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Kenyan weightlifting Olympian trains daughter and granddaughter

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Keysha Atiki is only 10 but she can already lift her own weight as she trains with a weightlifting coach who once competed in the Olympics - her grandmother. Mercy Obiero was only the second African woman to compete in weightlifting at the Olympics, representing her native Kenya in 2012. Now retired from professional competition, the 42-year-old works as a coach, and both her daughter and granddaughter are hoping to follow in her footsteps. “I feel very happy and proud to be training my daughter and granddaughter at the same time,” Obiero told Reuters at her house in eastern Nairobi after a training session at a nearby gym that started with star jumps in front of a mirror. Her 12-year-old daughter Chanel, a slight 29 kg, can already lift up to 60 kg. She squats and lifts as Obiero encourages her. “My mum has been motivating me. She went to the Olympics and I saw her on TV. Since then, I said one day I will go to the Olympics,” Chanel said. Obiero has been weightlifting for 20 years, and says she’s overcome plenty of skepticism about women in the sport. She was a hockey player and athlete before her brother introduced her to weightlifting in 1999. “I got a lot of discrimination especially in the gym - the men feel like you should not be doing this. But with time, you get over it,” she said, her medals glinting in the light. Obiero said COVID-19, which forced Kenya to shut its schools in March, had brought the family closer and given the children more time to train. She watches proudly as her granddaughter Keysha - a slight 32 kg - prepares to lift 30 kg. Obiero steps forward to support her, watching her in the mirrored walls of the gym. After the workout, she’s glowing. “My grandmother is my role model,” said Keysha, Obiero’s eldest daughter’s child. “I am very proud to have her.” Source: Reuters

IWF Competition Calendar Update

During this week, IWF was notified by the corresponding Organizing Committees that further IWF Events shall be either cancelled, postponed or be held in a new format due to the virus. List of IWF Events/Other Events affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic: October Pan-American Junior Championships – POSTPONED – New date to be confirmed (2021) November European Master Championships – CANCELLED Pan-American Junior Championships - NEW ONLINE EVENT December South-American, Ibero-American & CSLP Youth & Junior Championships - Original Format Cancelled - ONLINE SUBSTITUTE EVENT Pan-American, South-American, Ibero-American & CSLP U15 Championships - Original Format Cancelled - ONLINE SUBSTITUTE EVENT Caribbean Invitational/Phillips & Springer Classic - CANCELLED South-American, Ibero-American & OPEN Senior Championships - POSTPONED - New date / 21-28 February 2021 Further Events Asian Championships – New date to be confirmed (March 2021) In case there are any further changes in the calendar, the IWF Member Federations will be notified

20 years anniversary of female inclusion in weightlifting at the Olympic Games

The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games held great significance, not only in terms of weightlifting history, but also in terms of universal sports history. For the first time female weightlifters were able to compete at an Olympic Games. In the millennium year, the Olympics were held at the second half of September, where in addition to the men categories, women categories were added to the weightlifting program. Previously female weightlifters could only compete at continental and world championships. On the Olympic program weightlifters competed in 8 male and 7 female weight classes. Altogether 162 male athletes from 63 countries and 85 female athletes from 47 countries participated in the weightlifting competitions. The medal ceremony of the first female weightlifter was one of the greatest moments in weightlifting history, where Tara Nott (USA) was awarded the gold medal in the 48 kilograms on September 17, 2000.After the win of Tara Nott, overall Chinese weightlifters dominated the female categories, but Mexico and Colombia also won gold medals. On the last day of the women's competition on the 22nd of September, China won the gold medal in the +75kg category. With this win China recorded a total of four female category wins. The distribution of gold medals was greater for men: six countries won gold medals, with Iran and Greece winning 2-2 gold medals in the male weight classes. In the male categories a total of 13 nations, in the women categories 14 countries won Olympic medals in Sydney. Female weightlifters broke 17 senior world record, while male weightlifters broke 9 senior world records during the Sydney Olympic Games. Medal Table of the Sydney Olympic Games: Men Gold Silver Bronze GRE 2 2 0 IRI 2 0 0 BUL 1 2 0 CHN 1 1 1 CRO 1 0 0 TUR 1 0 0 GER 0 2 0 POL 0 1 0 BLR 0 0 2 RUS 0 0 2 GEO 0 0 1 QAT 0 0 1 ARM 0 0 1 Women Gold Silver Bronze CHN 4 0 0 USA 1 0 1 COL 1 0 0 MEX 1 0 0 INA 0 1 2 TPE 0 1 1 PRK 0 1 0 POL 0 1 0 HUN 0 1 0 NGR 0 1 0 RUS 0 1 0 GRE 0 0 1 IND 0 0 1 THA 0 0

Anniversary – Frank Isaac Spellman

Frank Isaac Spellman, one of the most outstanding athlete in US weightlifting history was born exactly 98 years ago on 17 September 1922 in Malvern, Pennsylvania. As a child, he was fascinated by the sight of muscular and strong people, and was determined to be one of them when he is grown. He managed to reach this goal by starting weightlifting and he achieved his first great success at the age of twenty when he became a US junior champion in middleweight representing the York Barbell Club. As a U.S. Army soldier, he served for three years during World War I and then resumed weightlifting once the war was over. Among the seniors, he made his mark at the 1946 World Championship. He won a bronze medal and set the American record in press in the same year. After he won the US Amateur Athletic Union middleweight category, he was able to compete at the 1947 World Championships, where he won a silver medal.  The following year brought him a truly outstanding success: he won the 1948 London Olympics in the 75 kg category being first in all three disciplines. Next to the Olympic gold medal, he set a new Olympic record in both Clean&Jerk and with 390 kilograms in Total as well. His career did not stop after the 1948 Olympics. While he improved the national record several times, he won the North American middleweight title in 1949, and proved to be the best in the weight class at the Maccabi Games in 1950 in Israel. In 1954, he went even further and he set a world record in squats, a discipline within powerlifting, which is a similar sport to weightlifting. Even in 1971, at the age of 49, Spellman did not stop lifting. As a father of six children he was still able to win in the middleweight category at the US National Championships. He was elected to the United States Weightlifting Hall of Fame and in several other organization’ Hall of Fame as well thanks to his achievements. The charismatic sportsman passed away on January 12, 2017, at the age of

Cali 2021: Young Athletes of the Americas Will Reach for the Sky

CALI, COLOMBIA (September 8, 2020) — Everything is ready and arranged in the “Sports Capital of America” and the “Salsa Capital of the World”, otherwise known as Cali, Colombia, for the realization of the first official event for the Cali-Valle 2021 Junior Pan American Games. Panam Sports announced the official dates of these Games one week ago after confirming the commitment and support of the Colombian Government, with 3,500 young athletes scheduled to compete in 27 sports from September 9 to 19, 2021. Following the tradition of the Americas’ continental Games, a great celebration will take place this Wednesday marking the One-Year Countdown to the Opening Ceremony of what will be the most important multisport event for young athletes throughout the world in the coming years. The top sport and government leaders have already confirmed their presence at the event, including the Governor of Valle del Cauca Clara Luz Roldan Gonzalez, the Director of Cali 2021 Jose Luis Echeverry and the Mayor of Cali Jorge Ivan Ospina who will all participate in the event in person from the Hotel Torre de Cali. Colombian President Ivan Duque, Sports Minister Ernesto Lucena and the President of the Colombian Olympic Committee, Baltazar Medina, will join the event remotely from the capital of Bogota, while Cali 2021 Coordination Commission and Puerto Rican Olympic Committee President Sara Rosario will join virtually from Puerto Rico. Panam Sports President and International Olympic Committee Member Neven Ilic will also join the celebration remotely from Santiago, Chile. While the organizers do not want to give anything away, they assured that surprises are in store for the city of Cali with the ceremony slogan indicating that “the young athletes of the Americas will reach for the sky”. (...) The event will be broadcast live and direct in Colombia by Telepacífico and will be live-streamed for all of the Americas and the world by the Panam Sports Channel beginning at 6:30 pm Eastern Time (5:30 pm in Cali, Colombia) on Wednesday, September 9th. TUNE-IN HOURS BY LOCATION 5:30 Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador 6:30 Miami, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Toronto, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico. 7:30 Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bermuda Source:

WHEREABOUTS REMINDER Q4 2020

This is a reminder that every Athlete included in the International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP) shall submit their whereabouts information through the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) throughout the whole year on a quarterly basis. The deadline to submit for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 is 15 September 2020. Should you encounter any technical difficulties please contact the International Testing Agency immediately