Phuket, Day 4: Photo Gallery
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Phuket, Day 4: Glory and tears for Olympic champions, and a world record for China in ‘best ever session’
Two Olympic champions earned a place at Paris 2024, and a third was in tears after being knocked out of contention by a team-mate on a night to remember at the IWF World Cup in Phuket. There was a world record for the Chinese winner Luo Shifang, who extended her lead at the top of the rankings. Ten athletes bombed out across the four 59kg sessions in their final attempt to qualify. Luo Shifang (CHN) All three Olympic gold medallists were competing at 59kg. Two of them had to move up or down in weight when the number of medal events was cut from 14 in Tokyo to 10 in Paris. “That was the single best session I have ever lifted in, and not because it was my best performance,” said Maude Charron, the Canadian who won 64kg gold in Tokyo in 2021. “Three Olympic champions in one competition, and Luo finishes it by breaking the world record. So much quality, so much professionalism out there on the platform… You could sense it even in the warm-up room. It was better than the Olympics. It’s insane.” Maude Charron (CAN) The 59kg Tokyo winner Kuo Hsing-Chun from Chinese Taipei could afford to decline her final attempt after making 100-130-230. She finished fifth in the rankings, and lost her world record on total when Luo made her final attempt at 140kg. Luo’s 108-140-248 stretched her rankings lead to 12kg ahead of Kamila Konotop from Ukraine, who withdrew after weighing in, and Charron both on 236kg. Charron’s 106-130-236 gave her career highs across the board. Charron was third on the night behind Luo and Kim Il Gyong, the snatch world record holder from DPR Korea. Kim, who had beaten Luo at the Asian Games in China in September, made 108-132-240. Hidilyn Diaz (PHI) Hidilyn Diaz, who found it hard to go up in weight after winning at 55kg in Tokyo, was in tears after losing her advantage over team-mate Elreen Ando. Diaz, 33, became the Philippines’ first Olympic champion in any sport in Tokyo. “I love this sport, I don’t want to stop,” Diaz said. “But what I have to do now is take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life. Today wasn’t my day, Paris was not to be. “But overall I’m happy. I’ve given a lot to this sport and it’s given a lot to me.” One thing Diaz missed during her years of total dedication to weightlifting was a honeymoon. “There will be time for that now,” she said. Her husband and coach Julius Naranjo said, “We gave it our best. Hidilyn is still a legend.” Naranjo had enjoyed success earlier in the day when one of the other athletes he coaches, Mattie Sasser, qualified for Paris in the C Group. Sasser lifted at Rio 2016 for the Marshall Islands, then switched to the United States for a while. Although she lives and trains in the US she is competing for Marshall Islands again. Kim Il Gyong (PRK) Sasser’s 99-117-216, a career best at this weight and enough for 12th place among the 44 entries in all groups, earned her the continental slot ahead of Kiana Elliott from Australia. Rafiatu Lawal from Nigeria also lifted in C, despite being seventh in the rankings when she started. Lawal improved her best total on 101-126-227 but dropped to eighth when Ando went past her on 100-128-228. Yenny Alvarez from Colombia, who was 9kg down on her best total today, was fourth in the rankings. Anyelin Venegas from Venezuela and Dora Tchakounte from France were the only two athletes to make six from six, taking sixth and ninth place in the rankings on 229kg and 224kg respectively. Janeth Gomez from Mexico took 10th place on 223kg, displacing the American Taylor Wilkins, who dropped to 11th. Nina Sterckx from Belgium, who is in the top 10 at 49kg, was 12th. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
IWF Anti-Doping Seminar: combining Competition and Education in Phuket
Athletes and support personnel taking part in the IWF World Cup in Phuket (THA) gathered today in the IWF Anti-Doping Seminar, the first of its kind in 2024, but a customary initiative of our International Federation at its main events. Organised in collaboration with the ITA (International Testing Agency), IWF’s partner in all anti-doping activities, the meeting was attended by around 60 participants, who were welcomed by IWF General Secretary Antonio Urso, IWF First Vice-President Ursula Papandrea and IWF CEO Achilleas Tsogas. The Seminar was lectured by Christine Girard, from Canada, an ITA Ambassador and double Olympic medallist in weightlifting, and was also attended by a delegation of Thailand’s National Anti-Doping agency. “It is always with mixed feelings that I have the pleasure to meet all of you. I am happy because I see there is a real desire to be informed and briefed on such an important topic, but at the same time a bit unhappy, as all the resources we are allocating to this cause could be perhaps used in other areas, such as development or training science,” confessed Antonio Urso, when addressing to the attendees of the Seminar. “The reality is that there is a real culture of change at the IWF and the very fruitful co-operation with the ITA allows us to be in a much better situation than in past years,” also considered the IWF General Secretary. Antonio Urso, IWF General Secretary, opening the Seminar Christine Girard then proceeded with her presentation, focused on important points such as the definition of an anti-doping rule violation, the principle of strict athlete liability when it comes to the presence of prohibited substances in their bodies, the use of medication and supplements, and the reporting procedures. “Together, we must use all the tools that are available to eradicate doping from sport. It starts by being informed and then by respecting and abiding by all the established protocols that are in place,” explained the ITA Ambassador. Christine Girard during her presentation Having competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, respectively in Beijing (CHN) and London (GBR), Girard was given two medals (bronze and gold, respectively) from those events only in 2018, after a relocation of awards due to subsequent doping cases. “I was myself a victim of other athletes getting doped while competing. When I received my ‘correct’ medals, many years after I stopped competing, it wasn’t the same. The momentum had passed and all the privileges I could have had in 2008 or 2012 were not available any longer…” At the end of the seminar, it was reminded to all participants that those qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris should mandatorily follow an ADEL course on anti-doping education. In the meantime, a booth will be available at the competition venue in Phuket (THA) during the next two days. Athletes and coaches are welcome to pass by and ask for additional information to Christine Girard and to Melody Exhenry, the IWF Anti-Doping manager. IWF Communications Photos by Giorgio
Phuket, Day 3: Photo Gallery
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Phuket, Day 3: Hampton Morris ends USA’s 55-year wait on day of four world records
Hampton Morris from the United States made a huge final lift to take the 61kg clean and jerk world record from China’s Olympic champion Li Fabin at the IWF World Cup in Phuket. Winner Li had earlier beaten his own snatch world record, and there were two more world records in the women’s 55kg for Kang Hyon Gyong from DPR Korea. Morris, the first American man to set a senior world record in 55 years, and John Ceniza from the Philippines both marked themselves out as Olympic medal contenders at this event, the final qualifier for Paris 2024. Hampton Morris (USA) For many others it was a struggle. Twelve of the 29 entrants in three 61kg sessions bombed out, including Li’s team-mate Chen Lijun, the 67kg champion in Tokyo, and multiple Olympic medallist Eko Yuli Irawan from Indonesia. Morris, 20, had already lifted 172kg to break the junior world when he went out for a final attempt at 176kg. In making it he moved up from seventh to second place behind Li in the Paris 2024 rankings. The last American male to break a senior world record was Bob Bednarski in 1969. “I knew the world record was a possibility,” Morris said. “My coach (his father Tripp) told me that if we knew going into the session that I’d made the Olympic team, we’d just have fun.” His place in Paris was assured when a brutal B Group ended with only three of nine athletes making a total. There was nobody left to challenge his place in the top 10. Did Morris have fun? “Absolutely! I’m just excited, that’s all there is to it. I knew that I was completely capable of the world record before we even arrived here. After the way the second jerk felt at 172, I knew I was going to make it. “All of us (Morris, his dad, and US coaches Mike Gattone and Pyrros Dimas) knew I was going to go for it at that point.” Tripp said, “I’ve been thinking for two years that Hamp could break the world record. It’s because of his trajectory in clean and jerk… We’ve just got to get his snatch going now. “Five days ago in the training hall he made 134-171 and missed 176 in the jerk. This was great, but it wasn’t a surprise.” Morris finished on 127-176-303, a 6kg improvement on his best qualifying total. Li made 146-166-312, bettering his own world record in snatch and failing with two clean and jerk attempts on 173kg that would have beaten his record on total too. Li Fabin (CHN) Pak Myong Jin from DPR Korea was third on his 21st birthday. Pak, who made 131-170-301, is not ranked for the Olympics. Ceniza was fourth on 132-168-300, a 2kg improvement on his best qualifying effort. He missed the Asian Championships in February to recover from a hip injury. “Train hard every day, forget your problems, that’s the way to prepare and that’s what I did,” Ceniza said. “It’s my dream to be an Olympian, and to be the first man to win a weightlifting medal for the Philippines.” Li heads the rankings on 314kg, followed by four others who have broken the 300kg barrier - Morris, the Italian Sergio Massidda, who is entered at 67kg here, Irawan and Ceniza. Those placed sixth to 10th are Theerapong Silachai from Thailand, Shota Mishvelidze from Georgia, Aniq Kasdan from Malaysia, Trinh Van Vinh from Vietnam and Ivan Dimov from Bulgaria. Dimov had knee surgery last week and came here to weigh in and protect his eligibility. Arley Calderon from Cuba had a chance to overtake him but he needed to improve his career-best clean and jerk by 7kg and failed, remaining in 11th place. The continental place goes to Morea Baru from Papua New Guinea, whose 281kg total in the C Group was his best for five years. Kang Hyon Gyong (PRK) In the women’s 55kg Kang declined the opportunity to try for the snatch world record. In clean and jerk she made 120kg, jumped straight to 131kg and made the lift to better the clean and jerk and total world records she set at the Asian Games last September. Kang finished 33kg clear on 103-131-234. Mihaela Cambei from Romania, already assured of a place in Paris at 49kg, moved up here and finished second on 91-110-201, the first time she has totalled more than 200kg in her career. Cambei weighed in at 51.28kg. Mihaela Cambei (ROU) Bindyarani Devi from India edged past the Canadian snatch bronze medallist Josee Gallant to finish third on 83-113-196. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
Phuket, Day 2: Photo Gallery
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