News

2013 ZKC EMAIL INTERNATIONAL CLUB TOURNAMENT

Congratulation to the winning teams: TABORIO CLUB FROM KIRIBATI AND THE HAUNABADA CLUB FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA The ZKC Email International Club Tournament which concluded on July 31st was once again a great success for club lifters. The winning club in the male section was TABORIO Club from KIRIBATI, whilst in the female section it was the Haunabada Club from Papua New Guinea. This is the fourth successive year for the Haunabada Club to win the female section. Both clubs will each receive one Olympic barbell set from ZKC who is the sponsor of the tournament. The OWF would like to thank the General Manager of the ZKC Company, Mr. Zhang Zhiguo, for his support and contribution toward this event and also towards the development of weightlifting at club level worldwide and the IWF for the support in promoting the event. The Oceania Weightlifting Federation wishes to thank every club which took part in this year’s tournament and congratulations to the individual winners and to the two winning clubs. Check out interesting statistics regarding the event

Pan American and South American Junior Championship –Santiago of Chile

The Pan American and South American Junior Championship has been concluded with great success in Santiago of Chile. The competition was organized in the Chilean Olympic Training Center and was transmitted LIVE by TV and via internet on the web site www.fechipe.cl. The wonderful atmosphere, the music and lights made great impression on the public and also on the sport authorities of Chile. The best teams in the Pan American Championship were United States in female section and Peru in the male section, with Chile in the third place in male section. In the South American Championship in both sections the winner was Ecuador, followed by Peru and Chile. During the Victory Ceremony, the Chilean Federation presented a special award to Mr. Basilio Chalak (ARG) and to Mr. David Montero (BRA) for their important contribution to weightlifting sport and their long friendship with Chile. After the competition, the delegations were invited to visit the Ski Center Snowy Valley ( Valle Nevado), where people enjoyed snow and then to lunch in a picturesque place near Santiago. Complete results on

Tragic news: Dr Shimon Barak dies at 59

It is with the deepest sorrow that we have to announce the premature death of Dr. Shimon Barak, Israel. A former Olympian weightlifter and survivor of the 1972 Munich terrorist attack, Shimon Barak became the key player in Israel’s new era of weightlifting. He put life into the Israeli Weightlifting Federation and gave a new meaning to its activities by leading his country back to the International Weightlifting Community through affiliation with the European Federation. His activities as a weightlifting lecturer, referee and official soon developed international scale and he was elected to the IWF Executive Board and in the Scientific and Research Committee from 1992 up to 2009. He chaired the IWF Medical Committee during two terms and served on the IWF Anti-Doping Hearing Panel on numerous occasions. He served as a Technical Official at Olympic Games, Youth Olympics, the Universiade and countless World Championships. A born coach and teacher, Dr. Barak was also a strong believer in sports education and education through sports. He was the Director of the Sports School at Tel Aviv University. He organised and hosted the first ever IWF University World Championships in 1998 in Tel Aviv – thus starting a beautiful era in academic weightlifting. At the same time, he realized the role and used the wonderful potential of sports to abolish animosity and create peace, understanding and friendship between nations, peoples or different religious groups. In that spirit, he regularly organised in Israel the Friendship Games’, a basketball tournament between university teams. Symbolically, the last major event that was held in Israel under his baton was the 3rd FISU World University Weightlifting Championships in Eilat, the crossroads of three countries and different worlds and cultures. Dr. Shimon Barak was the incarnation of the Sportsman: active, athletic, strong in mind and body and a fearless champion of Fair Play; and at the same time, also a Man of Honour, a Family Man and a True Friend. His accomplishments were plenty yet his oeuvre was far from being finished. He fought bravely for a year before at the incredibly young age of 59 years he finally lost the game against the cruel disease, cancer. The IWF and the Weightlifting Family mourn his untimely departure and share the grief of his Family. Dr. Shimon Barak’s  dear memory will live with us

OWF Newsletter

Check out the latest OWF newsletter which includes some great shots of the Oceania Championships held in Brisbane on July 10-14. OWF

Glasgow’s One-Year Countdown

Six-time Olympian and double Commonwealth Gold medal winner Sir Chris Hoy today (Tuesday 23 July) fired off a festival day of sporting and interactive fun in Glasgow as the city and Scotland celebrated the magical one-year milestone to the Commonwealth Games. Sir Chris kick-started a day of celebration by supporting a people’s Glasgow 2014 Cycle Challenge and a Breakfast of Champions with lucky sports fans in the middle of the city’s main shopping zone, Buchanan Street. Glasgow 2014’s cheeky mascot, Clyde, also took to the streets to join dancers, musicians and street performers in showcasing how vibrant and fun the city will feel at Games time. At the heart of the day’s action was the unveiling of the Glasgow 2014 Official Ticketing Guide – the route to up to one million seats at the heart of the Games live action, across 17 sports. The Ticketing Guide, featuring stunning athletic imagery from across the sports programme, sets out full details how everyone can be part of an accessible and affordable Commonwealth Games. From today 350,000 copies of the guide will be available across Scotland and online at www.glasgow2014.com/tickets Sir Chris joined Team Scotland athletes, Glasgow 2014 Chairman Lord Smith and Games Partners for its official launch. Ticketing for the Games goes live on Monday August 19, when sports fans can make their ticket choices. Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chairman of Glasgow 2014, said: “Today marks a special moment in the journey towards the biggest sporting and cultural festival Glasgow and Scotland has ever hosted. “With one year to go, the Organising Committee is making great strides towards our ultimate goal of delivering an outstanding Games for the athletes of the Commonwealth”. Read more

American Samoa weightlifting team returns home with three medals

The American Samoa weightlifting team have returned to Pago Pago with three medals after competing at the Oceania Junior and Youth Championship held in Brisbane, Australia last week. Local lifter Pita Fanolua Jr, who competed in the men’s 77kg bodyweight category won the gold medal and female lifter Temple Fuimaono, who competed in the women’s +75kg bodyweight category won a silver and a bronze. Samoa News quotes team coach Faafouina Popoali’i saying that it’s a great feeling for him to be part of this team who won three medals for American Samoa. He says it wasn’t an easy task as there were a lot of top lifters from several countries competing in the tournament. Popoali’i says that though this was the first competition for some of the six-member team, all of them put up their best during the competition and they’re looking forward to competing at next year’s tournament hosted by Samoa. Source: