News

Another milestone for the IWF: 100% of the lifters qualified for Paris were tested before the Olympics!

The International Testing Agency (ITA) released its “Paris 2024 Pre-Games Report” (link here) and weightlifting appears as one of the very few sports to have tested all its participating athletes in the period of six months before the Olympics! The IWF had a quota of 120 lifters in the French capital (two more athletes, representing the Olympic Refugee Team, were also part of the competition) and ALL of them were controlled in the lead-up to the Olympic celebration in Paris. “These numbers and unprecedented level of testing demonstrate our full determination in the fight against doping in our Sport. It also certifies that we had a fair and clean competition in Paris. The IWF, together with the ITA, is taking this matter very seriously and we are happy to see that this strategy is proving successful. I take the opportunity to thank our National Federations for their effort and commitment to keeping weightlifting going in the right direction,” declared IWF President Mohammed Jalood. Starting from December 2022, the ITA developed a Long List throughout the qualification period before the Games. Moreover, since January 2024, the new categorisation rule for National Federation allowed a more agile management in the follow-up of the athletes intended to participate in major events. Finally, an additional effort was made to test all those lifters qualified through the host nation and universality/tripartite quota. Besides being controlled, 100% of the athletes who qualified for the Paris Olympic Games received anti-doping education as per the mandatory IWF/ITA requirements. IWF

2 more days for Verification of Final Entries for Manama 2024!

IWF Member Federations entered for the 2024 IWF World Championships have until this Friday, November 22, at 12h00 (noon) CET to proceed to the verification of their final entries. In this last step before the participation of their teams in Manama (BRN), National Member Federations may confirm or delete the participation of their athletes. For that, Federations must check their athletes’ bodyweight category and entry total and modify them if needed. After selecting the participating athletes, the “Confirm” button must be clicked. To delete athletes who will not take part in the Championships, the “Dustbin” button must be clicked. After double-checking the final list of athletes, Federations must click on the “Send Verification” button. After the November 22 deadline for verification of final entries, no further changes can be made to the data submitted by the IWF Member Federations. This procedure can be made through the IWF E-Entry System (link

Cyrille Tchatchet II: official candidate to the WADA Athlete Council

Cyrille Tchatchet II is the candidate from the weightlifting family to the WADA Athlete Council, an election that will take place between December 10-12. Now representing Great Britain, Cyrille is a Cameroon-native athlete who joined Europe as a refugee and, in this quality, integrated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Refugee Team. His perseverance and charisma were rewarded with his election in December 2022 to the IWF Athletes Commission. After the first stage of the bid, at the end of October, the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed some days ago that the 29-year-old lifter was an eligible candidate for its Athlete Council, together with 25 other athletes from different sports. Eight of them will sit in the WADA’s body for the period 2025-2027. Cyrille Tchatchet at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Still an active athlete, Tchatchet is combining his sports career with a regular job as a mental health nurse. While applying for this position, he established some important priorities: “I am seeking election to the WADA Athlete Council to protect the integrity of sport and promote athlete's health. With over 15 years in weightlifting, I understand the pressures athletes face and the need for a level playing field. My goal is to ensure that anti-doping policies are fair, transparent, and supportive of athletes' well-being. I aim to strengthen education, communication, and collaboration between athletes and anti-doping authorities.” Following his 10th place in the 96kg category in Tokyo, Tchatchet started competing for Great Britain, obtaining his best result in 2023, with a fourth place in the European Championships. At the earlier stage of his career, in 2013, he was fifth at the African Championships, under Cameroon’s flag. “With my background in elite sports and role as a registered mental health professional, I can effectively voice concerns while promoting transparency and athlete welfare. My experience at national and international level has given me insight into the importance of clean sport for the mental well-being of all athletes,” Tchatchet also said. Competing at the 2023 IWF World Championships The election of the IF representatives within the WADA Athlete Council is made by the International Federations’ Athletes Commission bodies. Forrester Osei is the IWF Athletes Commission Chair and the person who, on IWF’s behalf, endorsed Tchatchet for this role. “His candidature to the WADA Athlete Council would be the corollary of his successful story and an additional avenue to give back some of his experience and expertise to the sport. Moreover, his involvement in the essential field of the fight against doping, brilliantly led by WADA on a global scale, would be another of Cyrille’s contributions to ensure fair and drug-free competitions in the five continents,” noted Osei. “Cyrille’s story in the sport of weightlifting is an amazing and incredibly inspirational one. It is the real tale of a man who was obliged to leave his nation and look for better conditions in another continent, far from the ones he loves. A man, an athlete, that succeeded in the sport he cherishes and complemented that with an accomplished professional career,” concluded the IWF Athletes Commission Chair. IWF

Lasha out of World Championships and into parliament. Weightlifting’s biggest name must choose – sport, politics or both

Lasha Talakhadze will miss the IWF World Championships for the first time since 2015. He has barely trained since winning his third Olympic title in Paris three months ago and is not among the final entries for Bahrain, where the 2024 World Championships run from December 6-15. Instead of being in the gym the Georgian super-heavyweight, who is the most successful weightlifter of the 21st century and arguably the sport’s most popular athlete, has been focusing on politics. He is due to become a Member of Parliament just before the World Championships start and is considering a new career in that field. Whether Lasha, 31, can work in politics and prolong his weightlifting career remains to be seen. When asked about his future priorities by the Georgian news website Politico, Lasha said, “The two are not incompatible. Lasha lifting for the gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics “Currently, I don’t train because of injury. At the moment, my country needs me. Georgia Dream is exactly the power that our country needs, which will maintain peace and unity in Georgia. “We’ll see what will be in the future … I’ve always stood by my country and will continue to do so in whatever capacity I’m needed.” Georgia’s Weightlifting Federation president, Kakhi Kakhiashvili, is hoping Lasha will return to the gym, win another European title in his own country in 2026 and keep competing until the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. By Lasha’s own admission in an interview last year, Kakhi and Georgia’s national coach Giorgi Asanidze have been the two biggest influences on his career. Like Lasha, Kakhi won three Olympic gold medals and is one of weightlifting’s all-time greats. Kakhi said, “Lasha visited the gym a few times but is far from complete training. I’ve heard in several interviews that he wants to continue, but in other conversations he has mentioned transitioning to politics and working in a new field. “He reminds me of an adolescent in a transition period, where it’s essential to have good advisors by his side to make the right steps. “My goal and dream is for him to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics. He has the potential and the chance to become the most decorated weightlifter in the world in terms of Olympic medals. “I know from my personal experience that if one does not show up in the gym for six or seven months and does not start training at least once or twice a week, chances for the next Olympic medals will decrease and run out in time. I will do my best for Lasha to win another gold at the next Olympics.” Georgia Dream, which won the election on October 26, has been the ruling party since 2012. It will have 89 Members of Parliament once the election results have been ratified, probably by the end of the month. This time it named national hero sportsmen in its top 10 choices for Members of Parliament. Lasha, who will be the voice of Georgian athletes in Parliament, was selected alongside the Olympic wrestling champion Geno Petriashvili. Georgia Dream’s top six on the MPs list comprised the party’s billionaire founder, incumbent ministers and other high-status politicians. Lasha was number seven, and Petriashvili number 10. Members of Georgia’s successful national football team also endorsed the party before its victory. None of this was mentioned after Lasha’s victory in Paris, where he had said, “If my physical condition gives me the chance I will stay in this sport.” It was his first competition in 328 days, after knee injuries kept him off the platform. Later that evening Kakhi spoke of his plans to help Lasha towards becoming the only weightlifter ever to win four Olympic titles, and the first to make a 500kg total - 8kg more than Lasha’s current world record. “My plan is to host the European Championships in Georgia in 2026, probably in Batumi. That would be the setting for Lasha to make his 500,” Kakhi said. The first part of the Batumi plan came to fruition last month when the executive board of the European Weightlifting Federation awarded the 2026 continental championships to Georgia. “As you know, we have experience in organising similar events,” said Kakhi. “Our championship will be unique and outstanding, just as it was in 2019. The then-President of the EWF, Antonio Urso, referred to our championship as ‘the Championship of the Future’. Since then, our know-how has been attractive to several other championship organisers. “I hope that Lasha will achieve his dream of 500kg in Batumi.” Realistically, could it still happen? “If he starts training, yes. If he doesn’t start within six months, then no.” Asked about Georgia’s future in weightlifting if Lasha is no longer competing, Kakhi said, “Naturally, the team suffers a significant loss without Lasha, but I’m confident that Lasha will do everything he can to support the development of the sport, wherever he may be and in whatever position he may hold. “We have a new generation growing up, which has already brought us pride on the international stage, and our goal is to continue nurturing athletes that will make our country proud.” In his nine-year unbeaten run, Lasha has never totalled less than the 454kg which won the 2015 world title and began the sequence. He has won every world and Olympic title since then, setting more than 20 world records along the way. His absence next month leaves the host nation’s Gor Minasyan joint top of the entries, on 460kg, with Varazdat Lalayan from Armenia. Lalayan was second behind Lasha in Paris and Minasyan third, respectively on 467kg and 461kg. By Brian Oliver

Renovated IWF Photo Gallery launched today!

The IWF is launching today its renovated Photo Gallery, where you can find a selection of photos from the IWF events, namely the Senior, Junior and Youth World Championships. The upload of images will be made during the competition, or a few days after its conclusion, and will naturally include the best moments and lifters in the different bodyweight categories. The first pictures of this Gallery relate to the very successful recent edition of the 2024 IWF World Junior Championships in Leon (ESP). In less than one month, this space will be populated with the best images of the IWF World Championships, taking place in Manama (BRN), from December 6-15. The photos are organised in Albums, each corresponding to an IWF event. While the IWF Photo Gallery is a space where fans, media representatives and participants in the IWF events can download images, these pictures cannot be used for commercial purposes, nor sold to third parties. Enjoy the IWF Photo Gallery here IWF

Armenia, Türkiye dominate – and celebrations for Greece and Malta at European Juniors

Armenia had seven winners, including the top individual performers for men and women, at the European Junior Championships in Raszyn, Poland which ended at the weekend. Türkiye, whose nine medals were more than any other European nation at the World Junior Championships in León, Spain six weeks ago, also performed well. Four of its five winners in Raszyn were men. Other nations with cause to celebrate included Greece, which had the best youth athlete, and Malta. “This was a proud moment in our weightlifting history”, said national coach and federation president Jesmond Caruana after Malta had its first ever continental junior medals. Tenishia Thornton (MLT) In the concurrent Under-23 Championships, Iceland had the top female performer and, for the first time ever, two athletes on the podium in the same competition. Türkiye and Armenia – for whom Garik Karapetyan made a career-best total - also did well in this age group, which is exclusive to Europe. Aleksandra Grigoryan, a bronze medallist in León and senior European champion this year, made five good lifts after failing with her first snatch attempt to register a wide-margin win for Armenia in the Junior 55kg. Her final clean and jerk of 115kg left 19-year-old Grigoryan 12kg clear on 85-115-200, a career-best performance that put her top of the individual rankings. It was 4kg more than her senior winning total. Narek Mkrtchyan (ARM) Narek Mkrtchyan’s 150-191-341 in a high-quality 81kg session, in which the top three were all aged 18, was good enough to top the men’s Robi points rankings. The two other medallists, Ravin Almammadov from Azerbaijan on 151-187-338, and Levan Ochigava from Georgia on 151-181-332, were second and fourth respectively in the overall individual rankings. Three other women and two men won for Armenia. Apart from Grigoryan and Mkrtchyan, the best was Anna Amroyan, whose 228kg total at 76kg was third best in the women’s Robi rankings. Amroyan, 81kg winner Emma Poghosyan and men’s super-heavyweight silver medallist Ashot Movsisyan had all, like Grigoryan, won medals in León. Kaan Kahriman (TUR) Türkiye’s top performer on Robi points was Kaan Kahriman, a multiple world and continental medallist at 67kg. Kahriman, ranked third in the individual list, was 16kg clear at halfway and declined his last two attempts after reaching a winning total of 300kg, well below his best. Malta’s best ever results came from Kim Camilleri, third at 49kg, and Tenishia Thornton, who won at 64kg on 89-112-201 despite being unwell. “Tenishia is known for her fighting spirit,” said Caruana. “She was suffering from the flu, which made it difficult for her to breathe even without exertion. Despite this she still managed to deliver a strong performance. These results make us very proud.” The youngest winner was 16-year-old Maria Stratoudaki from Greece, who made 73-96-169 for a wide-margin success at 49kg. She broke the European youth clean and jerk record. Boyana Kostadinova from Bulgaria, also 16, had a youth record total of 149kg when she finished second to Ezgi Kilic from Turkey at 45kg. Irakli Vekua from Georgia, 17, made only one good snatch but took the +102 youth clean and jerk record with 200kg. Szymon Ziolkowski from Poland, the super-heavyweight champion, also made a 200kg clean and jerk in his total of 371kg. Ziolkowski was one of two winners for the home nation, the other being Monika Marach with a total of 228kg in the women’s 71kg. Tiberiu Donose (ROU) Tiberiu Donose from Romania was fifth best in the Robi rankings after winning for a second straight year at 73kg. His 148-170-318 was 5kg down on his performance in León, where he finished second. Ertjan Kofsha, the Albanian teenager who also won a medal in León, had career-best numbers across the board on 162-192-354 in the 96kg contest, but that was not enough to beat Enes Celik from Turkey, who made 161-194-355 before declining his final attempt. In the Under-23s Garik Karapetyan, who was fourth at 102kg at the Paris Olympics, went up in weight to win at 109kg with a career-high total. Weighing in at 106.4kg, Karapetyan made 182-220-402. He finished 27kg clear and achieved the highest Sinclair score of the week, but was second on Robi points to Yusuf Fehmi Genc from Turkey.   The joy of the Icelandic team - Photo credit: ewf.sport  Genc never weighed more than 70kg in his unsuccessful attempt to qualify for Paris at 73kg. Back at 67kg for the first time in two years, he made 144-176-320. Iceland had the winner and bronze in the women’s 71kg, Eyglo Sturlodottir and Gudny Stefansdottir. Eyglo, who studies medicine, made 104-133-237 and has improved her best total by 24kg in two years. By Brian