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IWF120y/102 – 2024: Maude Charron enters in the Canadian weightlifting pantheon

The Canadian achievements at the Olympics are normally rather associated with other sports than with weightlifting (athletics, swimming, or ice hockey, just to name a few), but lifters from the maple leaf country have already earned six medals in the Games. Four of them were won by two remarkable women: Christine Girard and Maude Charron (photo). They are so far the only two Olympic weightlifting champions for their country – Girard in 2012 and Charron in 2020ne. Member of the IWF Athletes Commission, Maude Charron lifted 105-131-236 in Tokyo (in the 64kg category), and became the most successful Canadian lifter in 2024, after clinching the silver in the 59kg with a Total of 106-130-236 in Paris. At the world level, Charron (born in April 1993) won a bronze in 2022 – she was also champion at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. If Charron could properly enjoy her award ceremonies, that was not the case for Christina Girard. Also with two medals – besides the gold in London, she was a bronze medallist in Beijing 2008 -, they were given to Girard on a ‘delayed’ mode: in 2008, she had finished fourth, and in 2012 she was initially third. In 2016, a re-analysis of samples from both Olympics revealed that other athletes with medals had tested positive for prohibited substances. This led to the upgrade of Girard, who received in 2018 the gold medal for the London 2012 and the bronze for the Beijing 2008 Games. Moreover, she was first at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 Pan-American Games. Before these two ‘golden’ ladies, Canada had medalled on two occasions at the Olympics: in 1952, with Gerry Gratton, and in 1984 with Jacques Demers, both with a silver

IWF120y/101 – 1956: Mahmoud Namdjou (IRI), one of the best lifters of the decade

After World War II and for most of the 1950s, Iran had in Mahmoud Namdjou one of the best lifters in its history. Born in 1918 in Rasht (on the Caspian Sea coast), he moved in 1937 to Tehran and started working as a carpenter. Despite his tiny weight (he competed in the 56kg category), he was strong and took weightlifting in a gym close to his workplace. In parallel, he also competed in bodybuilding, but it was in our sport that the results made him a star in the country. At the 1948 London Games, he made his first Olympic appearance, but he finished fifth, with 82.5-82.5-122.5-287.5. In the two subsequent editions, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956, he did much better: in Finland, he was second (90-95-122.5-307.5), while in Australia he clinched bronze in 100-102.5-130-332.5. At the World Championships, his achievements were even more impressive: three gold medals in 1949, 1950, and 1951, one silver in 1954, and two bronze in 1955 and 1957 (this last one at home, in the Iranian capital, where he got his best Total at the IWF showcase with 97.5-97.5-125-320). With two more podium presences at the Asian Games – first in 1951 and second in 1958 – Namdjou was also quite successful in establishing new World Records. He improved 11 global marks during his career, including three in the Snatch, five in the Clean and Jerk, and three in the Total (with three lifts). With his gold medal in 1949, he became the first Iranian world champion in weightlifting (at Olympic level, this honour goes to Nassiri in 1968), setting the pace for a tradition of great achievements for the country in our sport. In 1960, he still tried to qualify for the Rome Olympics, but he didn’t manage to take part in his fourth Games. Namdjou died in 1989, aged 70.

IWF120y/100 – 2021: Polina Guryeva, a special medal for Turkmenistan

In the weightlifting Olympic story, among the countries with one single medal at the Games, three of them have another common characteristic: that podium presence is the only one for the nation, all sports included, in their respective Olympic trajectory. These countries are Iraq, Samoa, and Turkmenistan. The most recent case comes precisely from Polina Guryeva (photo), who earned in Tokyo 2020ne the sole medal so far in the history of her nation, Turkmenistan. Competing in the women’s 59kg category, she earned silver after lifting 96-121-217, an achievement that brought her the highest recognition from the Turkmen authorities: she was offered a new apartment and car upon her return to Ashgabat. Born in October 1999, she never replicated this success on a later stage: having gained weight and moved to the 76kg category, she was 20th at the 2023 IWF Worlds in Riyadh (KSA) and seventh at the 2024 Asian Championships. In Beijing 2008, Ele Opeloge clinched the sole medal so far in the Olympic history of Samoa: lifting in the women’s +75kg, she initially finished fourth, but was upgraded to second after two athletes tested positive for prohibited substances. Going back even further, we arrive at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In the men’s 67.5kg category, Abdul-Wahid Aziz will achieve an unparalleled feat in the history of Iraq so far: an Olympic medal! After lifting 117.5-115-147.5-380, he got the bronze medal. One year earlier, at the World Championships in Warsaw (POL), the Iraqi star was also third, with a Total of

IWF120y/99 – 1924: Austria starts Olympic 12-year cycle of success

Despite intense discussions around the participation of Austria in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris – the country had been one of the defeated belligerents during World War I and had been banned in the 1920 edition in Antwerp -, Austrian lifters were finally present in the French capital. And the least we can say is that their participation was quite successful, with four medals – three silver (Andreas Stadler, Anton Zwerina, and Franz Aigner) and a bronze (Leopold Friedrich). Four years later, in Amsterdam, the Austrian delegation clinched two victories, thanks to Franz Andrysek (60kg) and Hans Haas (67.5kg). In Los Angeles 1932, Haas will become the sole Austrian lifter with two Olympic medals until the present day, by adding a silver to his roll of honour. Karl Hipfinger (75kg) also got a bronze medal in California. In 1936, Berlin hosted the Olympics in a dangerous time for Europe, and Robert Fein (gold in the 67.5kg category) closed the Olympic medal count for Austria. With nine medals, weightlifting is the third most successful sport for the central European nation, after sailing and canoeing. Both Haas and Fein (photo) were Jewish: if the first one could complete his career without major problems, Fein’s story was completely different. After the victory in Berlin (he was one of the 13 Jewish athletes getting a medal there), he could still earn a silver at the 1937 World Championships in Paris, but with the instauration of anti-Semitic laws in Austria, he was barred from competing. Never again, after World War II, did Austria know such achievements from its athletes. On the administration level, things were different: curiously born in 1924, Gottfried Schödl was one of the most prominent IWF officials, entering the Executive Board in 1964 and being elected IWF President in 1972 (until

IWF120y/98 – 2024: Li Wenwen (CHN) ‘jumps’ for the gold at the Games

The last weightlifting competition day at the 2024 Paris Olympics had only one event on the programme: the women’s +81kg. And what a great way to conclude the Games it was! With the group of 12 lifters visibly happy to be performing in such a prestigious scenario, the gold medal went to favourite Li Wenwen from China, in 136-173-309, her second consecutive Olympic title after also reaching the highest step of the podium in Tokyo 2020ne (then, with a performance of 140-180-320). But if in the Japanese capital the podium celebrations had to be more sober (COVID pandemic oblige), the atmosphere in Paris was clearly more relaxed. While on both sides of the podium, Hyejeong Park (KOR, silver) and Emily Campbell (GBR, bronze) had received their medals, a very happy Chinese ace literally jumps to the highest step when she is called to receive her gold award. It was one of the moments of the Paris competition, in what was also the most followed (TV-wise) weightlifting event of the entire Games. Born in March 2000, Li is one of the five female lifters so far with two Olympic titles. Her road to stardom started in 2019, when she is second at the IWF World Cup. In the same year, she wins her first continental title in Asia (she got two more gold medals, in 2020 and 2023), and she is also first at the IWF Worlds (in the +87kg category, 146-186-332). After Tokyo’s achievement, she is the best at the 2022 IWF showcase, and she already gives a good indication of her motivation for Paris 2024, winning some months before the IWF World Cup in 145-180-325. Li is also the current WR holder in her category for the Clean and Jerk (187kg) and Total

IWF120y/97 – 1972: Zygmunt Smalcerz leads Polish success in Munich

The Munich 1972 Olympic Games were particularly successful for the Polish weightlifting team, with its athletes getting three medals (one of each colour). The shiniest star of the group was Zygmunt Smalcerz, the champion in the 52kg category. Despite his tiny body structure (he is 1.53m high), the Polish ace got in Germany the main achievement of his career, clinching the title in 112.5-100-125-337.5 (it was the last edition of the Olympics with the Press movement). Behind him in Munich, two Hungarian competitors were relatively distant – Szucs got the silver with a total of 330kg, and Holczreiter was third in 327.5kg. Four years later, Smalcerz had a good motivation to revalidate the Olympic title, but an unfortunate injury in Montreal jeopardised his plans (he had to withdraw from the competition). At the IWF Worlds, the Polish champion was more successful, collecting two gold medals (in 1971 and 1975) and placing third in 1973. At the continental level, Smalcerz dominated the field between 1971 and 1975, earning four gold medals. His only recognised World Record during this period dates from May 1972, when he lifted 103kg in the Snatch. After the conclusion of his career as an athlete at the end of the 1970s (he was born in 1941), he took the coaching path: in 2008, he was namely the Head Coach of the Polish Team competing at the Beijing Olympics. More recently, he has also provided valuable services internationally, namely with the teams of the USA and Norway.