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IWF Executive Board Meets, Decides Good Governance Provisions

The IWF Executive Board met online and in person in Jeddah, Saud-Arabia and discussed good governance measures, making several key decisions aimed at implementing the recently-adopted Constitution at the heart of the IWF’s reforms. The decisions focused on provisions for the various upcoming elections and ensuring they are conducted according to high levels of integrity. “The IWF has already turned a corner. We already know that the composition of the Executive Board after the coming elections will be more representative of athletes, have improved gender equity and that all candidates will have had to go through eligibility checks that include strict provisions around clean sport,” said IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani. “We already know this because of the Constitution adopted in August. Today’s decisions around the implementation of that Constitution are a further demonstration of just how far the IWF has come in terms of reform.” Terms of Reference were approved for the IWF’s new Legal Commission and Electoral Commission. There was also discussion about ensuring the IWF serves as the best possible example for Member Federations, with support being provided through translation of the IWF Constitution to several languages such as Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic and with possible continental seminars of the newly adopted rules. The election rules for the IWF Athletes Commission were also approved, with participants at the 2021 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent to serve as the electorate. Three athlete representatives will then go on to become members of the IWF Executive Board and also have a vote at the IWF Congress. The IWF Athletes Commission election rules will now be subject to approval by the Electoral Commission. After the approval of the Electoral Commission all details of the process will be provided to Member Federations. Taken together, these developments will make the IWF a leader in athlete inclusion in decision making. The IWF Executive Board also discussed progress towards the 2021 IWF World Weightlifting Championships, which continues to be on track. “We are determined to follow up on the clean weightlifting competitions of Tokyo 2020 with clean World Championships. After turning a corner, it is vital that weightlifting stays on the right track. And I am confident that the measures we are putting in place will ensure just that,” continued Interim President

Day 1 – 2021 IWF Youth World Championships

Jeddah has welcomed the first categories of the 2021 IWF Youth World Championships with great results. The first day in Jeddah started with the competition in the Men 49 kg and Women 40 kg categories. This Championships is not only special because of its location, the Ritz-Carlton, a hotel that used to be a palace, but because it is the first ever world event for most of the athletes. Men 49 kg Group A             In the opening of the group, in Snatch, the Gold medal went to Oleg Prokopev (RUS) with a lift of 83 kg. The Russian's initial lift was too much for the rest (79 - 81 - 83). No one managed to lift more than his starting weight, and so, by clinching the first lift, he also secured the Gold. Alexandr Dzobak (CZE) progressively (73 - 77 - 79) reached 79 kg as did the Colombian Yepez Penate, but the Czech got the Silver medal for lifting the 79kg first before the South American. Kevin David Yepez Penate (COL) reached 79 kg to take the Bronze medal in the 3rd attempt. He increased 4kg from the first to the third attempt after failing the second attempt of 78 kg. (75 - 78X - 79). In Clean&Jerk, Dzobak started with 97 kg, 1 kg less than his competitors (98 kg). However, the 3rd lift of 106 kg ensured that the young athlete won the Gold medal. The three lifts were (97 - 103 - 106). The Russian Prokopev lifted 105 kg on his third attempt and thus won the Silver medal after progressively increasing his initial weight (98 - 102 - 105). Yepez Penate (COL) tried to snatch the first place from the Czech after going for 107 kg in his last attempt but did not achieve the good lift.  The 104 kg on his second lift ensured that he won the Bronze in C&J. His numbers were (98 - 104 - 107X). In the Total of Group A Oleg Prokopev (RUS) finished with 188 kg, Alexandr Dzobak (CZE) with 185 kg and Kevin David Yepez Penate (COL) with 183 kg. Women 40 kg Group A   Finishing the evening in Jeddah, it was the turn of the women. Ezgi Kilic (TUR) started with a lift of 52 kg.  She made a clear difference from the rest as from the start she was 2 kg above her competitors. 55 kg on her 3rd attempt (52 - 54 - 55) gave her the Gold. The second place went to Lawren Sofia Estrada Velez (COL). She took the Silver with the 53 kg reached on her the second attempt. In the third lift she could not manage the 55 kg (50 - 53 - 55X).  Jeaneth Hipolito (PHI) joined the podium with the lift of 52 kg. (48 - 51X - 52). In Clean&Jerk, the dominance of Ezgi Kilic (TUR) continued. She won the Gold medal with 70 kg, after 3 successful lifts (65-67-70). She lifted 3 kg more than Darly Marely Canto Colli (MEX) who won the Silver medal in C&J with 67 kg. Her three lifts were (62 - 66X - 67). The Bronze medal went to the other Mexican in the competition, to Alexandra Yamileth Lopez Ledesma with a lift of 66 kg. She could have won the Silver but failed to make the last lift of 68 kg. (63 - 66 - 68X) In the Total the podium was as follows: Gold - Ezgi Kilic (TUR) 125 kg, Silver - Lawren Sofia Estrada Velez (COL) 118 kg and Bronze - Darly Marely Canto Colli (MEX) 118 kg. Tomorrow the competition will continue with Men 55kg, Women 45kg and the day will conclude with the Men 61kg

European Junior And U23 Championships Concluded Yesterday

The European Junior and U23 Championships which was held between 24th September and 3rd October concluded yesterday in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, Finland. This competition was planned for 2020 but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The event was organized following the European Covid Protocols to ensure a safe competition for all. Finland has showed that there are great opportunities in sports, especially in these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Milan Mihajlovic, General Secretary of European Weightlifting Federation, said "The pandemic has influenced everyone, including our sport. Not only were all major events planned for 2020 postponed, but we also had to adapt to the given situation". Some of the highlights of this event were the fact that the competition was opened by Santa Claus himself. Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, but it is also the hometown of Santa Claus, so the athletes and Technical Officials had the chance to meet him. Apart from this event was also honoured by a visit from representatives of the local municipality and government, as well as the two-time Olympic Champion Lasha Talakhadze. "High profile visitors such as these are important for the promotion of our sport, as well as the morale of the young athletes who are the future of our sport. Praise and support from the community is crucial when we talk about motivating athletes" stated Mr. Mihajlovic. This year has seen the comeback of European Championships in all age groups after a years’ break due to the pandemic, so there are many things to look forward to. Next year, the Senior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria and the Junior Championships in Tirana, Albania will also be organized by the European Weightlifting Federation, while the Under 15 and Under 17 Championships venue is yet to be confirmed and bigger plans are expected from this brand new EWF Executive

The Deputy Minister Of Sports Inaugurates The IWF Youth World Championships Tomorrow, Monday

The opening ceremony will be under the patronage of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, seeing the participation of 54 different countries. Under the patronage of the Minister of Sports and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, His Royal Highness Prince Aldulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Sports, Mr. Badr Al-Qadi, in the presence of the President of the International Weightlifting Federation, Mr. Michael Irani, will inaugurate the IWF Youth World Championships, at eight in the evening Tomorrow, Monday at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jeddah, with the participation of more than 300 male and female athletes representing 54 countries from around the world. His Royal Highness Prince Adbulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said: "Hosting this tournament for the first time in the history of the Kingdom, despite the circumstances the world is going through as a result of the Corona virus pandemic, embodies the unlimited support that the sport sector enjoys by our wise leadership, towards achieving the goals of our vision. Kingdom 2030, developing sports of all kinds and names, and contributing to the growth of the Kingdom's domestic product." His Royal Highness the Minister of Sports welcomed all participating athletes from different countries of the world in their second country, wishing them a pleasant stay, success in this tournament, and to deliver the best performance possible. During this championships, Saudi Arabia is represented by 13 male and female weightlifters, namely Muhammad Al-Marzouq, Hassan Al-Marzouq, Ali Majid, Hussein Al-Duhailib, Amjad Al-Ghanim, Jawad Al-Shakhouri, Abdullah Al-Ahmad, Laith Al-Baqer, Youssef Al-Madrahem, Jassim Al-Zouri, Rafif Mutlaq, Zikra Khurmi and Lian Al-Qurashi. It is noteworthy that the officials of IWF, and members of the participating missions, began to arrive in Jeddah since yesterday, where they settled upon their arrival, in a number of hotels designated for the tournament after conducting the necessary medical examinations amid the precautionary measures followed. Source: Saudi Arabian Olympic

Lydia Valentin Receives A New Tribute In Her Hometown

Alejandro Blanco, Lydia Valentin and Constantino Iglesias @Royal Spanish Weightlifting Federation The Olympic, World and European Champion, Lydia Valentín, has inaugurated a sculpture in her honor in the city where she was born, Camponaraya. This tribute has been promoted by the Camponaraya City Council and the event was attended by Constantino Iglesias, president of the Royal Spanish Weightlifting Federation; Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, as well as the Mayor of Camponaraya and president of the León Provincial Council, Eduardo Marín.The sculpture is made up of small metal pieces that, all of them together, form the silhouette of a weightlifter. This work has been created by the sculptor Pepe Amigo. In addition to the sculpture, a monolith was presented in which the name and record of the Spanish athlete appear. Lydia declared: "I am very happy and happy, it is something that will last for life in the place where I was born." Source: Royal Spanish Weightlifting Federation Monolith - Lydia Valentin @Royal Spanish Weightlifting

More than 200 lifters have competed in the 14th National Games in China

The Flame of the 14th National Games of China was lit during the Opening Ceremony. The Opening Ceremony in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province on 15 September marks an official start for the 14th National Games of China, which is organized in every four years. The Chinese President XI Jinping presented in the Ceremony and announced commencement of the Games, with more than 12000 athletes participating in competitive sports and more than 10000 Sports-for-All athletes, which will close on 27 September. A number of Chinese sport stars sparkled in Tokyo have run the torch relay before the Opening Ceremony and will compete in the 13-day National Games. Weightlifting, is one of the sports with the largest number of Olympic Champions competing in the Games, and altogether 9 Olympic Champions have participated, including 6 gold medalists in Tokyo and 4 Gold medalists in Rio. Weightlifting Competitions lasted for 8 days, with women competing from 16 to 19 September and men from 20 to 24 September. A total of 113 female athletes and 108 male athletes in 14 categories have competed in weightlifting competitions. During the 8-day competition, National Senior Records and National Junior Records were broken 7 times and 20 times respectively, and regarding the current World Senior Records and the current World Junior Records, they were surpassed 6 times and 25 times respectively. More than 200 lifters have competed on this stage during the 14th National Games of China Hou Zhihui, the Tokyo Champion, won with a total of 214 kg in Women’s 49kg, 1 kg ahead of her rival Jiang Huihua and the current world record, which seems to have confronted a harder competition than that in Tokyo, when there was only a total of 202 kg of the Indian Silver Medalist. Women’s 55kg was full of surprise. Su Tingting representing Sichuan Province won the title with a total of 225 kg, 1kg over the Gold Medalist of the category in Tokyo. Liao Qiuyun, the Silver Medalist in Tokyo only finished 9th, 10 kg behind Su. Yu Linglong, an 18-year-old teenager was second with a total of 223, equal to Liao’s total in Tokyo.   Su Tingting won the Women’s 55kg with a total of 225kg LUO Shifang, a 20-year-old promising youngster, claimed the title in Women’s 59 kg, with a total of 241kg surpassing the current world youth record. In women’s 76kg, the title went to the 29-year-old XIANG Yanmei, the Rio Olympic Champion, who did 118-157-275, with 1 kg over the current clean&jerk world record. It’s also worth mentioning that PENG Cuiting’s 125kg exceeds the current snatch world record, while another 19-year-old LIAO Guifang’s 119kg surpassing the current world youth record. In women’s 87kg, Tokyo Olympic Champion WANG Zhouyu who was not in her best after 21-day quarantine, won the title in a result of 118-155-273. Women’s super-heavyweight was a battle between Tokyo Olympic Champion LI Wenwen and the Rio Champion MENG Suping. Not surprisingly, the hottest LI Wenwen won with a 144-176-320, 18kg ahead of MENG Suping in total. In Men’s 61kg, despite confronting strong challenge from his rivals’ world-record-breaking performance and a disadvantage of 6kg by the end of snatch session, LI Fabin showed his reign over the clean&jerk and brought back the gold medal in total, with a result of 141-170-311. And CHEN Lijun, another Tokyo Olympic Dhampion, won the Men’s 67kg without facing much pressure, with 8kg ahead of silver and bronze medalists in total. As always, Men’s 73kg was a solo show for double Olympic Champion SHI Zhiyong. 170-195-365 was the final result he handed, 1kg ahead of his own snatch and total world record, 12kg ahead of Silver medalist WEI Yinting in total. SHI Zhiyong, double Olympic Champion in Rio and Tokyo, broke the National Record while surpassing the current World Records In Men’s 81kg, with a total of 364kg, LI Dayin, a rising star in the category had an 1kg edge win over LU Delin, a Shaan’xi local Youngster. The winner of Men’s 96kg was TIAN Tao, a current world record holder in Clean&Jerk and in total. He performed a result of 178-208-386. Source: Chinese Weightlifting