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Bahrain will be the host of the 2024 IWF World Championships!

Manama, the capital of Bahrain, will host the 2024 edition of the IWF World Championships, after the vote of the IWF Executive Board today in Havana (CUB). The Middle East bid received more support that the two other candidatures for next year’s IWF top-event, Yerevan (ARM) and Tirana (ALB). This will be the most important weightlifting event ever staged in Bahrain, which successfully hosted the 2022 Asian Championships. The President of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation, Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq led the three-person delegation from his country and was visibly a happy man after the outcome. “I sincerely thank the IWF Executive Board for the support and trust in our bid. We promise we will not disappoint you! We will deliver a top-class event and the entire IWF Family will live an unforgettable experience in Bahrain,” Mr Eshaq considered. The 2024 IWF World Championships will be held in November/December, some months after the conclusion of the Olympic Games in Paris (FRA). For 2025, the host of the IWF showcase – Norway – had been already awarded in December 2021. If this was the highlight of the two-day meeting of the IWF Executive Board in the Cuban capital, presently hosting the first 2023 IWF Grand Prix until June 18, other important decisions and discussions were held under the leadership of the IWF President Mohammed Jalood. These include: - Update on the Sustainability Project, namely the ongoing works on the assessment and subsequent work to diminish the IWF carbon footprint; - Under the anti-doping strategy, approval of a motion specifying that the IWF may exclude countries from competing where doping tests could not be taken by the IWF or any Anti-Doping Organisation with testing authority instructed by the IWF. Moreover, the IWF Executive Board approved an early implementation of the principle of Member Federations’ categorisation based on their doping risk from January 1, 2024 to November 1, 2023; - Lift of the temporary suspension for four Pan-American Member Federations (subject to payment of the 2023 annual fee): Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, and the Cayman Islands; - Approval of a financial assistance to the Cuban organisers of the 2023 Grand Prix, in order to compensate for the loss caused by numerous last-minute withdrawals from the competition; - Approval of a policy establishing that for international events, under the IWF umbrella, participation of Member Federations is subject to the payment of the accommodation, entry, and anti-doping fees by no later than 10 days after the submission of Final Entries; - Approval for the hiring of an independent company in charge of elaborating an internal financial audit; - Creation of a Working Group in charge of a policy of “Human Rights and Non-Discrimination”; - On technical matters, three topics were approved: 1. Competition platforms will have a maximum of 80cm height (instead of 100cm); 2. The Video Replay System (VPT) has to be always used in IWF events; 3. The athletes are not allowed to carry flags during medal ceremonies; - Update on the 2024-2032 IWF Strategic Plan, which will be submitted for approval at the IWF Congress next September in Riyadh (KSA), at the occasion of the 2023 IWF World Championships; - Update on the IWF Refugee Team programme: athletes included in this group are ready to take part in the Training Camp, to be held in the end of June in Sweden, under the patronage of barbell company Eleiko; - Presentation of the first Pan-American Street Weightlifting competition, to be held in Jamaica, from August 11-13, 2023; - The EB also finalised the IWF Constitution changes, to be submitted for Congress approval in September

Havana, Day 4: Irawan hits career high at 33 and has record-breaking fifth Olympic medal in his sights

Eko Yuli Irawan posted the best numbers of his career at the age of 33 here in Havana, and is on course to set a weightlifting record for the ages. In more than 120 years since the sport featured at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 no weightlifter has ever won five medals at the Games. “I’m hoping to be the first to do it,” Irawan said after moving up in weight to win at 67kg here in the IWF Grand Prix, the third qualifier for Paris 2024. Eko Irawan (INA) On a day of contrasts for Indonesia, Irawan’s team-mate Rizki Juniansyah later suffered a surprise defeat at 73kg when he failed with all three clean and jerk attempts. Ryan Grimsland of the United States won, ahead of Muhammed Ozbek from Turkey and Andrei Fralou, the Belarusian competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete. Irawan declined his final attempt after making five good lifts for 145-176-321, finishing well ahead of the Colombian 67kg world champion Francisco Mosquera, who made 136-175-311. Sergio Massidda from Italy, who like Irawan had moved up from 61kg, was third on 135-165-300. Sergio Massidda (ITA) “Things change when you are over 30 – recovery, nutrition, sleep – but I’m feeling good and mentally I am prepared,” Irawan said. “Yes, I am up from 61 to 67 but this is my best snatch, clean and jerk and total.” Irawan has had his share of injuries over the years, he said, pointing to his knees, shin, calf and ankle. “My knees are in recovery even now,” he said, “but I’m feeling good.” When he won bronze at London 2012, Irawan discovered afterwards that he had a stress fracture of the shin, having exacerbated a minor problem with “too much lifting”. Eko Irawan (INA) He will eventually go back down to 61kg, where he sits second in the rankings, after returning to the national training centre in Jakarta. This was only his second competition at 67kg in a career that began in May 2006. Irawan started in the sport aged 11, at which time he was herding goats in Lampung province where he grew up. His career highlight, he said, was not a single moment but being at the Olympic Games four times and winning a medal on each occasion – bronze in Beijing and London, and silver in Rio and Tokyo at weights ranging from 56kg to 62kg. Four different men won gold in those contests, from Colombia, North Korea and China twice, and one of those two from China, the Tokyo champion Li Fabin, tops the Paris rankings at 61kg. “Maybe I can beat China next time and finish with gold,” Irawan said. He has two young children and said he did not know if they might take up weightlifting, but he is sure of his own future when his career on the platform ends. “I’m going to be a coach,” he said. In the 73kg, the Tokyo 67kg silver medallist Luis Javier Mosquera began his qualifying effort for Paris by weighing in and withdrawing in the B Group. Mosquera, from Colombia, suffered a serious wrist injury at the Bolivarian Games a year ago. He is one of four Tokyo Olympic medallists trying to qualify for Paris who are in the programme but have yet to make a lift. The other three – Antonino Pizzolato from Italy, Polina Guryeva from Turkmenistan and Aremi Fuentes from Mexico – are all entered here but how many of them compete rather than “participate” by weighing in and complying with anti-doping requirements remains to be seen. Guryeva took a break to have a child and the others have had serious injuries. All four have plenty of time yet to regain full fitness during the qualifying period, in which only the single best total from a minimum of five “participations” counts in the rankings. One of the big names in the A Group, the Italian Mirko Zanni, also withdrew without lifting. Juniansyah, who holds all three junior world records at 73kg, missed an attempt to better his own junior world record in the snatch on 158kg. He led by 5kg going into the clean and jerk but could not make a lift and finished without a total. Grimsland, 21, made only one good clean and jerk on 182kg but he thought he had rescued his second attempt when he ended up facing sideways with 188kg above his head. Ryan Grimsland (USA) The referees said yes but the jury said no because he did not have the bar under control. “It was there, I had it,” Grimsland said ruefully. He matched his career best total on 145-182-327 and will move up four places in the rankings to 14th. Ozbek also failed with two clean and jerks, finishing 144-180-324, which was 7kg lower than his best qualifying total. Fralou made 141-181-322 to edge Grimsland’s team-mate Caden Cahoy off the podium, and the snatch silver medallist Jair Reyes from Ecuador was fifth. By Brian Oliver, Inside the

Arley Calderon (CUB): “The Games were never so close for me…”

Just outside the best 10 in the Olympic ranking before competing in the IWF Grand Prix in Havana, Arley Calderon was the home hero on the third day of the event after getting two bronze medals in the men’s 61kg. At the IWF World Championships, last December in Bogota (COL), the Cuban ace lifted 280kg and was in the “unpleasant” 11th position of the ranking determining the competitors getting their “ticket” for next year’s Olympic celebration in the French capital. At the Pabexpo, and in front of some very enthusiastic fans, Calderon made a personal best of 286kg to finally enter that restricted 10-athlete group. With a 125kg snatch and a 161kg clean & jerk, the 24-year-old climbed twice to the lower march of the podium, precisely in the two-movement variant and in total. This result – a personal best – gives him a provisional ninth place in the Olympic ranking, after three other results above 181kg, which was the 10th-place cut arriving at the Cuban rendezvous.  Arley Calderon (CUB) Arley has now participated in three qualifying events for the Games – after the Worlds in Colombia and before competing at home, he was also present at the Pan-American Championships, last March in Bariloche (ARG), where he got the lowest total so far in this Olympic path, 275 kg (silver in his category). In 2022, in the continental showcase, he was also second in the 61kg, with the same 275kg total. Visibly thrilled after his last attempt in Havana, Calderon hardly finds the words to thank the support he received throughout the competition. “It was quite thrilling to lift here, in my country, and get this personal best. The support of the entire Cuban team and all those who were here in the venue gave me the additional strength I needed to perform well. In the end, it paid off and I am obviously very happy,” confesses the Cuban star. Asked if he immediately understood the importance of his results in terms of entry in an Olympic qualification “zone”, Calderon admits: “During the competition, I didn’t care about that. I was so concentrated that I couldn’t think of something else. I was focused on my technique and on making sure that my lifts were solid. When it was all over, I then understood where this total had put in the ranking…” Things are, however, not over. “If I continue working hard, I believe I can still improve. There is no reason to doubt that. I sometimes competed in the 67kg category and lifted a bit more in that ‘unofficial’ category for me, so I know my body can stand some kilos more… I hope the Cuban people continue supporting me and in return, I promise that I will do the best I can to improve,” Calderon states. “Paris 2024? Of course, I believe in that possibility! With a lot of dedication, work, and faith I can compete in my first Olympics. The Games were never so close for me…” he jokes. Arrived in the world of weightlifting at the age of 13, Calderon immediately got stuck with this “hard sport”. Motivated by his family members, clearly fans of an activity “requiring strength and resistance”, he was quickly spotted by the coaches of the national team. Based in Havana with his teammates (since 2017 – he is originally from Pinar del Rio, the westernmost province), the Cuban star has a very demanding training programme, including double sessions three times a week, and one rest day, on Sundays. Also in the capital, he had time to complete his university studies, in Physical Education. “I want to continue connected with the sport after the end of my career. And, if possible, in the weightlifting world, perhaps as a coach or as a referee”. Reflecting on the challenging economic conditions affecting the Caribbean island, Calderon takes those difficulties with philosophy. “We lack many things and many resources. But we always find the means to overcome those obstacles. We are a country of resilient people, and the athletes are no exception to that. The Cuban competitors have brought excellent results to the nation, and everyone is very proud of those achievements,” he considers. If selected to compete in Paris, the goal is to fight for a medal, but on a more realistic prediction “to finish among the best eight” of his category. His next opportunity to reinforce, and if possible, improve his position in the Olympic ranking will be the IWF World Championships next September in Riyadh (KSA). By Pedro Adrega, IWF

Havana, Day 3: Gold for Indonesia, a good day for USA – and another medal for late starter Gallant

Ricko Saputra from Indonesia won gold, while Hampton Morris from the United States and Arley Calderon from host nation Cuba moved up the Olympic ranking lists on day three of the IWF Grand Prix here in Havana. On a good day for USA, Jourdan Delacruz won despite declining four of her lifts in the women’s 55kg, where Canada’s late starter Josee Gallant made the podium for a second time this year. In the men’s 61kg Saputra failed with two of his clean and jerks – as did seven others – and could not improve on his best qualifying total of 298kg. He remains behind his illustrious team-mate Eko Yuli Irawan, who is aiming for his fifth Olympic Games after winning medals in Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo. Ricko Saputra (INA) Irawan did not lift today because he has moved up to 67kg here for only the second time in a career that began more than 17 years ago. Morris gave out a big yell after his final attempts in snatch and clean and jerk, having made career-bests at this weight across the board on 124-166-290. His coach and father Tripp also made plenty of noise from beside the platform. “That was because we’re now in a really good spot to make it into the Olympic Games,” said Morris, the only lifter to make two clean and jerks. “We were hoping for a total of 290 and got it.” Hampton Morris (USA) Saputra was 10kg clear of seventh-placed Morris in the snatch and finished 5kg ahead of him on total, making 134-161-295. That was 3kg down on his Asian Championships effort and 5kg short of Irawan’s best total to date. Calderon had plenty of support and made 125-161-286, which will put him ninth in the simplified rankings, two places behind Morris. Henadz Laptseu from Belarus, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN), had the rarity of a successful challenge on the way to snatch silver, one place ahead of Muhamad Aznil from Malaysia. They both lost ground in clean and jerk, finishing fifth and fourth respectively on 130-150-280 and 129-156-285. In a bizarre women’s session there were three no-shows from the nine entries in the start book, from North Korea, El Salvador and Haiti, a withdrawal after weighing in by Atenery Hernandez from Spain, and 10 declined attempts by the remaining five athletes. The plan for Delacruz – the only non-Asian ever to post a 200kg total at her usual weight of 49kg – was simply to make career-high openers and she executed it to perfection. Jourdan Delacruz (USA) When Shoely Contreras from Peru failed with her final clean and jerk, Delacruz was the winner from only two attempts on 85-110-195. The consistent Contreras made 87-104-191 for second place and Canada’s late starter Gallant was third on 86-103-189. It was a second podium place in only four international competitions for Gallant after a silver behind Contreras at the Pan American Championships in Argentina this year. There was disappointment for Giulia Imperio from Italy, who failed to make a total after moving up from 49kg and has now made only seven good lifts in three qualifying appearances. Imperio made her first international appearance aged 15, whereas Gallant was twice that age when she made her debut less than a year ago at the 2022 Pan American Championships. Josee Gallant (CAN) “Looking back, I would 100 per cent love to have started out at that age,” said Gallant, who was 31 last week. “I came to this sport via CrossFit and I love it. “I am a perfectionist and weightlifting is perfect for me because it always gives you the chance to perfect your movement a little more, you always want to work at bettering yourself either physically or mentally. This really is a beautiful sport.” It was a challenge today after Gallant failed with her first two clean and jerk attempts before making it at the last chance. “It takes such a mental capacity to come back from that,” she said. “It is hard, it is stressful.” Gallant works full time in communications for her home town of Truro in Nova Scotia, and still puts in the eight training sessions assigned to her remotely every week by her coach Kevin Zimmerman, who lives 4,700km away in Edmonton. When she won the national title at Kelowna, British Columbia last year, Gallant had to travel more than 5,300km, which is 2,000km further than the distance to Cuba. “That was about seven hours of flying. If I go to see Kevin in person to work on technique it’s a six-hour flight,” she said. Gallant won her first national title in May 2017 and would have gone from there into international competition but for personal circumstances. “My mother had cancer and she fell into a coma on the day I won in 2017,” said Gallant. “After she passed away I felt I was doing it for her, it was an homage, and I sort of lost my own passion for it. “It was a long journey. It took me five years to process things and to get back to doing it for myself – that’s why I started so late. “And now here we are, I am doing what my mother would have wanted me to do.” Gallant’s next stop will be the IWF World Championships in Saudi Arabia, after which she will take her time in losing weight to drop down to 49kg and try to qualify for Paris 2024. Most of the people in Truro “have never heard of weightlifting” said Gallant, who is happy to explain its delights to them. But she does have an international team-mate nearby in the super-heavyweight Quinn Everett, who lifts in Cuba next weekend. “He only lives about an hour’s drive away so every now and then we meet up to train together in his garage,” said Gallant. By Brian Oliver, Inside the

Fighting for a position in the Olympic ranking: “I will not surrender!”

In the qualification path for the 2024 Olympic Games, one of the main challenges for the athletes taking part in the events that constitute that “road” is their place in the Olympic Ranking. As a reminder, for each of the 10 bodyweight categories included in the Games’ programme, only the best 10 athletes can guarantee their “ticket” to the Olympic celebration. Moreover, only one lifter per country can be classified in each category. This means essentially two things: besides fighting against all the competitors around the world, each athlete may have a national teammate to beat. Finally, as the places are nominal, only the lifter actually achieving the performance is selected for the Games. On the second day of the IWF Grand Prix in Havana (CUB), the final of the women’s 49kg was quite interesting. Before the Cuban rendezvous, the cut was 184kg, corresponding to the 10th place of the provisional ranking in that category. In the Pabexpo arena, three athletes made better than that, precisely the three medallists, Beatriz Piron Candelario and Dahiana Ortiz, both from the Dominican Republic and respectively gold and bronze medallist. Piron lifted an accumulated total of 191kg, Ortiz did 188kg, while the second best of the day, US Hayley Reichardt concluded with 190kg. If for the Dominicans this is of course an excellent outcome, only Piron has for the moment (and provisionally) the French capital as a possible destination for the summer of 2024. She is exactly the eighth on the list. As for Reichardt, who entered with 194kg, she needed to make 199kg to do better than her teammate Jourdan Delacruz, comfortably in the fourth position of the ranking, after her 198kg effort from the 2023 Pan-American Championships. Andrea de la Herran (MEX) got a bronze medal Interesting was also to know how Andrea de la Herran, from Mexico, could perform. Entered with a total of 190kg, the 26-year-old is in direct competition with her teammate Yesica Hernandez, who lifted 184kg at the 2022 IWF showcase in Bogota (COL) and “closes” the ranking in the 10th position. De la Herran had the opportunity to do better, but she failed her 102kg clean and jerk, only validating an 83kg-snatch (bronze medal) and a 98kg-C&J, for a total of 181kg. The Olympic qualification is still on hold for the Mexican star, who was Pan-American champion in 2018 but never took part in the Games. “I have to continue working on my body weight. Technically, I feel that I am OK, but I lost some weight and this affects my performances. I have already lifted 185kg, in 2022, so I will continue competing in the year that is missing for the Games to get at least that result. It is my personal best, and I am confident that I can achieve it again,” confessed De la Herran, whose best result in the Olympic Ranking was 176kg before this Grand Prix. “I will not surrender, and I will remain highly motivated to proceed with the Olympic dream. For one reason that only God knows, I couldn’t make it here, but it will come on another occasion. I was never at the Games, it’s really my most cherished dream!” Strongly supported by her coach and family, the Mexican lifter knows that her most direct competitor is as determined as her to validate the presence in the Olympics. “Yesica is certainly thinking and wishing the same. She has a slight advantage for the moment, but by training hard every day, I’ll manage to improve,” she says, smiling. “I have a great supporting team around me and I owe them this – the Olympic qualification. I respect Yesica a lot, we are two very strong competitors, but now each one has to fight for the best possible place”. De la Herran started practicing weightlifting at the age of 12, mainly because of the family's influence. “My parents, especially my father, were very athletic persons, who loved sports. At 15, results started to appear and I initiated international competition, with some success. From that moment on, I knew that I could do nice things in this sport. So, from an initial hobby, this became a very professional activity. I was surprised at the beginning, but then everything came into place quite naturally,” De la Herran continues. Representing the Mexican state of Guanajuato, she is ready to compete in the Central American and Caribbean Games (not an Olympic qualification event), starting some days after the conclusion of the IWF Grand Prix, and “of course the World Championships” in Riyadh (KSA), in September. Looking at the Olympic Rankings, only two women categories seem open to Mexican lifters – precisely the 49g, but also the 59kg, where Daphne Guillen is presently eighth. Among men, no lifters are so far in the best 10 going to the Games. Mexico has won four weightlifting medals (one gold, three bronze) at the Olympics since 2000, all in the women’s field. By Pedro Adrega, IWF

Havana, Day 2: Mother-of-three Piron wins B Group gold to boost chances of fourth Olympic Games

Beatriz Piron let out a scream of joy from the spectators’ seats when she won gold on day two of the IWF Grand Prix in Havana. The mother of three from the Dominican Republic had lifted in the B Group the day before – by chance rather than by strategy – and when the American Hayley Reichardt failed with her final two attempts Piron was left in first place in the women’s 49kg. Reichardt finished second and Piron’s team-mate Dahiana Ortiz, who was sitting alongside her because she had also lifted in the B Group, was third. “It was very exciting because we didn’t know if we would win medals,” said Piron. Beatriz Piron (DOM) Her 86-105-191 takes Piron up to 8th place in the Paris 2024 rankings and on course for a fourth Olympic Games appearance. “Nobody from my country has ever been to four Olympic Games and I can be the first, the record-breaker,” said Piron, 28, who placed ninth, fourth and eighth at London 2012, where she had just turned 17, Rio 2016 and the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games. “I am confident I can do it, I feel physically and mentally well prepared to qualify.” Qualifying for Paris would be a remarkable achievement for Piron, who has three young sons and who is already thinking about her next competition, the Central American and Caribbean Games starting in two weeks. That will be a priority because Dominican Republic is the host nation. Beatriz Piron (DOM) It was not a strategy to lift in the B Group here, Piron explained. It happened because another coach, who did not travel with the team to Cuba, had made the entry totals based on a recent performance rather than her training numbers. “It all worked out well,” she said. Piron is from a weightlifting family. She has a sister and a brother who lift internationally, and her inspiration when she took up the sport aged 12 was her aunt, the Pan American Games medallist Guillermina Candelario. She was also grateful for the support of her mother and her coaches Hector Dominguez, Javier Dominguez and Moreno Martinez. Reichardt made only two good lifts in her 83-107-190, which was 7kg down on her best qualifying total, and Ortiz made 83-105-188. Dahiana Ortiz (DOM) Piron and Ortiz took snatch gold and silver ahead of Andrea De La Herran from Mexico, who was sixth on total. Reichardt, 24, won clean and jerk gold on 107kg ahead of Ortiz and Piron. In the women’s 45kg Rosielis Quintana from Venezuela made 68-91-159 to finish well ahead of her only rival, the Cuban teenager Thaila Castillo, who made 60-75-135. PRK, whose 49kg lifter Ri Song Gum had posted an entry total of 201kg in the final entries last month, has made contact with the IWF by email and confirmed, without any explanation, that it will not compete in Cuba. As a result of its withdrawal PRK, which had entered 14 athletes for the IWF Grand Prix, cannot qualify for Paris 2024 as they will be unable to compete in enough qualifying competitions. By Brian Oliver, Inside the