News

FISU allocated 2018 World University Championships

FISU - the International University Sports Federation - announced the host countries of the 2018 World University Championships. The Weightlifting World University Championships will take place in Biala Podlaska, Poland. FISU WUC

Rio 2016 Olympic Games Qualification published

The Qualification Team Classification and quota places for Men and Women were published in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games section. It was calculated according to the Qualification System for Rio 2016 Olympic Games as follows: - no qualification points were given to BUL and the individual rankings and points were upgraded accordingly - no qualification points were given to BRA and the individual rankings and points were upgraded accordingly Please note that the results and points can not be considered as final until all the relevant anti-doping result management processes are

Tbilisi to host 2016 IWF Junior World Championships

In accordance with the decision of the IWF Executive Board in Houston, the 2016 IWF Junior World Championships will be held in Tbilisi, Georgia, with the following program: 21 June - IWF Committee Meetings 22-23 June - IWF Executive Board Meeting 24 June - IWF Congress 25 June - 2 July -

Important Note on Qualification Status

The International Weightlifting Federation herewith notifies its Member Federations that due to the complexity of the Olympic Qualification points calculation with regard to the sanctions concerning Bulgaria and the obligation to coordinate the issue with the International Olympic Committee, THE RIO 2016 QUALIFICATION STATUS of the countries after the 2015 IWF World Championships WILL ONLY BE PUBLISHED NEXT WEEK, latest by Friday, 4 December

Sensational Lovchev takes Rezazadeh’s world records on a great night for Russia

By Brian Oliver at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas Aleksei Lovchev took the title of “the strongest man in the world” with a breathtaking world-record victory in the men’s +105kg. A couple of hours later the there was more glory for Russia when Tatiana Kashirina won the women’s +75kg world title for the third year in a row. Lovchev went up 16kg from his second lift to his last in the clean & jerk when he was assured of a clean sweep of golds. He had never lifted more than 257kg in training. He had to lift 264kg to beat Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh’s clean & jerk and total world records, which had stood for 11 and 15 years respectively. He made it, to huge cheers from a large crowd who rose to their feet. “I was thinking ‘This is impossible,’ as I had never tried that weight before,” said Lovchev, 26. “I’m overwhelmed. “This shows that Russia is the strongest nation. I could never have done it without the support of my parents. My father is my coach and he introduced me to weightlifting. My mother passed away in 2012 and I dedicate this victory and the records to her. “When I was little I used to watch Rezazadeh on television, lifting enormous weights. He was an example to me and I never imagined I would one day take his records.” In the snatch the Canadian announcer, Richard Mason, called “Good lift” 27 times from 35 attempts. Apart from the Egyptian Mohamed Ehsan, who withdrew after injuring his left leg on his second attempt, every lifter had at least two successes. Lovchev won on 211kg from Lasha Talakhadze (Georgia) on 207kg and Gor Minasyan (Armenia) on 203kg. “If I was going to break a world record tonight I thought it might be in the snatch,” said Lovchev. That record (214kg) belongs to another Iranian, Behdad Salimikordasiabi, the Olympic champion who was absent from Houston with a knee injury. “I wish him well, a good recovery, and I look forward to competing against him again,” said Lovchev. “If he had been here the snatch results might have been a bit different.” Another absentee was the 2013 and 2014 champion, Lovchev’s Russian teammate Ruslan Albegov. “He will compete at the President’s Cup in Grozny next month,” said Lovchev. “It was decided that I would come here to the World Championships and he would be the team leader in the President’s Cup. He’s still the strongest man on earth!” Runner-up Talakhadze offered his congratulations to Lovchev and said he could barely believe the 264kg lift. “I have never bettered 250kg in training,” he said. “This is a historical moment.” Mart Seim, of Estonia, finished second in the clean & jerk on 248kg and third overall. “I am happy but to win a medal in the Olympics I must improve by 15-20kg,” he said. If that sounds daunting, Lovchev just achieved it in a single lift. In the final event of the championships, the women’s +75kg, Kashirina started when everybody else had just about finished in the snatch. There was one lift remaining, for China’s Meng Suping, when Kashirina came in at 143kg. She finished on 148, clear of Meng and Thailand’s Chitchanok Pulsabsakul. Kashirina weighed in at 108kg, up 2kg on her weight in Almaty last year, where she finished 28kg clear of Meng. This time it was closer as Kashirina made only one of her clean & jerk attempts, at 185kg – eight short of her own record - but it was enough for a clean sweep of golds. Her 333kg total left her 8kg clear of Meng again. PR Korea’s Kim Kuk Hyang, fifth in the snatch, was a long way back in third place, on 296kg. “I don’t know what happened, I just didn’t feel comfortable tonight and I’m a bit ashamed that I didn’t at least go for the record,” she said. “But as long as I’m young and strong and healthy I will keep doing my best. Let’s see what happens in

Rim defies doctors and pain to take silver in dramatic women’s 75kg

By Brian Oliver at the George R Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas Rim Jong Sim defied medical advice to compete in the clean & jerk, collapsed three times, still had a clean sweep of second places, and then had to be helped on to the podium by her fellow medallists in a dramatic women’s 75kg. The PR Korea athlete – who will drop back down to 69kg to defend her Olympic title next summer - injured herself while attempting her third snatch, which she failed. She was helped off stage by medical staff and the IWF duty doctor advised her team to withdraw her. Rim, 22, had a bad and very painful left hip injury, which meant she was unable to rotate her hips. She also stretched a muscle and had a knee complaint, but despite medical advice she continued. “According to the IWF TCRR, the Doctor in Duty can give a medical opinion and advice, but cannot stop an athlete continuing through their own will.The advice of the Doctor on Duty was not to compete, as it would have been from every other doctor on site. But the PRK team representative said Rim wanted to make her country proud, wanted to win as she had promised, and said it was her own decision to continue. After undergoing 15 minutes of spraying and strapping treatment, Rim made a few tentative lifts in the warm-up room. She was cheered by the large crowd when she came out for her first clean & jerk attempt at 150kg, made the lift and collapsed. Rim hobbled off stage and came back for more. She did it again – the lift and the collapse - at 155kg, after which she was given a standing ovation. The crowd were on their feet again when she made another, failed attempt at 157kg, and fell back in distress. After the medal ceremony, for which she was helped on to the podium by gold medallist Kang Yue, of China, and the Russian bronze winner Olga Zubova, Rim was helped backstage and taken to hospital on a stretcher. “It was an honour to compete against her. She is a hero,” said Zubova, who took clean & jerk gold ahead of Rim and Kang. The Chinese winner also praised Rim for her “spirit and sportsmanship” and Jenny Arthur, the American who finished eighth said, “That took a huge amount of courage.” Kang made only two good lifts, a 127kg snatch and a 155kg clean & jerk, to finish 2kg ahead of Rim. Last year’s champion, Nadezhda Evstiukhina, of Russia, made only three lifts for a disappointing total of 261kg. Lydia Valentin, of Spain, had to withdraw because of back and neck injuries. The 2014 men’s 105kg champion Ilya Ilyin, from Kazakhstan, sat out these championships but still heard the Kazakh anthem while watching on television. His teammate Alexandr Zaichikov was the clear winner in a contest that featured only 13 good lifts from the field of 11 in the clean & jerk. The snatch gold medallist, Ivan Efremov, could finish only eighth overall and his Uzbekistan teammate, Sandorbek Dusmurotov, won a clean & jerk bronze from the B Group. The 18-year-old Armenian, Simon Martirosyan, was third in the snatch and fifth overall. Russia’s David Bedzhanian moved from ninth in the snatch to second overall by winning the clean & jerk with 231kg. He went up 11kg for his final lift, a bold attempt at 242kg, equal to Ilyin’s world record. He cleaned it but not could not complete the lift. “It was too much – like a circus exercise,” said Bedzhanian afterwards. “I’ve never lifted that weight in training.” Nor had Zaichikov, 23, who declared this “one of the greatest competitions I have been in”. He said his best in training was 240kg, but he weighed 111kg at the time. The only man to make all three clean & jerks, the Latvian Arturs Plesnieks, took bronze on