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29 refugee athletes to send a message of solidarity and hope to the world at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Twenty-nine athletes competing across 12 sports and from 13 host National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will be part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) Tokyo 2020. The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today approved the composition of the team. The athletes were selected from among the refugee athletes currently supported by the IOC through the Olympic Scholarships for Refugee Athletes programme. They will send a powerful message of solidarity and hope to the world this summer, bringing further awareness to the plight of over 80 million displaced people worldwide. The 29 athletes met for the first time today in a virtual ceremony during which IOC President Thomas Bach officially announced their participation in the Games in Tokyo this summer. The list of athletes can be found here. Addressing the athletes, the IOC President said: “Congratulations to all of you. I speak on behalf of the entire Olympic Movement when I say that we cannot wait to meet you in person and to see you compete in Tokyo. When you, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and the athletes from the National Olympic Committees from all over the globe, finally come together in Tokyo on 23 July, it will send a powerful message of solidarity, resilience and hope to the world. You are an integral part of our Olympic community, and we welcome you with open arms.” UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi congratulated the athletes, saying: “I am thrilled to congratulate each of the athletes who have been named in the Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020. They are an exceptional group of people who inspire the world. UNHCR is incredibly proud to support them as they compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Surviving war, persecution and the anxiety of exile already makes them extraordinary people, but the fact that they now also excel as athletes on the world stage fills me with immense pride. It shows what is possible when refugees are given the opportunity to make the most of their potential” The team will compete under the Olympic flag. At the Opening Ceremony on 23 July, the athletes will enter the stadium in second position immediately after Greece, sending a strong message of inclusion, and showing the world the strength of the human spirit. Spotlight on the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 The selection of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 was based on a number of criteria including, first and foremost, each athlete’s sporting performance and their refugee status as confirmed by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Personal background, as well as a balanced representativity in terms of sport, gender and regions, were also considered. Like all teams at the Olympic Games, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will have its own entourage to meet all the required technical needs of the athletes. Olympian and former marathon world record-holder Tegla Loroupe will be the team’s Chef de Mission, reprising her role from the Olympic Games Rio 2016, while Stephen Pattison from UNHCR and Olivier Niamkey from the IOC will act as the Deputy Chefs de Mission. They will lead a delegation of 20 coaches and team officials, while Olympic Solidarity will cover travel and all other participation expenses for the team. The full EOR* delegation will meet for the first time as a team at the Aspire Academy in Doha (Qatar) on 12 and 13 July for their Welcome Experience, before flying to Japan on 14 July. During the Games, the team will be hosted by Waseda University, which will provide accommodation and training facilities, before the athletes move to the Olympic Village for their respective competitions. Both of these training camps have been made possible due to the support of the NOCs of Qatar and Japan. (...) Source:

Last day of the IWF Junior World Championships

After over a week full of emotions and good lifts, the junior weightlifters bid farewell to Tashkent with their hands full of medals and good feelings. On the last day of competitions, it was the turn for the Women +87 KG and Men +109 KG categories. Women +87 KG group A At noon it was the turn for the women. The competition started at 13:00 Tashkent time and the medals were fought for by 5 weightlifters. One of the five, Aisamal Sansyzbayeva (KAZ) was ahead of the pack and made her mark from the start when in the first Snatch she was the only one to lift a three-digit number. Thanks to this and her steady but confident progress between 105, 109, and 113 KG attempts, she won Gold in this category. The Silver in Snatch went to Viktoriia Orlova of Russia with the third lift of 105 KG and the Bronze finally went to Canada's Emma Friesen with 100 KG. In the C&J, the first two places on the podium were repeated by the Snatch medalists. The Gold was again won by Aisamal Sansyzbayeva of Kazakhstan with a lift of 145 KG and the Silver was won by Russia's Viktoriia Orlova with 130 KG. However, the Bronze medal went to Turkey's Nuran Yalcin who won the third medal with a third Clean & Jerk attempt of 121 KG. In the Total, there were big differences in numbers: Aisamal Sansyzbayeva (KAZ) took the Gold with a total of 258 KG, Viktoriia Orlova (RUS) the Silver with lifts totaling 235 KG, and Emma Friesen (CAN) won the third medal, the Bronze, with a total of 215 KG. Men +109 KG group A Two hours later it was the turn of the men's +109 KG lifters. In this category, 10 weightlifters were fighting for the medals. Enzo Kofi Kuworge (NED) secured the Gold with his first attempt, and he took his chances with a successful second attempt of 178 KG and an even higher third attempt of 180 KG. Iran's Alireza Zandi made three successful lifts and with his last Snatch of 173 KG he claimed the Silver medal, and finally, on the podium, another Iranian Feremi Reza Hassanpour, who was very evenly matched with his teammate, won the Bronze lifting one kilogram less (172 KG). In the Clean & Jerk, Enzo Kofi Kuworge from the Netherlands again won Gold with a best Clean & Jerk of 231 KG. The Silver and Bronze went again to the two Iranians, who on the second attempt lifted the same weight, 221 KG. Finally, the Silver went to the only one of them who managed a good lift on the third attempt, this was Feremi Reza Hassanpour who took the medal with 226 KG. Therefore, the Bronze went to his compatriot Alireza Zandi. On the total podium, the Gold medal went to Enzo Kofi Kuworge (NED) with 411 KG, the Silver medal to Feremi Reza Hassanpour (IRI) with 398 KG, and the Bronze was won by Alireza Zandi (IRI) with 394 KG. With the 3 medals won by Enzo Kofi Kuworge, the Netherlands won their first gold medals at an international weightlifting

Day 8 of the 2021 IWF Junior World Championships

The eighth day of the competition in Tashkent continued with a very positive atmosphere. The competition, organized with the support of local sponsors such as Samo, Uztelecom, Artel, Omaf, and Diagnokim allowed the event to be at the level of the best events organized by IWF. On this day, there were 3 weight categories, all of them with just a Group A to compete and these were the following: MEN 102 KG, WOMEN 87 KG, and MEN 109 KG. MEN 102 KG Group A In Snatch, Rakhat Bekbolat (KAZ) set an entry of 166 KG. He increased his number to 171 KG on the 2nd attempt and 175 KG on the 3rd attempt. With his third lift, he won the Gold medal. The Silver medal went to the Bulgarian Vasil Kaloyanov Marinov. He increased to 165 KG on the first attempt and to 170 KG on the second. Then he tried in the 3rd lift to Snatch 175 KG but failed. The Bronze medal was disputed between Siarhei Sharankou (BLR) and Zaza Lomtadze (GEO). In the 3 attempts, the Belarusian athlete lifted one KG more than the Georgian and could hold the Bronze medal in Snatch. In C&J, Rakhat Bekbolat (KAZ) also won the Gold medal. Only one attempt was enough for him to get the most desired medal. He missed the first attempt of 202 KG but with the second lift, he was able to achieve the set mark. Then he tried 209 KG but it was a No Lift. The Silver medal went to Vasil Kaloyanov Marinov (BUL) who got 200 KG on his first attempt and then he could lift 208 KG neither on the second nor on the third attempt. Finally, the Bronze medal was won by Zaza Lomtadze (GEO) with the successful first lift of 194 KG. The podium of the total result repeated the names of the C&J. Gold went to Rakhat Bekbolat (KAZ) with 377 KG, the Silver to Vasil Kaloyanov Marinov (BUL) with 370 KG, and finally the Bronze to Zaza Lomtadze (GEO) with 351 KG. WOMEN 87 KG Group A In Snatch, the only weightlifter to reach three figures lifts in her three attempts was the local athlete Tursunoy Jabborova, who scored 111 KG on her last attempt. She won the Gold by a difference of 18 KG. American athlete Avery Elizabeth Owens won the Silver medal with 93 KG on her third attempt. The Bronze medal went to Yekta Jamali (IRI) who lifted 92 KG on her 3rd attempt. In C&J, the same athletes won the medals. Tursunoy Jabborova from Uzbekistan took the lead and lifted 122, 129, and 133 KG progressively. The Silver medal went to Avery Elizabeth Owens (USA) with 110, 115, and 118 KG, and the Bronze medal went to Yekta Jamali (IRI) with 105, 111, and 116 KG. Overall, Tursunoy Jabborova (UZB) took the Gold medal with a total of 244 KG. Avery Elizabeth Owens (USA) got a Total of 211 KG and won the Silver. Finally, Yekta Jamali (IRI) won the Bronze with 208 KG. MEN 109 KG Group A In Snatch, the Gold went to Bohdan Hoza (UKR). He lifted 189 KG on the third attempt and set a new Junior World Record in Snatch. He started with 181 KG, then missed with 187 KG, and finally made it with 189 kg. Hristo Dimitrov Hristov (BUL) was effective on the 1st attempt (180 KG), missed with 186 KG on the 2nd lift, and took the Silver medal in Snatch with 187 KG on the 3rd attempt The Bronze went to Daniil Vagaitsev (RUS) with 175 KG which he achieved in his second Snatch after entering with 170 and missing the last one with 180 kg. The C&J competition between different lifters got close. Hristo Dimitrov Hristov (BUL) with a lift of 216 KG, on his second attempt, won the Gold medal. Bohdan Hoza (UKR) took the Silver medal after lifting 213 KG and Daniil Vagaitsev (RUS) performed 3 successful lifts achieving the Bronze medal with 212 KG. The final Total medals of the eighth day of competition were distributed as follows: Gold with a total of 403 KG went to Hristo Dimitrov Hristov (BUL), Silver to Bohdan Hoza (UKR) with lifts totaling 402 KG and the Bronze went to Daniil Vagaitsev (RUS) with a total of 387

Day 7 of the 2021 IWF Junior World Championships

On Day 7 it was the turn for the Women 81 KG and Men 96 KG categories at the 2021 IWF Junior World Championships. While the Men 96 KG category had two groups: A and B, the women's category only had the A group. The day therefore started at 13.30 with the only B group and the A groups had to wait until the evening. Women 81 KG Group A In Snatch, the Gold was won by Dilara Ucan of Turkey with three successful lifts, the third being 99 KG. The Silver medal went to Liana Gyurjyan from Armenia, with a 98 KG lift on her last attempt. Finally, the Bronze medal went to Kelin Juliana Jimenez Quinonez from Ecuador who achieved a 94 KG lift and completed the podium. In Clean & Jerk, the medals were decided by only a small margin, 3 KGs between the medalists.  The Gold went straight to Liana Gyurjyan (ARM) with a successful third attempt of 125 KG. The Silver medal went to Kelin Julianan Jimenez Quinonez (ECU) with 124 KG and the Bronze to Turkey's Dilara Ucan with 123 KG on her third attempt. In Total, Liana Gyurjyan (ARM) took the Gold medal on the Women 81 KG podium with a Total of 223 KG. Dilara Ucan (TUR) got a Total of 222 KG and thus took the Silver. Finally, Kelin Juliana Jimenez Quinonez (ECU) won Bronze with 218 KG. Men 96 KG Group A In Snatch the Gold went to Artur Babayan (RUS). He lifted 163 KG on the second attempt. He started with 160 KG, then 163 KG and finally tried 166 kg but failed.  Garik Karapetyan (ARM) was effective in all 3 lifts and got the second place in Snatch with 162 KG on the last attempt and therefore, the Silver medal. The Bronze went to Hossein Biranvand (IRI) with 157 KG. The C&J was a very hard-fought competition with quite equal numbers between the different lifters. In the third attempts of Group A, only the Ukrainian Illia Moskalenko was able to do a good lift. He lifted 194 KG and he won the Gold medal. It should be noted that the Lithuanian Armands Mezinskis lifted 194 KG in the second attempt but he did not compete for the medal as being a senior already. With a lift of 193 KG Garik Karapetyan (ARM) won the Silver medal. Russia's Artur Babayan tried to reach 197 KG on his third attempt but failed. However his second attempt (191 KG) was enough for him to win the Bronze medal. The final Total medals of Day 7 of the competition were distributed as follows: Gold with a total of 355 KG went to Garik Karapetyan (ARM), Silver to Artur Babayan (RUS) with lifts totaling 354 KG and Bronze was won by Illia Moskalenko (UKR) with a Total of 349

Day 6 of the 2021 IWF Junior World Championships

On day 6 it was the turn for the Women 76 KG and Men 89 KG. While the Men 89 KG category had two groups: A and B, the women's category only had one group this time. The day, therefore, started at 13.30 with only B group and the A groups had to wait until the evening. Women 76 KG Group A The category started at 16:00, Uzbekistan time. The Gold medal was won by Iana Sotieva from Russia, who lifted 108 KG in Snatch. The Silver was won by Arveta Anna Mcelderry from the USA with three successful lifts, the third one being 99 KG, and finally, the Bronze went to Ecuador's Bella Nancy Paredes Arreaga with a lift of 98 KG. In Clean&Jerk, the Gold remained with Russia's Iana Sotieva, who declined her third attempt, winning Gold with her second C&J of 125 KG. Silver went to Bella Nancy Paredes Arreaga from Ecuador with a successful third attempt of 119 KG after Bronze medalist Ryna Litoshyk from Belarus attempted to lift 120 KG on her third attempt without success, still taking the Bronze medal on the podium with her second C&J of 117 KG. In Total, Iana Sotieva (RUS) won the Gold of the Women 76 KG A podium with a Total of 233 KG, Bella Nancy Paredes Arreaga (ECU) got a Total of 217 KG and therefore took the Silver and finally, Ryna Litoshyk (BLR) won the Bronze with 215 KG. Men 89 KG Group A The day concluded with the Men 89 KG category. Oleh Nikolaienko of Ukraine took first place and therefore the Gold with a Snatch of 158 KG. Silver went to Tudor Bratu of Moldova with a lift of 155 KG and Bronze went to Raphael Friedrich from Germany with 154 KG, just one kilo short of Silver. The C&J competition was a close one with very even starting weights between the different lifters. In the third attempt, many athletes tried but unfortunately ended up with "no lifts". Gold went to Moldova's Tudor Bratu with a lift of 191 KG after three successful lifts, Neiser Javier Grefa Vargas from Ecuador - Group B- lifted 190 KG and won Silver, and Maksim Moguchev from Russia won the Bronze with a lift of 188 KG. The final Total medals of day 6 of the competition: The Gold with a Total of 346 KG went to Tudor Bratu (MDA), the Silver to Maksim Moguchev with lifts totaling 341 KG, and finally the Bronze was won by Oleh Nikolaienko (UKR) with a total of 339

Day 5 of the IWF Junior World Championships in Tashkent

The fifth day in Tashkent hosted the Women 71 KG and Men 81 KG categories, divided into Group A and Group B. The Weightlifting Platform bore the weight of the promising juniors who arrived at the Yunusabad Sport Complex in the morning to start with the first B groups at 11.00 AM and 13.30 PM Uzbekistan time. The Group As were left for the afternoon and the weightlifters competed hard for the medals. Women 71 KG Group A In Snatch the competition was fiercely contested between the three women on the podium, with Kumushkhon Fayzullaeva of Uzbekistan winning the Gold medal with a lift of 103 KG on her third attempt, standing out for her ease of lifting. The Silver medal went to USA's Olivia Lynn Reeves who lifted a Snatch of 102 KG, one kilo short of the Gold, and the Bronze medal went to Evgeniia Guseva with the same lift, 102 KG, which she lifted shortly after the American. In C&J, Olivia Lynn Reeves (USA) dominated, who secured the Gold with her second lift of 127 KG, went on to attempt 130 KG, unsuccessfully, on her third attempt. Silver went to Uzbekistan's Kumushkhon Fayzullaeva with a single successful lift of 122 KG and Bronze went again to Evgeniia Guseva of Russia with a Clean & Jerk of 120 KG. In Totals: Olivia Lynn Reeves (USA) dominated with a total of 229 KG and took Gold, Kumushkhon Fayzullaeva (UZB) won Silver with 225 KG and the Bronze went to Evgeniia Guseva (RUS) with a total of 222 KG. Men 81 KG Group A The men's 81 KG category reached high figures. It started, as always, with the Snatch and on this occasion, the Uzbek weightlifter Mukhammadkodir Toshtemirov excelled. He managed to lift 161 KG on his second attempt, which gave him the Gold, and tried to lift 169 KG on the third without success unfortunately. Karen Margaryan of Armenia lifted 152 KG and won the Silver medal while Turkish junior Ismet Samed Coskun won the Bronze with a Snatch of 151 KG. The Clean & Jerk session in 81 KG was marked by quite a few "no lifts". Still, the results were amazing. Mukhammadkodir Toshtemirov from Uzbekistan managed to lift 182 KG on his first and only good attempt and thus took the Gold medal. The Silver medal went to Maksym Moskvin from Ukraine who lifted 177 KG in his third C&J and the Bronze medal went to another Uzbek, Khojiakbar Olimov who managed to reach 176 KG in his Clean & Jerk. In Total, two medals went to two local weightlifters: Gold to Mukhammadkodir Toshtemirov with a total of 343 KG and Bronze to Khojiakbar Olimov, who scored a total of 326 KG. The Silver went to Armenia with 327 KG, which was lifted by Karen