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IWF Congress approves in Manama (BRN) amendments to the IWF Constitution

The IWF Congress, gathering representatives of 135 National Member Federations approved today in Manama (BRN), several amendments to the IWF Constitution, thus leading also to the validation of the IWF By-Laws, approved by the IWF Executive Board last November 25. Both documents will enter into effect from tomorrow, December 5, 2024. In his welcome speech, the IWF President Mohammed Jalood expressed his gratitude to the Bahrain authorities for their hospitality and the excellent preparation for the 2024 IWF World Championships, from December 5-15. “We will experience a great time here in Manama and the entire IWF family feels at home in Bahrain. I am sure that exciting performances will be produced here, namely many new World Records,” declared Mr Jalood. “This Congress is held in a time of great unity within our International Federation and this is leading to enormous progress. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were a great success – moreover, we are happy to report that we didn’t have any positive doping tests! – and these achievements greatly help our Sport to secure its presence in the Olympic programme,” concluded the IWF President. IWF President Mohammed Jalood With delegates of 93 national bodies present in person in the capital of Bahrain and another 42 connecting with the assembly online, the new IWF Constitution was approved with 134 votes in favour and only one vote against. The changes voted by the delegates do not alter the document's substance, whose last update was made in September 2023. They are essentially aimed at providing a simpler language, to remove redundant provisions and details not belonging to a constitutional text. Four new modifications were however made: 1. Conditions for IWF Membership (Article 6); 2. Time limit for payment of outstanding amounts by MFs (Article 11); 3. Composition of the Executive Board (Article 16); 4. Two changes in the eligibility criteria (Article 25). On the side of the IWF By-Laws, they now incorporate large sections of the former Constitution, namely related to operational and technical provisions in the ‘Schedules’ sections. After this important vote, the Congress proceeded with the presentation of the various IWF Committees and Commissions reports (who had already made successful presentations to the IWF Executive Board on December 3). IWF Athletes Commission Chair Forrester Osei IWF commercial partners (Eleiko, ZKC, Uekasa, and SBD) were next on the programme, and the presentations’ time came to an end with the update of the IWF upcoming competitions, namely the 2025 World Junior and Youth World Championships in Lima (PER), and the 2025, 2026 and 2027 IWF World Championships, respectively in Forde (NOR), Ningbo (CHN) and Yerevan (ARM). The IWF Congress concluded with the grant of IWF awards for their contribution to weightlifting to: Michel Raynaud (FRA, Merit Certificate), Waldemar Gospodarek (POL, Gold Collar), Taisto Kuppola (FIN, Gold Collar), Stian Grimseth (NOR, Gold Collar), Karl Rimböck (GER, IWF Hall of Fame induction) and David Montero (BRA, IWF Hall of Fame induction). After intense days of meetings, the IWF family will gather this Thursday for the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 IWF World Championships in Manama, and on Friday for the first day of the competition. IWF Communications Photos by Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia For more Congress photos, please visit our Gallery here

IWF Executive Board meeting in Manama (BRN), December 2-3: main decisions

Under the leadership of the IWF President Mohammed Jalood, the IWF Executive Board (EB) met on December 2-3 in Manama (BRN), some days before the start of the 2024 edition of the IWF World Championships. During the two-day gathering, the main decisions of the EB were: - Allocation, for the first time in history, of both the IWF World Junior and World Youth Championships to the same city, running simultaneously. The 2025 edition of both competitions will take place in Lima (PER), from April 30 to May 6. As with the 2024 IWF World Youth Championships, also held in the Peruvian capital, two platforms will be used at the same time during the event; - Approval of an increased level of partnership with the company SBD, producing sports apparel for the strength industry. Under this agreement, the Sheffield-based company will be IWF’s privileged partner in this area for the next eight years. SBD had already partnered with our International Federation at the IWF World Cup last April and will be again present at the IWF World Championships in Manama; - Validation of the continental IWF training centres/academies: Africa (Egypt), Americas (La Havana, CUB), Asia (Fuzhou, CHN), Europe (Baku, AZE), and Oceania (Samoa). This project, starting in 2025, will allow the preparation, education, and training of lifters and coaches in those locations in each of the continents; - Approval of the IWF Innovation Commission proposal to introduce new bodyweight categories, from June 2025. In the men’s competition, they will be: 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, 110kg, +110kg. Among women, the new categories are: 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, +86kg; - Acknowledgement of the encouraging strategy related to the IWF anti-doping programme, after the presentation of the most recent reports by Benjamin Cohen, International Testing Agency (ITA) Director General, and Rune Andersen, Chair of the IWF Anti-Doping Commission. The agreement between both entities was re-confirmed and extended for the period 2025-2028;   - Update on the excellent preparation for the 2026 IWF World Championships, taking place in Ningbo (CHN); - Praise of the IWF Athletes Commission report, suggesting several new initiatives to facilitate the comprehension and access of the lifters to the IWF information and documentation; - Confirmation of the IWF Refugee Team programme for 2025, after a successful project in 2023 and 2024; - Definition of the procedures concerning the establishment of the IWF Coaching Licence, starting in 2025; - Increase of the amount to be allocated to the IWF Development Programme in 2025. This sum will now be of US$ 850’000, to be distributed to national federations; The IWF established a 8-year partnership with SBD - Approval of the principles concerning the establishment of an updated procedure for the IWF Partnership and Licensing programme;  - Definition of the dates for the election of the IWF President and Executive Board: May 23-26, 2025 (location to be confirmed); - The EB also finalised the voting procedure for the IWF Ordinary Congress, to be held in Manama (BRN) on December 4, 2024. This assembly will namely update the IWF Constitution. IWF

IWF Refugee Team: ready for great performances in Manama!

After its creation in 2023, the IWF Refugee Team will be represented by four athletes in the upcoming IWF World Championships, starting this Friday in Manama (BRN). The group arrived in Bahrain’s capital one week ago for a training camp in the facilities that will be used for the IWF showcase. Coached by Aveenash Pandoo, Yekta Jamali (W81), Ramiro Mora (M96), Aline de Souza (W55) and Addriel Garcia (M81) are ready to shine and hopefully improve their personal bests. “The preparation is going very well and they all look very strong. Taking part in this important competition, the World Championships, is a huge inspiration for them. None of the four athletes present here have injuries, so everything is set for good performances,” considers Aveenash, supervising the team’s training today in Manama. Addriel Garcia (right) training today in Manama The first participation of the Refugee Team in an IWF event occurred in September 2023, at the World Championships in Riyadh. “Back then, we had many challenges with the visas and only two lifters could travel to Saudi Arabia – Aline and Monique Araujo. Here, with the immense help of the local authorities, led by the chair of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq, we managed to overcome that problem. I also thank Florian Sperl, IWF EB Member and director of our project, the IWF staff, and our physiotherapist Hussein Settawi,” explains the coach. Araujo is the only absent for the 2024 edition of the event, after suffering from an injury in the last months. Reflecting on the importance of the training camp in Manama, Aveenash is clear: “If you look at the dynamics of the Refugee Team, we are all located in different countries and parts of the world, so being together well in advance before the World Championships and being able to train in these amazing facilities, this is hugely positive. It was also for me a privilege, as a coach, to see them and co-ordinate the last stage of their preparation before the event”. Ramiro Mora at the Paris 2024 Olympics From the group of four athletes in Bahrain, Jamali and Mora have also Olympic experience, after being part of the Olympic Refugee Team at the Paris 2024 Games. In the women’s 81kg, the Iranian native did a personal best of 103-128-231 (ninth place) and less than two months later at the IWF World Junior Championships in Leon (ESP) she did the same total (104-127) and got the bronze medal. Born in 2004, this is her last appearance as a junior athlete. For Bahrain, she has an entry total of 240kg. Mora did slightly best in the French capital lifting 166-210-376 (seventh place) in the men’s 102kg. Originally from Cuba, he is changing the bodyweight category in Manama, but is clearly aiming for a podium presence. “I will try to go for a medal and approach the 380kg in total, but the competition is very strong. I am competing in Group B and my best chances are in clean and jerk – I did 205kg last week in training and I think the medal will be between 205 and 215kg,” confesses Mora. Aline de Souza lifting at the 2023 IWF Worlds “I would like to thank the IWF for allowing us to be here in this training camp. It has been really important for us. We took maximum advantage of this facility. We are lifting the weight that we potentially target during the competition,” he adds. In Paris, Mora’s total was already an 11kg improvement from his previous personal best. “Since the Olympics, the preparation has been great – I was training primarily in England, but I was able to compete in some events in Germany too. Coming from Paris, I had a three-week break, after a very intense year. But since then, I recovered quite well. After this event in Bahrain, I will focus on the Europeans in 2025”, Mora continues. “The spirit of this team is very good. The coach is also fantastic, always ready to assist us. We have a good communication between us and we are constantly helping each other,” he concludes. The IWF Refugee Team, with coach Aveenash Pandoo (seated) and physio Hussein Settawi (on far right) Aline de Souza was officially the first-ever refugee athlete to lift at an IWF event, last year in Riyadh. Back then, she did 82-100-182 in the women’s 55kg, but she hopes to improve in Bahrain (she entered with a total of 185kg). “We have a lot of support and the level of preparation is excellent. The expectation is always to make better and improve the performances we did last year. We are all very optimistic about a good result – I personally also believe that I can do a good competition,” the Brazilian native admits. Yekta Jamali at this year's Olympics As a refugee, Addriel Garcia will also have its first IWF competition in Bahrain. But until 2019, he competed under the Cuban flag and his best result at international level is a 155-185-340 in 2016. “They are all relatively young, so their presence here has a great meaning for their competitive future. It’s a fantastic team, with a great camaraderie spirit. They all fit very well together. Ramiro and Yekta are perhaps the two most experienced athletes here. They bring a lot of enthusiasm and encouragement to the team, which is very good,” Aveenash considers. “I’ve been coaching for more than 20 years and I am pretty confident. Moreover, the facilities here are of Olympic Games level, so even for that we have all the conditions to shine,” he concludes. Pedro AdregaIWF

Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq: “To succeed, you need to think outside the box!”

Always serene in his chair, he speaks in a fluent way, without hesitations. He doesn’t take any calls or reply to any messages during the interview. At 33, Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq is about to accomplish the unthinkable: to hold the first-ever World Championship of an Olympic sport in Bahrain. From December 5-15, Manama, the vibrant capital of the kingdom, will welcome the best athletes on the planet in the 2024 edition of the IWF World Championships. Since March 2022 at the helm of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation, Eshaq – most probably the youngest president of a national federation in the five continents – had a vision: “To really develop weightlifting in Bahrain, to be present in the Olympic Games, to host international major events, and to attract some of the most inspiring athletes to train and compete for our country”. Less than three years later, the young leader can proudly say he ticked all the boxes. “We started with the Asian Weightlifting Championships in 2022, and thanks to the effort of the team and the support of the government and the Olympic Committee, it was an astounding success”. Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq: "We want to organise the best World Championships ever!" From that moment on, it became evident that the country was ready to raise the bar. “When the opportunity came in 2023 to host the world event, we jumped in. Never before has this country hosted a senior World Championship of an Olympic sport. So, we said: we must go for it,” Eshaq recalls. After a successful presentation of the bid to the IWF Executive Board in June 2023, Bahrain was given “the blessing and the confidence” to host our International Federation’s showcase in this month of December. “Now, we cannot let them down and we must organise the best World Championships ever!” Leading a meeting of the 2024 IWF World Championships Organising Committee The unprecedented experience all the participants will certainly feel starts from the venue itself: three temporary tents erected where two months ago there was only sand. “Sometimes you need to take risks to succeed. People were telling me ‘You’re crazy’. We were here in the first week of October and we had not hit the ground! But we wanted a plot that was centrally located, so that the logistical operations (transport and accommodation for example) could be easier to manage. We finally found it, but I had many sleepless nights because two months before the event we were still on the sand. But with the support we received and the great team we have we were able to liaise with all governmental entities to first asphalt the land and then install the tents. It has been a huge challenge, but when you see the result now, all that worry was definitively compensated”. During the Championships, Eshaq also intends to provide an unforgettable 10 days of competition for the athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators attending the event. Innovations in the sports presentation, TV production, lighting of the venue, and WR recognition are some of the novelties that will be presented in Manama. “Since June 2023 until now, every day I am thinking about these Championships. Every day, we have been brainstorming about it. You only get to host a World Championships once in a lifetime. I am happy we got this opportunity, so I said from the beginning that we need to make it special. We wanted to do things that hadn’t been done in previous editions of the Championships. Nothing is always perfect and mistakes can happen but we are really striving for excellence during this competition. We wanted basically to develop an athlete-centric approach!” Checking the security aspects of the Championships' venue With a holistic view of the development of the sport, the Bahraini leader is clear: “The results should not only be on the platform, but also off the platform. To achieve the best, we must think outside the box”. The 2024 IWF World Championships are the corollary of an intense work and effort that led to the presence of two athletes from Bahrain at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and even more importantly, the first medal ever for the country in weightlifting. Gor Minasyan earned bronze in the men’s +102kg and secured a place in the pantheon of great athletes in Bahrain. “By God’s grace, we were very happy to achieve this medal. It was a rollercoaster time in Paris – we started in the men’s 102kg with Lesman Montano. He was so close, but then missed out and finished sixth. But he was the first-ever lifter from Bahrain in the Olympics. And then we had Gor who put in on a fantastic performance – bronze medal and heaviest snatch. He became the first male medallist for Bahrain in the history of the Games and his success was also the first one outside the sport of athletics,” Eshaq underlines.   After this unparalleled achievement, the weightlifting family in the nation had a solid ground “to lobby for even more”. The Bahrain Olympic Committee and the General Sports Authority have been pivotal in this development and were firmly behind the organisation of the IWF World Championships. “We wouldn’t be able to achieve what we achieved without this huge support, with no limitations. We have also a very dedicated and enthusiastic team, without whom this competition wouldn’t be a reality. In total we are 70/80 people, including volunteers and some experts in the set-up of previous IWF major events,” Eshaq explains. With Gor Minasyan The impact of this rapid progress is also reflected in the number of active athletes in the country – presently around 50, including men and women. “In 10 years, this number can be 500. Short-term goals were relatively easy to reach, but long-term ones – related to grassroots – will demand more time, effort, and resources. But all these positive achievements create an immense awareness around the sport and inspire a new generation of young lifters”. At the last IWF World Junior Championships in Leon, Bahrain had two athletes competing in Spain. “This is a new and extremely good situation for us!” With some days to go before the start of the IWF major event, Eshaq remains optimistic about the prospect of a first medal ever in a senior World Championships on home soil for one of Bahrain’s lifters. “This would definitively be amazing!” For the time being, this huge organisation is already a strong asset in the nation’s portfolio to keep hosting major international competitions, s sports industry strategy that complements the one already put in place by the country’s authorities in the tourism sector. “Bahrain has always been a welcoming place, with a lot of history and culture. Combining that with the field of sports is the way to go”. On December 16, when the majority of the participating teams will be returning home, Eshaq will not rest on his laurels. “The work is far from being finished. Next step: Los Angeles 2028. We want to be at those Olympics and be successful there!” Pedro AdregaIWF Communications  

Bahrain, Women’s preview: Six world record holders can take PRK top of medals table again

PRK’s formidable women’s team looks likely to dominate at the IWF World Championships in Bahrain, which starts next Friday and runs for 10 days. Since returning from a four-year absence after the Covid pandemic, PRK has been the top team at the Asian Games, Qatar Grand Prix, Asian Championships and IWF World Cup. But not at the Olympic Games four months ago in Paris, where PRK was ineligible. Four of the five women’s champions in Paris, including all three from China, are taking a well-deserved break and will not be in Bahrain. All six current world record holders in PRK’s maximum team of 10 should be strong challengers for gold. At the five lightest weight categories up to 64kg, PRK athletes set 22 senior world records in less than a year, plus 14 junior world records. It could be that the only anthem played at a women’s session in the first half of the Championships will be PRK’s. Won Hyon Sim (PRK) If there is to be a surprise, it might come at 45kg where Won Hyon Sim holds all three world records on 87-109-196. One of the newcomers in a “second-choice” China team, Zhao Jinhong, totalled 198kg at a national competition last year.   Ri Song Gum, who made her international debut more than 10 years ago as a 16-year-old, set seven world records at 49kg in eight months. Her winning total of 221kg at the World Cup in Thailand in April was 15kg more than China’s Hou Zhihui made for victory in Paris. The main target for Ri Song Gum in Bahrain may be the snatch world record, which she needs for a full set of three. Hou set it at 97kg when she was beaten by Ri in Phuket in April. Ri Song Gum (PRK) PRK fields two top contenders at 64kg, Ri Suk and Rim Un Sim. Deng Wei’s long-standing snatch and total world records, 117kg and 261kg respectively, could be challenged by Ri Suk, who at 21 is seven years younger than Rim. Ri Suk claimed one senior and seven junior world records in 2023, her last year as a junior. Her best performance came a year ago at the Qatar Grand Prix, where she broke the clean and jerk world record and finished 1kg short of Deng Wei’s mark on total. Kang Hyon Gyong at 55kg and Kim Il Gyong at 59kg hold world records, as does Song Kuk Hyang at 71kg. Song goes up to 76kg to avoid taking on Olympic champion Olivia Reeves, who beat her last time. Reeves, from the United States, is the only Paris champion lifting in the women’s events. She finished ahead of rivals from China and PRK – the first American ever to do so – in Phuket before winning in France. A world title to go with her Olympic gold would give Reeves very strong credentials for the IWF’s World Weightlifter of the Year award. Olivia Reeves (USA) The Chinese athlete behind Reeves in that Phuket session, Liao Guifang, did not make China’s Olympic team and is up to 81kg in Bahrain. The PRK lifter at 71kg with Reeves is Jong Chun Hui, who has competed four times at 76kg despite never weighing more than 71.51kg. Egypt’s double Olympic medallist Sara Samir will take on Liao Guifang at 81kg, where PRK’s hopes rest with Kim Kyong Ryong, who has not been seen in international competition since 2019. Sara Samir (EGY) Eileen Cikamatana from Australia, fourth at 81kg in Paris, lifts at 87kg this time. She has competed at this weight twice before, in 2022, when she won Commonwealth Games gold and World Championships silver. Kim Yong Ju, whose best total is 258kg, is the heaviest athlete is PRK’s team while China fields two at this weight, 18-year-old Xu Linyue and Wu Yan, who has made 265kg in a national competition. The super-heavyweight silver and bronze medallists in Paris, Park Hyejeong from Korea and Emily Campbell from Great Britain, are both in action. Paris champion Li Wenwen is absent but China will loom large again for Park and Campbell, in the shape of international debutant Li Yan. Li has the highest entry total on 300kg and made a career-best 145-165-310 in a national championship last year. Eileen Cikamatana (AUS) Colombia has plenty of chances in a maximum team of 10, including Yenny Alvarez, Ingrid Segura, Mari Sanchez and Miyareth Mendoza, but winning gold will be tough. If Reeves, Samir and Cikamatana are not at their best, there is a possibility of Asian women winning all 10 world titles. That has not happened this century. By Brian

Bahrain, Men’s preview: Karlos Nasar in top form as he seeks to add world title to Olympic gold

Karlos Nasar can round off his spectacularly successful year at the IWF World Championships in Bahrain by setting more world records and claiming the one major title that has eluded him at his preferred weight of 89kg. The Championships begin on Thursday and finish on December 15. The highlight of 2024 for the Bulgarian star was winning 89kg gold at the Olympic Games in Paris, where he was the only weightlifter to break world records. He also won at the IWF World Cup in Thailand and claimed the European title in his home country. Karlos Nasar (BUL) Nasar has set 22 senior and junior world records at 89kg, eight of them in 2024. He is unbeaten for two years, during which he has won two continental titles, a Grand Prix, a World Cup and Olympic gold at his preferred weight - but not a world title. He bombed out in 2022 and was unfit to lift in Saudi Arabia last year because of an achilles injury. In his last competition as a junior, 20-year-old Nasar is likely to be the star of the show again. He won those three gold medals this year by an aggregate of 29kg and has been lifting ever bigger numbers during preparations that included a training camp at altitude in Bulgaria. Competing for Heinsheim in the German Bundesliga, Nasar made 180-220-400 weighing 92.2kg on November 9, then 185-230-415 weighing 93.9kg on November 23.  That 415kg total is only 1kg lower than the 96kg world record held by Sohrab Moradi from Iran – the longest-standing world record in the sport which was set more than six years ago. Rizki Juniansyah (INA) Rizki Juniansyah from Indonesia is the only other men’s winner from Paris in the start book. Super-heavyweight Lasha Talakhadze is taking a break, as are China’s five champions (two men and three women). China is sending a second-choice team. Rizki lifts at 73kg, the weight at which he won in Paris, while his team-mate Rahmat Erwin goes at 81kg. Both men are in B Groups. Rahmat, who holds clean and jerk world records at both weights, last competed at the IWF World Cup in April, where he was beaten by Rizki and knocked out of Paris. He lifted in the B Group at the past two World Championships, setting clean and jerk world records both times on his way to gold and silver on total at 73kg and 81kg respectively. Luis Mosquera from Colombia, who won 67kg silver in Tokyo and was fifth in Paris, and the junior world champion Caden Cahoy from the United States are in the 73kg B Group with Rizki. All 10 athletes in the A session have an entry total between 340kg and 345kg. Another Indonesian, Eko Yuli Irawan, first lifted at the senior World Championships in 2006 but he wants to prolong his career at the age of 35. Irawan, who bombed out in Paris while trying to win a fifth Olympic medal, will lift in Bahrain at 67kg. His younger team-mate Ricko Saputra is a medal contender at 61kg. Ri Won Ju (PRK) Asian athletes are expected to dominate the lighter weight categories once more, even though all 10 of China’s men will be competing internationally for the first time. Judging by their best performances in national competitions, Yang Yang at 55kg, Wei Haixian at 61kg and Zheng Xinhao at 67kg all look likely to challenge for medals. PRK, which was ineligible to send a team to Paris, will be aiming to top the medals table yet again. There are seven world record holders in the PRK team, six women and one man, Ri Won Ju at 67kg. There are strong challengers from PRK in all seven weight categories up to 89kg. Ro Kwang Ryol has the third highest entry total at 89kg, after Karlos Nasar and last year’s winner Mir Mostafa from Iran. Ro missed three attempts at the IWF World Cup in Thailand in April, finishing fourth behind the men who won the Paris medals – Nasar, Yeison Lopez from Colombia and Nino Pizzolato from Italy. Yeison and Pizzolato are both absent this time. Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) Two other Olympic champions will lift in Bahrain. Ruslan Nurudinov, who won 105kg gold at Rio 2016 but did not compete in Tokyo or Paris, is bowing out of international competition aged 33. “I’m feeling my age, but I will try to finish with a medal in Bahrain,” he said earlier this year. At 102kg the Tokyo champion Meso Hassona from Qatar will attempt to bounce back after the disappointment of a bombout in Paris.   Kazakhstan has medal chances from a strong team that includes Nurgissa Adiletuly, who led the 102kg Olympic rankings for a while. Adiletuly and team-mates Alexey Churkin and Artyom Antropov all tested positive for a banned substance after winning medals at the Asian Championships in Korea in May, 2023. They served reduced suspensions after it was shown that they had not intentionally taken the substance. Adiletuly lifts at 96kg in Bahrain, Churkin at 73kg and Antropov at 109kg.  Gor MInasyan (BRN) The host nation has a gold medal contender in the super-heavyweights. Gor Minasyan, who won Olympic bronze in August, will be up against the man who finished one place ahead of him in Paris, Varazdat Lalayan from Armenia. The youngest man in the A group, the final session of the Championships, is 20-year-old Ali Ammar Yusur from Iraq. He needs a clean and jerk of 247kg or more to complete a sweep of junior world records, having set the snatch and total records when he finished sixth in Paris. Seven nations field a maximum men’s team of 10 athletes – Armenia, China, Colombia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Korea and Mexico. By Brian