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Lima, Day 5: Brazil completes golden double, Venezuela has a new star and PRK wins Junior gold for first time since 2016

Mattheus Pessanha claimed a world record as he won at 102kg to complete a golden double for Brazil at the World Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru. On a good day for the Pan American nations, 15-year-old Lidysmar Aparicio from Venezuela made her final lift to win the 81kg Youth world title and also finish on the podium in the Juniors behind the clear winner from PRK, Kim Yong Ju. Another Venezuelan, Barbara Mendoza was second in the Youth super-heavyweights. Pessanha, who was involved in the best men’s session at last year’s World Juniors in León, Spain on his international debut, has since joined the Navy and is able to train full-time in Rio de Janeiro. Matheus Pessanha (BRA) He had never bettered 215kg in competition or training but he did it with the last of six good lifts to take the clean and jerk junior world record on 220kg. Pessanha, who will be 20 in August, is his nation’s first male world champion in any age group - five days after 14-year-old Isanelly da Silva became Brazil’s first female winner in the 40kg Youths. “Our preparations for this competition were very good,” said national coach Dragos Doru Storica. “We have more weightlifters now, we train better. We are coming.” Pessanha had a world record for about a minute and a half in León seven months ago. He lost it to the next lift by the champion from Turkmenistan, Shahzadbek Matyakubov. Matyakubov is too old for the Juniors now. Pessanha and the 2024 bronze medallist Mahmoud Hosny from Egypt had strong competition this time from Iran, which fielded the 18-year-olds Abolfazi Zare and Amirmohammad Soileimani. With three lifts remaining, Mattheus had put himself in a good position by making all five lifts to lead by 1kg. Zare, also on five good lifts, went first at 214kg and failed. Hosny was a long way behind after three failures and went for 215kg for clean and jerk gold. He, too, failed. Out came Pessanha to make his record lift and finish 175-220-395, up 12kg on last year when he was second. Zare made 176-210-386, and Hosny 168-203-371. Soleimani was fourth, 45kg behind the winner. Enrique Montero, president of the Brazil Federation for 12 years, acknowledged the role of his coach and highlighted the fine details that have helped the team to thrive. “Small details make a big difference in high-performance sport, and we have improved them all round,” Montero said. “Our national championships now are run with the infrastructure of a World Championships. We have a new training base, new equipment, professional support, and new athletes. If we keep improving the details we can keep winning medals.” Kim Jong Yu (PRK) Women 81 Juniors and Youths Kim Jong Yu made all six lifts and finished 5kg clear, giving PRK its first Junior world title since the team last competed in this event in 2016. Kim Ju Phyong had a chance to beat her to it in the men’s 61kg on Thursday but he injured himself and had to withdraw after finishing second in snatch. Kim, 20, made 110-142-252 ahead of 18-year-old Xu Qianran from China on 106-141-247. Third place went to Lidysmar Aparicio from Venezuela. The 15-year-old had a great day, winning the Youth world title and taking a sweep of bronze medals in the Juniors. Aparicio improved her best total, made at the Bolivarian Games last November, by 20kg in making all six attempts for 103-127-230. Lidysmar Aparicio (VEN) Li Xue, a 17-year-old debutant from China, led until Aparicio made her final lift. Li failed once in snatch in making 104-125-229.   Alya Maulida Kartika from Indonesia became Indonesia’s first medallist on total at the dual Championships, making a six-from-six 96-120-216 in third place. Women +81 Youths The top three did not miss a lift between them. Uzbekistan had its first winner of the week, after two second-place finishes, when Mohinur Esonboeva made 98-127-225. Barbara Mendoza was second for Venezuela on 99-125-224, and Mollie King became New Zealand’s second medallist in successive days when she made 97-126-223. Sofia Vragova from Russia, competing as a neutral, failed with her last two attempts after winning snatch gold and finished fourth on 100-113-213. Men 102 Youths Georgia had two on the podium. Jaba Tkeshelashvili, who was fourth in the same venue at last year’s World Youths, won by a wide margin on 145-192-337. Alisher Osmanov from Uzbekistan was second on 146-170-316 and Saba Chikhladze led the B Group lifters to take third place on 130-162-292. Hossein Yazdani (IRI) Men +102 Youths Hossein Yazdani won for Iran on 144-190-334, finishing clear of three athletes who were separated by 1kg. Harutyun Hovhannisyan from Armenia was second on 150-173-323 ahead of Volodymyr Chmykh from Ukraine on 143-180-323. Fourth-placed Semen Karaev from Russia, competing as a neutral, was edged out of the medals on total despite taking snatch silver and clean and jerk bronze on 147-175-322. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

IWF120y/83 – 1985: Yurik Vardanyan (URS) retires after a brilliant career

Armenia has no Olympic gold medallist in weightlifting so far, but the triumph of Yurik Vardanyan at the 1980 Moscow Games and the additional six titles at the World Championships makes him the best lifter so far in the country's history. Born in June 1956 in Leninakan (then Soviet Union, now Gyumri in Armenia), he could never compete for his native nation, as he retired in 1985, some years before the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the independence of its former republics. At 14, he started practicing weightlifting under the guidance of his uncle, and seven years later, in 1977, he wins his first gold medal at the World Championships held in Stuttgart (GER). He would revalidate his title in the two subsequent editions, in 1978 and 1979. Competing in the 82.5kg category, he arrives at the Moscow 1980 Olympics as one of the favourites for the win. He confirms his credentials, by convincingly lifting 177.5-222.5-400 for the victory (photo). He is the first lifter in this category to ever achieve a 400kg Total. His supremacy remains unaltered in the years to follow, with three additional gold medals in the IWF global showcase, in 1981, 1983, and 1985. His best result at the Worlds was precisely his last one, with a performance of 177.5-220-397.5. In parallel, he sets a total of 41 World Records throughout his prolific career, namely with 15 global marks in Snatch (best of 190kg), another 15 in Clean & Jerk (228kg), and 11 in Total. After his retirement in 1985, he spent his life between the USA and Armenia, coming definitively back to Yerevan in 2009. His son Norayr, born in 1987, also became a lifter, representing Armenia at the 2012 Olympics. Yurik Varanyan passed away in November 2018, at the age of

Lima, Day 4: Simoneau wins again for Canada – and it’s ‘Super Saturday’ for Oceania thanks to Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa

There was a remarkable sight at the medal presentation after an entertaining women’s 71kg session at the World Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru – weightlifters from Canada and New Zealand standing on the podium above an athlete from China. Charlotte Simoneau continued her remarkable run of results by winning her second Junior world title for Canada, improving her best numbers yet again on 111-134-245. In all but one of her 10 competitions to date Simoneau, who will be 20 in four weeks, has improved her best snatch or clean and jerk, or both. Charlotte Simoneau (CAN) Another big improver took second place. Like Simoneau, Olivia Selemaia from New Zealand made all six lifts, putting 13kg on her previous best total on 106-129-235. Before the medal ceremony Selemaia ran across the back room to congratulate Nehemiah Elder, who became Fiji’s first world champion when he won the Youths 89kg title in the concurrent men’s session on the other platform. There was more to come for Oceania when Seine Stowers from Samoa finished second in the women’s 76kg Youths behind Varvara Kuzminova, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia. Kuzminova broke youth world records in snatch and total and finished second in the Juniors too. “When I looked at the schedule a few weeks ago I told Paul Coffa (continental federation general secretary) that it could be Super Saturday for Oceania, and it is,” said Selemaia’s coach Simon Kent, who is president of the New Zealand Federation. Friday was not so bad either, because Femily Notte from Nauru won medals in the Youth women’s 64kg. Olivia Selemaia (NZL) Henry Elder, Nehemiah’s coach and father, said, “Over the past few years we’ve started to work together a lot more in Oceania, after a period when we had our differences. “There’s a lot of collaboration, plenty of training camps. We smash each other in training and then we’re all mates again. We’re a big family now.” Samoa has a lavish new weightlifting institute and academy, certified by the IWF. Fiji is planning to open a new training centre within two years. “We’ve got so many kids with the physique and explosive power for weightlifting in Fiji, a lot of them on farms,” said Elder. “They’re all drawn to rugby but we want them to come into the greatest sport of all.” Selemaia, who came to weightlifting from CrossFit, is playing her part in promoting the sport. She is one of four national team members who coach weightlifting at schools in Auckland, New Zealand’s capital, as part of the federation’s ‘Lift for Gold’ scheme. That means she is training and coaching full-time. “Her performance today has been coming,” said Kent. “It’s her first year out of school and that’s made a big difference.” Simoneau is unable to go full-time because she is still studying, having recently switched from natural science to industrial engineering. She trains about six times a week, and for extra income she works in her grandparents’ flower shop at weekends when she is not competing. “It’s Mother’s Day in Canada next Sunday so I’m going to be busy,” she said. The Chinese athlete who took bronze was 20-year-old international debutant Wang Menting, who made four good lifts on 101-130-231. Maria Mena from Colombia won snatch silver on 106kg. Lin Jingwei (CHN) Wang’s 17-year-old team-mate Lin Jingwei won the Youths world title in spectacular style. She jumped from 118kg to 131kg on her fifth attempt and made it to claim youth world records in clean and jerk and total. She had failed with a snatch world record attempt and finished 100-131-231, the same total as Wang. Darya Kuznetsova, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia, was second in the Youths on 93-117-210 and Kira Danilova from Kazakhstan third on 94-115-209. Both made all six attempts. Dilnura Kholdorova from Uzbekistan won snatch bronze on 93kg and Maryia Ivanova from Belarus, competing as a neutral, won clean and jerk bronze on 115kg. Women’s 76kg Juniors and Youths Ella Nicholson from the United States had to fight to win her second straight Junior world title. Nicholson, 18, was 8kg below her winning total last year but found enough for victory on her last attempt, finishing 106-130-236. Varvara Kuzminova (AIN) The star of the show was Kuzminova, 16, who was entered in Youths and Juniors. She broke the youth snatch world record twice, on 106kg and 108kg, and took the total record too on 108-127-235. She also won snatch gold, plus silver in clean and jerk and total, in the Juniors. Jeon Heesoo from Korea was third in the Juniors on 102-123-225. Bronze medals were won by Nana Khorava from Georgia in snatch on 103kg, and Alexandrina Ciubotaru from Moldova in clean and jerk on 124kg. Stowers took Youths silver despite making only two good lifts on 98-116-214. Third place went to Minni Hormavirta from Finland on 90-117-207. Men 89 Juniors and Youths Goga Jajvani from Georgia was fourth in the 2023 World Youths and in last year’s World Juniors. This time he made the podium in style, winning the Junior title with his final attempt at 198kg. Goga Jajvani (GEO) In a close finish, 19-year-old Jajvani made 162-198-360 ahead of Angel Rodriguez from Venezuela on 164-195-359 and David Cuesta from Colombia on 163-196-359. Ilya Salehipour from Iran won bronze in clean and jerk on 195kg. Elder, 16, was the only youth lifter in the A session. He just failed with a final attempt at 188kg and finished 152-180-332. That was 70kg more than his last total in an IWF competition 14 months ago. “In that time I’ve done a lot of hard training, been to recent camps in Samoa and Australia, and made 142-175 in an invitational competition in Brisbane,” he said. “God’s been with me for constant training and belief. I am home schooled, so I’m pretty much a full-time weightlifter. “I had a lot of nerves here because it’s by far the biggest competition I’ve been to, but I really enjoyed it.” What is his next target? “I’ll just do whatever my coach tells me, like I always do.” Two international debutants were a long way back in second and third. Munisbek Davletov from Uzbekistan made 140-179-319 and 15-year-old Khuthair Qaiti from Iraq made 145-173-318. Andrei Solopii from Russia, competing as a neutral, won snatch bronze. Men 96 Juniors and Youths Junior champion Ahmed Gamal Elbasyouni from Egypt improved his total at last year’s World Juniors by 40kg. He was ninth on 326kg in Spain last September, and first on 166-200-366 today. Ahmed Gamal Elbasyouni (EGY) He has a nervous wait for victory. Hamidreza Zarei from Iran, who won gold in clean and jerk, would have won on total had he made his final attempt on 209kg. He failed and finished fourth on158-203-361. Zarei’s team-mate Amirhosein Sepahmade 165-199-364 in second place. Inhatsi Pauliukavets from Belarus, competing as a neutral, was third on 167-196-363. The Youths winner was Grigor Ghazaryan from Armenia on 145-185-330, well ahead of Yslam Akmyradov from Turkmenistan on 141-175-316. Parv Chaudhary from India was third on 140-175-315. Aleksandr Bagaev from Russia, competing as a neutral, took snatch bronze on 141kg. Seven Russian neutrals have competed in Youth categories so far and all seven have won at least one medal. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia

IWF120y/82 – 2021: Meso Hassona becomes Qatar’s first Olympic champion

His name is Fares Ibrahim El-Bakh, but everyone knows him in the weightlifting world as Meso Hassona. Born in June 1998 and representing Qatar, he descends from an Egyptian family deeply connected to the sport: his grandfather was a successful lifter and his father took part in three consecutive editions of the Olympic Games – 1984, 1988, and 1992. In the first of these appearances, he is fifth. Proud of this tradition, Meso starts the sport at nine and becomes a full-time weightlifter in 2012, only aged 14. In 2016, he is ‘revealed’ at the highest level, with the bronze medal at the IWF World Junior Championships, and the seventh place at the Rio Olympics. In 2017, he is a junior world champion and third in the senior IWF showcase. After a silver medal at the Worlds in 2019, he qualifies for the Tokyo 2020ne Games in the 96kg category. In the Snatch, he lifts 177kg (the fourth best result in the field), but then excels in the Clean & Jerk, clearly dominating operations with a successful 225kg lift, for a Total of 402kg, an Olympic record. With this achievement, he became the first Olympic champion in the history of Qatar (all sports included) – one day later, the country celebrates its second golden star, Mutaz Barsham (in Athletics). They remain as of today, the only two Olympic champions for Qatar. After a gold medal at the 2022 IWF World Championships and a smooth qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Meso is clearly the man to beat in the 102kg category in the French capital. Things won’t go as planned – the Qatari ace fails all his Snatch attempts at 178kg and withdraws from the C&J section. Some months later, in December 2024, he bounces back at the IWF Worlds in Manama (BRN), with a silver medal in the same category

Lima, Day 3: First world title for Albania and more gold for China as 22 nations make the podium in one day

The global strength of weightlifting was highlighted in Lima when athletes from 22 countries were on the podium on a truly international day at the World Youth and Junior Championships. Albania had its first ever world champion, and among the 22 was Nauru, the Pacific island whose population of 12,000 is 1.4 billion less than China, the only double winners of the day. The medallists came from all five continental federations. “I am so happy about this,” said the IWF President Mohamed Jalood. “It shows what a universal sport we have. To have Nauru on the podium, and Albania taking medals at the same time as China is an example to everybody of weightlifting’s popularity in all parts of the world.” Jalood was speaking after presenting the medals to Albania’s first champion, 17-year-old Enkileda Carja. She not only won the 64kg Youth title, but took snatch bronze in the Juniors too, behind two athletes from China. Carja broke all three European youth records in making 98-115-213. Carja Enkileda (ALB) “We’ve been waiting for this,” said her coach Eglantina Kalemi. “Preparations have gone well, and Enkileda is a full-time athlete now. Albania’s first world champion and three European records – that’s very impressive!” Femliy Notte from Nauru was second, as she had been last year. She made only two of her six attempts on 92-110-202, which was well below her best in training. Seyedeh Hosseini from Iran was third on 86-111-197, and Valeriia Drevsnovskaia, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia, won bronze in snatch on 86kg. China had a 1-2 finish in the Juniors ahead of Sophia Shaft from the United States. Yang Liuyue made 106-130-236 for gold, Jiang Yanfang finished 105-126-231, and Shaft made 97-126-223 from her two good lifts. Men 81 Juniors and Youths It was a bad day for Yedige Yemberdi from Kazakhstan, who was unbeaten before today and had won one youth and two junior world titles since 2022. His strength is in clean and jerk but this time he failed twice in that discipline and was out of the medals on total. Chen Shunnan (CHN) Chen Shunnan from China won on his international debut, making 156-190-346 from four straight good lifts. He missed his last two attempts, as did the man trying to catch him, Yemberdi’s Kazakhstan team-mate Yerasyl Saulebekov. That left Azuma Rakuei from Japan in second place on 155-185-340, with Saulebekov third on 150-190-340. Khikmatillo Khaydarov from Uzbekistan won snatch bronze on 154kg and Yemberdi was third in clean and jerk on 187kg, which was 12kg lower than his best effort in last year’s World Juniors. Serhii Kotelevskyi from Ukraine had a nervous wait before he could celebrate his Youths victory.  The 16-year-old European youth champion made five from six for 142-172-314, then had to watch as Didarbek Jumabayev from Turkmenistan tried to overtake him. Jumabayev failed with the first of his two remaining attempts, then made a 10kg jump to go for gold in clean and jerk and total. He got the bar up but lost it behind and finished 137-168-305. Maksims Vasilonoks from Latvia was third on 136-161-297, failing only with his final attempt, and Samuele Di Marzio from Italy was fourth, 3kg further back. Jose Mantilla from Mexico won bronze in clean and jerk on 166kg. Men 73 Juniors and Youths Park Ju Hyeon from Korea made a 7kg jump on his final attempt to win clean and jerk gold and the Junior world title on 147-177-324. Park, who was second in the Asian Juniors last December, denied Tiberiu Donose from Romania with that last lift of the session. Park Ju Hyeon (KOR) Donose made 145-176-321, and third-placed Mohamed Al Marzouq from Saudi Arabia finished 146-170-316. Alexandr Baldji from Moldova, who was fourth, won bronze in clean and jerk on 172kg. Hussein Abdelrahman from Egypt won here last year when Lima hosted the World Youths, and repeated the feat today at a different weight. He moved up from 67kg and finished a long way clear. Abdelrahman, 16, tried and failed for all three youth world records with his final attempts of 145kg in snatch and 177kg in clean and jerk. He finished on 141-165-306. His nearest challenger, Kakamyrat Annamyradov from Turkmenistan, made 130-160-290 and the bronze medal went to Yernur Myrzakhmet from Kazakhstan on 131-155-286. Women 59 Juniors and Youths The top three Juniors were all former Youth world champions – at three different weights. Thanaporn Saetia from Thailand was an impressive winner on 96-115-211. Two years after winning the youth world title at 64kg, Saetia is thriving at the lower weight, having won the Asian and world titles within five months. Thanaporn Saetia (THA) Gelen Torres from Colombia, in her first competition at this weight, was second on 93-113-206. She was youth world champion two years ago at 55kg. Last year’s 59kg youth champion, Paz Casadevall from Argentina, was third on 91-113-204. Xeniya Prozorova was a clear winner for Kazakhstan in the Youths. The 15-year-old debutant made five good lifts for 91-108-199 before declining her final attempt. The Asian youth champion Marjona Abdumutalova from Uzbekistan made 88-102-190 in second place. Polina Pavlovich, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, was third on 85-104-189, becoming the third Russian youth medallist in two days. Ivanis Silva from Venezuela won snatch bronze on 86kg. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio

IWF/ITA Clean Sport Seminar gathers 100 participants of the Worlds in Peru!

On the third day of the IWF World Youth and Junior Championships, the IWF/ITA Clean Sport Seminar took place this morning in Lima, Peru, with the attendance of around 100 participants in the event. As usual, this gathering was animated by an ITA Ambassador, Thais Cevada, a former international-level gymnast for Brazil. The IWF President Mohammed Jalood addressed the attendees with the opening speech, highlighting the importance of this kind of initiative to “decisively help in the reputation and credibility of our Sport”. The IWF President Mohammed Jalood delivers the opening speech “In the past, our doping record was a real problem for weightlifting and we were at risk of losing our presence in the Games. Today, everything changed and thanks to the very fruitful co-operation with the International Testing Agency, we are proud to say that we are a clean sport!” added Mr Jalood. On behalf of the Organising Committee of the Championships, José Quiñones, President of the Pan-American Weightlifting Federation, also thanked the athletes and respective support personnel for their presence and support to this initiative. “Many of the future world and Olympic champions are competing these days in Lima, so the sooner you are aware of these issues, the better!” Antonio Urso, IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso, IWF General Secretary, then briefed the participants on a short historical summary about the origins and people behind the development and introduction of doping – “the prohibited substances were originally aimed at medical use only, but were quickly ‘deviated’ to an illicit use” -, as well as the main international scandals related with the use of these methods. “Being part of the world of Sport is a unique privilege. So, everyone involved should actively defend his/her sport. You are young athletes, you are the future of weightlifting, so please always bear in mind that performance should never be associated with medicine – performance is training, training, and training!” declared Mr Urso. To keep lifters and respective support personnel more motivated, Sasha Sutherland (RADO’s Executive Director of the Caribbean) proposed a short game, whereby all participants, divided into two teams, had to work together to accomplish a goal. At the end of it, Ms Sutherland noted: “No matter who wins, the most important is to function and act like a team. Only together, can we achieve our goals. This is true in life and in sports”. Thais Cevada, ITA Ambassador, during her presentation Thais Cevada then developed her lecture, insisting on the basic topics related to anti-doping education: the definition of an anti-doping rule violation, the principle of strict liability, the risks in using supplements, the importance of reporting through dedicated and anonymous channels, and the proper verification of any medicine entering into an athlete’s body. “Never forget that as an athlete you have to get the proper information on these matters. Negligence or ignorance can never be an excuse. And if you don’t know, just ask – there are many channels and ways of getting acquainted with the necessary information,” explained Ms Cevada.   Forrester Osei, IWF Athletes Commission Chairman The Seminar was concluded by Forrester Osei, IWF Athletes Commission Chairman and recently appointed as IWF Competition Manipulation Ambassador. Mr Osei explained the scope of event manipulation to the attendees and emphasised an essential point for all those involved in Sport: reputation. “Once you have lost it, either because you were caught with doping, or you have been connected to competition manipulation, it is extremely complicated to get your reputation back. Be honest, always respect yourself, your opponents, and the Sport you love!” The IWF/ITA anti-doping educational programme will continue in Peru with the set-up of a booth in the competition venue, where athletes and support personnel can find all the relevant information on this matter and are kindly invited to participate in funny quizzes to ‘test’ their knowledge. They will all leave with a small souvenir as an acknowledgment of their involvement in this important initiative.   IWF Communications Photos by Giorgio