IWF120y/108 – 2020: Ursula Papandrea (USA) reaches the top of the IWF hierarchy
Ursula Papandrea is the most successful female administrator in the history of the IWF, after serving as Acting President of our International Federation in 2020, in order to restore credibility and cease the institutional turbulence in the IWF. A Houston (Texas) native, Papandrea fell in love with the sport from a very early age, when there were still many difficulties concerning the acceptance of women in weightlifting. In a 2023 interview, she recalled: “In the 1980s, when I started in the sport, there was a stigma attached to women lifting weights and so many ridiculous ideas of how it would impact our bodies. Of course, we now know that lifting weights has so many incredible health benefits that it has become common to the workout routines for men and women, old and young”. Despite the challenges, she became a successful national athlete, having also represented the USA in four editions of the IWF World Championships (whose first edition for women took place in 1987, precisely on US soil). She then went on a coaching career – she was the first female coach to drive a men’s team to the national title, in 2014 – and on providing her best expertise as an administrator. She was first elected as President of USA Weightlifting in 2016 (first woman to ascend to that position), and in 2017, she chaired the IWF Women’s Commission, while sitting as Vice-President on the IWF Executive Board. A strong promoter of gender equity and good governance, Papandrea (graduated with a major in exercise and sport science, followed by a Masters in political science) was elected IWF First Vice-President in 2022, and then re-confirmed in this position at the 2025 IWF Electoral
