations for their effort and commitment to keeping weightlifting going in the right direction,” declared IWF President Mohammed Jalood. Starting from December 2022, the ITA developed a Long List throughout the qualification period before the Games. Moreover, since January 2024, the new categorisation rule for National Federation allowed a more agile management in the follow-up of the athletes intended to participate in major events. Finally, an additional effort was made to test all those lifters qualified through the host nation and universality/tripartite quota. Besides being controlled, 100% of the athletes who qualified for the Paris Olympic Games received anti-doping education as per the mandatory IWF/ITA requirements. IWF

2 more days for Verification of Final Entries for Manama 2024!

IWF Member Federations entered for the 2024 IWF World Championships have until this Friday, November 22, at 12h00 (noon) CET to proceed to the verification of their final entries. In this last step before the participation of their teams in Manama (BRN), National Member Federations may confirm or delete the participation of their athletes. For that, Federations must check their athletes’ bodyweight category and entry total and modify them if needed. After selecting the participating athletes, the “Confirm” button must be clicked. To delete athletes who will not take part in the Championships, the “Dustbin” button must be clicked. After double-checking the final list of athletes, Federations must click on the “Send Verification” button. After the November 22 deadline for verification of final entries, no further changes can be made to the data submitted by the IWF Member Federations. This procedure can be made through the IWF E-Entry System (link

Cyrille Tchatchet II: official candidate to the WADA Athlete Council

Cyrille Tchatchet II is the candidate from the weightlifting family to the WADA Athlete Council, an election that will take place between December 10-12. Now representing Great Britain, Cyrille is a Cameroon-native athlete who joined Europe as a refugee and, in this quality, integrated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Refugee Team. His perseverance and charisma were rewarded with his election in December 2022 to the IWF Athletes Commission. After the first stage of the bid, at the end of October, the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed some days ago that the 29-year-old lifter was an eligible candidate for its Athlete Council, together with 25 other athletes from different sports. Eight of them will sit in the WADA’s body for the period 2025-2027. Cyrille Tchatchet at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Still an active athlete, Tchatchet is combining his sports career with a regular job as a mental health nurse. While applying for this position, he established some important priorities: “I am seeking election to the WADA Athlete Council to protect the integrity of sport and promote athlete's health. With over 15 years in weightlifting, I understand the pressures athletes face and the need for a level playing field. My goal is to ensure that anti-doping policies are fair, transparent, and supportive of athletes' well-being. I aim to strengthen education, communication, and collaboration between athletes and anti-doping authorities.” Following his 10th place in the 96kg category in Tokyo, Tchatchet started competing for Great Britain, obtaining his best result in 2023, with a fourth place in the European Championships. At the earlier stage of his career, in 2013, he was fifth at the African Championships, under Cameroon’s flag. “With my background in elite sports and role as a registered mental health professional, I can effectively voice concerns while promoting transparency and athlete welfare. My experience at national and international level has given me insight into the importance of clean sport for the mental well-being of all athletes,” Tchatchet also said. Competing at the 2023 IWF World Championships The election of the IF representatives within the WADA Athlete Council is made by the International Federations’ Athletes Commission bodies. Forrester Osei is the IWF Athletes Commission Chair and the person who, on IWF’s behalf, endorsed Tchatchet for this role. “His candidature to the WADA Athlete Council would be the corollary of his successful story and an additional avenue to give back some of his experience and expertise to the sport. Moreover, his involvement in the essential field of the fight against doping, brilliantly led by WADA on a global scale, would be another of Cyrille’s contributions to ensure fair and drug-free competitions in the five continents,” noted Osei. “Cyrille’s story in the sport of weightlifting is an amazing and incredibly inspirational one. It is the real tale of a man who was obliged to leave his nation and look for better conditions in another continent, far from the ones he loves. A man, an athlete, that succeeded in the sport he cherishes and complemented that with an accomplished professional career,” concluded the IWF Athletes Commission Chair. IWF

Lasha out of World Championships and into parliament. Weightlifting’s biggest name must choose – sport, politics or both

Lasha Talakhadze will miss the IWF World Championships for the first time since 2015. He has barely trained since winning his third Olympic title in Paris three months ago and is not among the final entries for Bahrain, where the 2024 World Championships run from December 6-15. Instead of being in the gym the Georgian super-heavyweight, who is the most successful weightlifter of the 21st century and arguably the sport’s most popular athlete, has been focusing on politics. He is due to become a Member of Parliament just before the World Championships start and is considering a new career in that field. Whether Lasha, 31, can work in politics and prolong his weightlifting career remains to be seen. When asked about his future priorities by the Georgian news website Politico, Lasha said, “The two are not incompatible. Lasha lifting for the gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics “Currently, I don’t train because of injury. At the moment, my country needs me. Georgia Dream is exactly the power that our country needs, which will maintain peace and unity in Georgia. “We’ll see what will be in the future … I’ve always stood by my country and will continue to do so in whatever capacity I’m needed.” Georgia’s Weightlifting Federation president, Kakhi Kakhiashvili, is hoping Lasha will return to the gym, win another European title in his own country in 2026 and keep competing until the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. By Lasha’s own admission in an interview last year, Kakhi and Georgia’s national coach Giorgi Asanidze have been the two biggest influences on his career. Like Lasha, Kakhi won three Olympic gold medals and is one of weightlifting’s all-time greats. Kakhi said, “Lasha visited the gym a few times but is far from complete training. I’ve heard in several interviews that he wants to continue, but in other conversations he has mentioned transitioning to politics and working in a new field. “He reminds me of an adolescent in a transition period, where it’s essential to have good advisors by his side to make the right steps. “My goal and dream is for him to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics. He has the potential and the chance to become the most decorated weightlifter in the world in terms of Olympic medals. “I know from my personal experience that if one does not show up in the gym for six or seven months and does not start training at least once or twice a week, chances for the next Olympic medals will decrease and run out in time. I will do my best for Lasha to win another gold at the next Olympics.” Georgia Dream, which won the election on October 26, has been the ruling party since 2012. It will have 89 Members of Parliament once the election results have been ratified, probably by the end of the month. This time it named national hero sportsmen in its top 10 choices for Members of Parliament. Lasha, who will be the voice of Georgian athletes in Parliament, was selected alongside the Olympic wrestling champion Geno Petriashvili. Georgia Dream’s top six on the MPs list comprised the party’s billionaire founder, incumbent ministers and other high-status politicians. Lasha was number seven, and Petriashvili number 10. Members of Georgia’s successful national football team also endorsed the party before its victory. None of this was mentioned after Lasha’s victory in Paris, where he had said, “If my physical condition gives me the chance I will stay in this sport.” It was his first competition in 328 days, after knee injuries kept him off the platform. Later that evening Kakhi spoke of his plans to help Lasha towards becoming the only weightlifter ever to win four Olympic titles, and the first to make a 500kg total - 8kg more than Lasha’s current world record. “My plan is to host the European Championships in Georgia in 2026, probably in Batumi. That would be the setting for Lasha to make his 500,” Kakhi said. The first part of the Batumi plan came to fruition last month when the executive board of the European Weightlifting Federation awarded the 2026 continental championships to Georgia. “As you know, we have experience in organising similar events,” said Kakhi. “Our championship will be unique and outstanding, just as it was in 2019. The then-President of the EWF, Antonio Urso, referred to our championship as ‘the Championship of the Future’. Since then, our know-how has been attractive to several other championship organisers. “I hope that Lasha will achieve his dream of 500kg in Batumi.” Realistically, could it still happen? “If he starts training, yes. If he doesn’t start within six months, then no.” Asked about Georgia’s future in weightlifting if Lasha is no longer competing, Kakhi said, “Naturally, the team suffers a significant loss without Lasha, but I’m confident that Lasha will do everything he can to support the development of the sport, wherever he may be and in whatever position he may hold. “We have a new generation growing up, which has already brought us pride on the international stage, and our goal is to continue nurturing athletes that will make our country proud.” In his nine-year unbeaten run, Lasha has never totalled less than the 454kg which won the 2015 world title and began the sequence. He has won every world and Olympic title since then, setting more than 20 world records along the way. His absence next month leaves the host nation’s Gor Minasyan joint top of the entries, on 460kg, with Varazdat Lalayan from Armenia. Lalayan was second behind Lasha in Paris and Minasyan third, respectively on 467kg and 461kg. By Brian Oliver