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World Records fall for KARAPETYAN Andranik

Women’s 69kg bodyweight category Gold Medallist at the 2012 IWF Junior World Championships in Antigua, Guatemala the Romanian lifter born in 1996 MOLIE Madalina Bianca also won the Youth title here in Kosice, Slovakia. She lifted a Total of 221kg, which is 16kg more than the Silver Medallist NEISI Dajomes from Ecuador. NEISI was the only lifter in the Women’s 69kg bodyweight category to perform six good lifts. Focused and precise in her moves and technique, the Ecuadorian lifter can expect more outstanding performances to follow. The third place of the podium as well as the 3 Bronze Medals went to the Russian BELOBORODOVA Maria. Men’s 77kg bodyweight category The Armenian KARAPETYAN Andranik broke his own Youth World Record in the Snatch set at the European Youth Championships in Constanta, Romania only 2 weeks ago. Still not enough, he repeated it in the Total setting it to 331kg. With 3 Gold Medals and 2 new Record, KARAPETYAN’s was astonishing. LEFLER Artem (RUS) ended the competition with a Bronze Medal in the Snatch, Silver in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total beating the Kazakh lifter ZHUBATKANOV Galymbek (KAZ) Silver Medallist in the Snatch and Bronze in the Total. The Clean and Jerk Bronze Medal went to LOPEZ FARIAS Bastian Andres (CHI). Men’s 85kg bodyweight category Nine Medals, for 5 lifters in the Men’s 85kg. Athletes were fighting for the victory kg by kg in close competition. The Clean and Jerk decided about the final rank of the athletes. Two Ukrainian lifters stood on the podium for the Victory Ceremony in the Total. KONOTOP Igor and HOZA Volodymyr won respectively the Gold and the Bronze Medals for their country. Silver Medallist in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total, PIRELA GOTERA Darwin Jose (VEN) got two good lifts. He defeated HOZA Volodymyr by only 1kg. AKHMEROV Albert (KAZ) made a good start and won a Silver in the Snatch, but with only one good lift in the Clean and Jerk, he missed the podium. Just like the Venezuelan lifter, TURAN Halil Ibrahim (TUR) had only 2 good attempts; however it was enough for a Bronze Medal in the Clean and

First World Record for Iraq

Men’s 69kg bodyweight category With two Youth World Records set and three Gold Medals, KARRAR MOHAMMED Jawad Mohammed Kadhum (IRQ) was the man to watch in the Men’s 69kg. Six good lifts and the first World Record for IRAQ in weightlifting’s history show the impressive strength of this 17 year old athlete. Dominating the field, he defeated the Russian KHUGAEV Khetag and the Kazakh LINDER Albert. KHUGAEV and LINDER were in close competition for the second place successively winning silver and bronze. However, the Russian lifter grabbed the Silver Medal after his last Clean and Jerk attempt in the Total with only 1kg more than the Kazakh opponent. Women’s 58kg bodyweight category MAXIMOVA Ksenia (RUS) was unbeatable in the Women’s 58kg. Coming out last; after every other athlete finished the competition in both Snatch and Clean and Jerk she defeated all her opponents. Lifting after herself, she ended the competition with 6 good lifts and 27kg more than the Silver Medallist FITOVA Alina (RUS). Only 1kg decided who will stand up on the third place of the podium. The Turkish lifter KURNAZ Mehtap showed a better result in the Snatch, however failing at her last attempt in the Clean and Jerk, she was awarded the Bronze Medal. The Bronze Medal in the Snatch went to KOKHANENKO Olena (UKR) and the one in the Clean and Jerk was awarded to the Mexican lifter LUGO Carolina. Due to 3 bad lifts in the Snatch, LUGO Carolina had no Total results but lifted 98kg in the Clean and Jerk winning her Bronze by bodyweight. Women’s 63kg bodyweight category The balance of power was set, while three competitors won the available medals in the Women’s 63kg. Six good lifts for the Russian LIKHACHEVA Nadezda who won the Gold Medal in the Snatch, the Clean and Jerk and the Total with 210kg. The second place of the podium went to TOMA Loredana Elena (ROU). She couldn’t catch up LIKHACHEVA but secured her place enough to finish before the Colombian lifter SILGADO Rosive winning three

South American lifters being serious rivals at the Youth World Championships

Men’s 62kg Bodyweight Category South American lifters are showing strong determination to overtake the victory from the Asian athletes. YUAN Chengfei (CHN) took advantage over the other competitors in the Snatch winning the Gold Medal, however it wasn’t enough to beat the Colombian winner. MOSQUERA Luis (COL) performed well in the Clean and Jerk leaving no chances for the others to catch him up. Silver Medallist in the Snatch, Gold in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total, the Colombian athlete preceded MUNOZ Jonathan (MEX) who lifted a Total of 265kg. Women’s 48kg Bodyweight Category No change in the medal share and no big surprises in the Women’s 48kg. Columbia doubled the number of its victories. After the 62kg Men’s, HINESTROZA Yiliana (COL) won the three Gold Medals. With a Total of 163kg, she was the uncontested winner of the category. The Venezuelan lifter MARIA Sierra ended the competition with 155kg and 3 Silver Medals. ZHANG Chunhua (CHN) lifted only 3kg less and won the 3 Bronze Medals. Women’s 53kg Bodyweight Category The last lift decided it all. Nothing was certain until the last Clean and Jerk attempt for the Mexican, Colombian and Romanian athletes. With six good lifts, DURAN Ana (MEX) stood up on the first place of the podium winning a Silver in the Snatch, Gold in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total. Her last attempt of 102kg in the Clean and Jerk gave her the so coveted victory. The Colombian ALVAREZ Yenny won the Gold Medal in the Snatch, Silver in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total with only 1kk less than the Mexican competitor (178kg) . PRICOP Laura Ionela (ROU) wanted to secure her third place and lifted a Total of 171kg. Bronze Medallist in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total, she outstripped other great lifters in the bodyweight category to win the medal. The Chinese lifter LI Yan couldn’t control perfectly the weight and missed the podium due to an unsuccessful last attempt. However, she managed to grab the Bronze Medal in the

Polish Olympic Medallists received Polish State and Polish Olympic Committee award

Since 1972 Munich, the London 2012 Olympic Games can be considered as the most successful Olympics for Polish weightlifting. In the ExCeL Arena, venue of the Games, Adrian Zielinski won the Gold Medal in the 85kg bodyweight category and Bartlomiej Bonk won the Bronze in the 105kg bodyweight category. After their return from London, the Polish Olympic medalists were acknowledged and celebrated by their Nation. In a ceremony held at the Warsaw National Stadium by the Minister of Sport and Tourism Mrs. Joanna Mucha, the two athletes were received by the President Bronislaw Komorowski and the Prime Minister Donald Tusk. On 17 September an Olympic Gala took place at the headquarters of the Polish Olympic Committee, where Adrian Zielinski received prize money of 30,000 Euro and his coach Jerzy Sliwinski 15,000 Euro. The winner of the Bronze Medal, Bartlomiej Bonk received 15,000 Euro, and his coach Miroslaw Choroś 7,500 Euro. After this great triumph for our sport in London, our mind is already set to the 2013 IWF World Championships to be held in Warsaw, Poland. Jacek Korczak-Mleczko Press Officer Polish Weightlifting Federation Photos by Jan

First day for the Youth weightlifters

Youth started with zest and strength at the 2012 IWF Youth World Championships in Kosice, Slovakia. The 13-17 year old young athletes are eager to win medals and show their capabilities to one day compete at senior events. Looking at their techniques and innate qualities, some of them already have the makings of great champions. Men’s 50kg bodyweight category YANG Yixiong (CHN) won it all. He dominated the field with his technique and precision and won the Gold in the Snatch, Clean and Jerk and in the Total with 204kg. Second place in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total went to the Romanian lifter MANEA Robert Stefan (ROU) who ended the competition with 9kg less than the Gold Medallist YANG. The Uzbek lifter ASLANOV Ruzimurod stood up on the third place of the podium in the Total with 194kg and won a Silver Medal in the Snatch as well as a Bronze Medal in the Clean. IARKIN Viacheslav (RUS) won a Bronze in the Snatch and ended the competition at the 4th place in the Total. Women’s 44kg Bodyweight category Women lifters’ first category was balanced and highly competitive. MAO Xiangmei (CHN) won a Bronze Medal in the Snatch, Gold in the Total, however she only won by bodyweight. The Romanian lifter CSENGERI Monica Suneta lifted exactly the same: 139kg in the Total. She managed to grab the Gold in the Snatch, Silver in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total. TARAFDAR Chandrika (IND) Bronze Medallist in the Clean and Jerk and in the Total lifted 10kg less than gold and silver medalists. KOHA Rebeka (LAT) was a great surprise in the competition showing an impressive control of the barbell on the platform. She ended with a Silver in the Snatch. Men’s 56kg bodyweight category JIANG Hao (CHN) Gold Medallist in the Snatch, Clean and Jerk and in the Total showed impressive strength. He lifted a total of 260kg dominating the field. Winning 3 Silver Medals SCARANTINO Mirco (ITA) lifted 28kg less than JIANG but still 11kg more than the Bronze Medal Medal winner Turkish lifter MAZLUM Ferhat. The first medal ever for Peru at an IWF Event was won by ROJAS CONCHA Marco who took the Bronze in the Clean and

IWF gives recognition to Great Finnish Weightlifting Champion, Jaakko Kailajärvi

Kailajärvi, a Grand Master in Weightlifting has an unparalleled record of attending 10 Olympic Games from 1964 to 2004, first as an athlete, later as a national team coach. A medallist at World and European Championships, he is also a double world record owner. On 1st of July 2012, he celebrated a wonderful double anniversary: he turned 71 years old and it was exactly 50 years ago that – after several Junior world records - Kailajärvi set the first senior world record in his Club, the Tampere Pyrintö Club, which is now proudly celebrating its 50th year of existence. In recognition of his invaluable services, the IWF conferred the IWF Award of Merit presented by IWF President Dr. Tamas Ajan and General Secretary Ma Wenguang to Mr.