News

Successful competition concluded in Pyongyang, PRK

Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea hosted the Asian Junior and Senior Cup & Interclub Weightlifting Championships. This major Event organized under the supervision of the IWF and AWF welcome a South Korean delegation which included 22 athletes as well as coaches and Weightlifting Federation Officials. Seoul says it’s the first time its athletes have attended an international sports event in DPR Korea. This important diplomatic move shows the unifying power of sports and the role of Weightlifting in opening borders, easing tensions, bringing together nations and athletes despite political differences. The Organazing Committee displayed high level organization and nearly five thousand spectators attended the competitions every day. In the 56 kg bodyweight category, OM Yun Chol (PRK) Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games set a World Record in the Clean and Jerk lifting 169 kg. A milestone was reached as a South Korean weightlifter has heard his national anthem played after winning gold in North Korea for the first time in the history of the two countries. The supreme leader Kim Jong Un watched the Women’s 63 kg and 69 kg competitions and saw the DPR Korean and South Korean flags rise together at the Victory Ceremony. He was very pleased to see weightlifters from different countries competing in Pyongyang with sports enthusiasm sweeping across the DPR Korea and public interest in sports steadily increasing in the country. Also at the Asian Junior and Senior Cup & Interclub Weightlifting Championships, IWF experts conducted an Anti-Doping and Event Management Seminar for 90 people representing the DPR Korea Sports Community. Congratulations the Organizing Committee and the city of Pyongyang for the organization of this successful event! Junior Results Asian Interclub Junior Results Asian Cup Senior Results Asian Interclub Senior Results Asian Cup

South Korean Weightlifters arrive in North Korea

South Korean weightlifters set foot on North Korean soil for the first time in five years on Tuesday to participate in the Asian Cup Weightlifting Championships in Pyongyang that start Thursday. The delegation consists of 22 athletes and 19 coaches and other staff, who arrived in the North Korean capital via Beijing. The last time South Korean athletes went to North Korea was in October 2008 to participate in soccer friendly. North Korea, whose weightlifting team won three gold medals at the London Summer Olympics in 2012, in April last year won the nod to host the international match this year. Some 200 athletes from 15 Asian countries are competing. In March, North Korea invited South Korea to take part. South Korea's weightlifting federation asked North Korea if the South Korean flag could be flown and national anthem played. Kim Yong-cheol at the South Korean Weightlifting Federation said North Korea "did not object" and guaranteed the safety of the South Korean athletes. In 2008, a regional qualifier for the 2010 World Cup between two Koreas had to be moved from Pyongyang to Shanghai because the North refused to allow the South Korean flag and national anthem. Jeon Chang-bum, who heads the South Korean team, said the championships will open the gates for increased inter-Korean sports exchanges. Source: The

Tickets presale for the 2013 IWF World Championships Wroclaw, POL

Tickets are available on internet at www.kupbilet.pl and at the points of sale, for example Empik stores. During the competition, there will be also an opportunity to buy single and reduced tickets in box offices in the Centennial Hall. Whole money from the ticket sales will be donated for rehabilitation of Julia Bonk – young daughter of Bartłomiej Bonk, polish leading weightlifter, Bronze Medallist in the Men's 105kg bodyweight category at the London 2012 Olympic Games. „When Szymon Kołecki, President of the Polish Weightlifting Federation, told me about this initiative, I was really surprised. I did not know what to say. For me and for my family it is a very touching idea. I would like to thank for it dearly in behalf of Julia, our beloved daughter. I am really touched. I want to thank Mr. Mariusz Jędra, Vice-President of the PWF, originator of this initiative and everyone, who supported it”, said Bartłomiej Bonk. „Everyone in our weightlifters’ circle sympathises with Bartłomiej Bonk, so the decision to donate the money from ticket sales for his family was obvious for us. I heartily invite everyone for the Championships”, said President Szymon Kołecki. Source: Marek Kaczmarczyk Press Officer

2013 Pacific Mini Games

The 2013 Pacific Mini Games have come to an end with weightlifting once again shining all the way. The weightlifting event held on September 3rd– 5th, was an outstanding success. The competition was held at the Kafika Hall. The competition hall had nine warm up platforms and the stage 9m x 9m was impressive to look at. And would you believe it was built on five hundred, 30 cm high coconut stumps. The training hall had twenty platforms, with squat racks, saunas, scales, everything required for a major event. It was incredible to see such an excellent training center in a country where mobile phones don’t even exist. The competition was fierce in some categories. Great battles were seen in the 62kg category, the 69kg category, the 77 kg category and in the 105+kg category. The large crowd attending the three day event really enjoyed the competition immensely. Amongst the crowd there were many Sports Ministers and National Olympic Committee leaders from the different islands of the Pacific. Read more in the Oceania Weightlifting Federation

European Games

Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF President held several meetings with the European Olympic Committees President Patrick Hickey and the Organising Committee of the first European Games in order to include Weightlifting to the program of the Games. The first edition of the European Games will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 2015 where 18 sports are confirmed so far. Before making any decisions regarding Weightlifting to be part of the program, both parties need to discuss and agree upon certain

IOC Session approves 25 core sports for 2020 Games

During its meeting at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the full IOC membership agreed on the 25 sports that will form the core for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Tokyo was elected as the host city of the 2020 edition. The 25 sports, as proposed by the IOC Executive Board (EB) in February, are: athletics, rowing, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, weightlifting, handball, hockey, judo, aquatics, modern pentathlon, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing and volleyball. Wrestling, governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), will not be included on the list of core sports after Rio 2016, but is included as an additional sport on the Olympic programme for the Summer Olympic Games in 2020 and 2024. The other two sports in the race for one open slot were baseball/softball and squash. In an effort to ensure the Olympic Games remain relevant to sports fans of all generations, the Olympic Programme Commission systematically reviews every sport following each edition of the Games. Golf and rugby sevens were added in 2009 as additional sports to the 2016 and 2020 Olympic