News

Russia makes its début

Women’s 63kg Russian lifters entered the competition in a very remarkable way in the Women’s 63kg category at the 2012 IWF Junior World Championships in Antigua Guatemala. AKHMETOVA Diana performed at her best and her outstanding 6 good lifts brought Russia on the top of the podium. Following her second attempt of the Snatch with 105kg, she opened the way to secure her impressive victory. With two bronze medals for the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk the Chinese lifter LONG Dingling won and unexpected silver medal in the TOTAL. She lifted 126kg in the Clean & Jerk - 1kg more than her personal best. The silver medallist of the 2011 IWF WWC Paris, France GORICHEVA Karina (KAZ) missed her last two lifts in the Clean & Jerk and fell back into third position with a Total of 225kg - same Total as the Chinese lifter, but due to a lighter bodyweight LONG preceded her. Men’s 77kg The first two places of the podium showed the same setup as in the Women’s 63kg category. Russia and China got first and second place in the Total. KHOMYAKOV Dmitry (RUS) was confident and showed impressive strength during the entire competition. Preceded by GUO Zhimin (CHN) in the Snatch, he won with only 2kg in the Total because of a better result in the Clean & Jerk. The Chinese lifter GUO Zhimin ended up 6th in the Clean & Jerk, but with the advantage gained in the Snatch, it was a great achievement for him to take the silver. MATA Andres from Spain excelled with a silver medal in the Clean & Jerk and a bronze in the

Third competition day and first gold for Romania

Women’s 58kg With her last attempt in the Snatch, the Romanian lifter MOLIE Madalina Bianca had the chance to decide whether she’ll keep or give away the gold. Performing a no lift, MOLIE got the silver medal while INTAMAT Kamonchanok (THA) stood up on the first place of the podium. In the Clean & Jerk, the Chinese lifter YANG Li went from 100kg to 109kg which was a too heavy weight for her and she couldn’t achieve a better result. After 3 unsuccessful lifts in the Snatch, FIGUEROA Yusleidy (VEN) proved to be the strongest and even though she had no Total, she won the gold medal in the Clean & Jerk with 114kg. Ending the competition with 2 silver medals, MOLIE Madalina Bianca (ROU) was awarded the gold for the Total. Men’s 69kg WU Chao (CHN), bronze medallist at the 2011 IWF World Championships Paris, France left no chance to any of his opponents. He dominated the field. In the Snatch he was still closely followed by his compatriot SU Ying who he beat with only 2kg. With 190kg in the Clean & Jerk - 14kg more than the silver medallist GULIYEV Firudin (AZE) - there was no chance to any other competitor to beat WU. In the Snatch, the bronze medal was awarded with 145kg to ISMAYILOV Daniyar (TKM) who came forward from group B. The Albanian title holder GODELLI Daniel got the 5th place in the Snatch and didn’t show up to perform in the Clean & Jerk. PIPA Artiom (MDA) ranked 4th at the 2011 WWC Paris grabbed the bronze medal in Antigua

Thailand and Columbia tried to overcome the Chinese opponents

In the Women’s 53kg bodyweight category, 2 Turkish, 2 Thai and 2 Chinese lifters attempted to reach the top of the podium. All three gold medals were grabbed by the stronger - 18 years old - Chinese lifter ZHANG Wanqiong. In the Snatch she was preceded by TANASAN Sopita (THA) who won because of a lighter bodyweight, but in the Clean & Jerk she managed to beat her opponent with lifting 2kg more. The bronze medal winner Belarusian lifter CHYCHKAN Alena kept her place during the two lifts. The other Thai athlete SUTANAN Kittima ended up fourth with a Total of 197kg, whilst she won bronze at the 2010 and 2011 IWF World Junior Championships. The fourth bodyweight category - Men’s 62kg - gave a fourth victory to China. The title holder MAO Chen, who is competing for the last time within Juniors, ended the competition with a Total of 300kg. He arrived to Antigua Guatemala as 7th of the IWF World Ranking List, and lived up to expectations. In the Snatch, the other Chinese lifter HUANG Minhao (Asian Champion in 2011) grabbed the gold medal, lifting 140kg - 4kg more than MAO. Third place went to MOSQUERA Francisco (COL) with a Total of 291kg. However, in the Clean & Jerk he overcame HUANG and stood up on the second place of the podium with

Chinese victories on the first day of the Junior World Championships

Competition started at the Junior World Championships and Pan American Olympic Qualification Event in Antigua Guatemala with 54 countries participating in the 3 events running simultaneously. Altogether 440 athletes came to participate in the event. 37 Women and 87 Men will do their best to earn Olympic quotas for their country in the Pan-American Olympic Qualification Event. In regard to the 2012 IWF Junior World Championships, 118 Women and 154 Men will compete on stage to win the titles. Several lifters came back to defend their title: Women Junior World Champions in 2011: TURIEVA Tima (RUS - 2011 Junior World Champion in the 63kg bodyweight category now competing in the 69kg), ZUBOVA Olga (RUS – 75kg). Men Junior World Champions in 2011: CHEN Xiaong (CHN - 56kg), MAO Chen (CHN - 62kg), GODELLI Daniel (ALB - 69kg), MOHAMMADPOURKARKARAGH Saeid (IRI - 94kg), ARROYO VALDEZ Jorge David (ECU – 105kg), MOULAEI Bahador (IRI - +105kg) The first medal of the 2012 IWF Junior World Championships was won by the 17 year old Chinese lifter Feng Linmei. Attending her first international competition, she can bring home with pride a silver medal for the Clean & Jerk and a gold medal for the Snatch and the Total. The silver medal in the Total went PRAMONGKHOL Sirivimon (THA) who ended the competition with a Total of 183kg – only 3kg less then Feng Linmei. SIRIMONGKHON Wipada won the second medal for Thailand. In the Men’s 56kg bodyweight category, the 2010 Junior World Champion CHEN Xiong (CHN) won the gold medal lifting 13kg more than his main challenger in his category. The Spanish lifter BRACHI Josue, 5th at the 2011 European Weightlifting Championships Kazan, Russia managed to grab the silver, while JOHN Serna won a bronze medal for Colombia. Follow the competition on our live scoreboard and get live results from our

Fruitful meeting for the IWF Executive Board in Antigua Guatemala

As scheduled, prior to the Junior World Championships the IWF Executive Board sat down to discuss the topical issues of the sport of weightlifting. The meeting took place on 9th May in Antigua Guatemala. The Board - among other matters - heard and approved reports from the Continental Federations, two of which - the Pan-American and the European - recently had elections and their Olympic Qualification Championships. The three Committees summarized their work and made valuable recommendations to the Board. The most significant is an addition to the IWF Competition and Technical Rules which the Executive Board approved with immediate effect. The IWF reacted swiftly and positively to the inquiry of an American athlete and his Federation regarding the use of prosthetic limbs in competition. Upon recommendation by the Technical Committee, the IWF decided to allow the use of such prosthesis provided the athlete weighs in together with it and it is not powered by any additional means or device. By including this passage into its rules, the IWF once again demonstrates its inclusive approach towards competition and athletes. Reports were heard about the anti-doping control status with special regard to the Olympic provisions and pre-Olympic testing plans. The Board approved the applications of National, Regional and Continental Federations for funds from the IWF Development Program. Furthermore the Board heard the Financial Report for 201, acknowledged the KPMG Auditors' Report and took some strategic decisions for the financial management of the IWF for the future. It also stated with satisfaction that the IWF Secretariat had made effective steps towards the enhancement of visibility of the IWF in the international media with a view to opening ways for new marketing possibilities and partnerships. Finally, the Board took note of the Olympic Qualification Status and decided that the IWF Constitution Modification Congress will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the second week of December

Farewell to Karol Guman

The International Weightlifting Federation was informed by the Slovak Weightlifting Federation about the death of Karol Guman, former weightlifter and former President of the Slovakian Weightlifting Federation. Karol Guman was several times Czechoslovak champion between 1958 and 1974. After ending his active career he remained faithful to his beloved sport weightlifting and worked as a coach in Kosice. He was President of the Slovakian Weightlifting Federation and founder, later Director of the Sports High School in Kosice. The IWF wishes its deepest condolences to the Slovakian Weightlifting Federation and to his