News

At the end of the line

It could look unusual but at this time I tried to interview those who are absolutely at the bottom of the order after 62 kg category finished last evening.We had 36 lifters and the very last two among them were young athletes arriving from Oceania. Position number 36 is occupied by Stevick Patris from Palau, and Lapua Lapua Tuau representing Tuvalu was ranked 35th. They are both 20 years old, both train in New Caledonia and they mostly speak the language of Palau and Tuvalu. Above all the most important is they are both newcomers, who have never participated at World Championships before. Lapua said he started weightlifting just two years ago and he selected this sport as he does not like the atmosphere around team sports. He enjoys competing alone to be challenged individually. 'I cherish when I have all the focus on me', he added. Patris has a longer history in weightlifting as he started training when he was twelve. 'I followed my father who used to be a lifter', he explained. 'However I could catch just the very last position I am sure it was a good decision to deal with this sport', Patris continued. Patris was very nervous already before the competition started and his skittishness followed him all the time on the platform. He could perform only his opening exercises correctly. Lapua was not disappointed about his performance however he could reach his target neither. 'I came here to break my personal best results. At the same time I had five correct attempts make me proud. It is very important to collect more international experience here', he told.They promise to have joint efforts to improve for the next year. They both have a dream to be stronger, both long for Olympic experience and both are trembling in Paris as the weather is very cold here for them comparing to New

Men’s 62kg Press Conference

Zhang Jie looked very tired after the competition. Just the very last lift was to decide whether he can take the gold for the first time or he must settle for less. Finally he became the winner. Q: What did you think after missing your second attempt?A: I had no time to think as I had to prepare myself mentally.Q: Do you like competing in such a close situation?A: No, I prefer to win easily. Bronze medallist Irawan from Indonesia said he was satisfied overtaking Colombian Figueroa, Pan American Champion. At this time just the medal was important as he is on his way to prepare for Sea Games scheduled to start at the end of the week in Djakarta, Indonesia. This is the most important event of the year for me and for our team, he added. We expect five gold medals on home soil.

Women’s 53kg Press Conference

Women's 53kg category finished with Kazakhstan's athlete Zulfiya Chinshanlo selecting three gold medals and being called as the queen of 53kg weight class as she set up new World Record. Speaking at press conference, Kazakhstan's champion Zulfiya Chinshanlo declared that she had elevated heavier weights over head in her training sessions, including 103kg in snatch and 137 in clean and jerk.Chinshanlo said she has started weightlifting in 2004, and her record at Paris 2011 Championships was her first senior world record. Being asked why she did not compete in any championships this year, the 18-year-old champion said after the Asian Games in December last year, she was focusing on Paris 2011 competitions, that's why she was absent during this period. Turkey's silver medalist Aylin Dasdelen, who did fantastic performance with six correct attempts, stressed that she also made six correct lifts last time before in 2002 and considered her great trust in her coach as a key to her success. Dasdelen declared that her Paris 2011 championships results were her personal best, as she formerly competed in 58kg category. She said she must focus more on snatch in the future because clean and jerk was very easy for her, and snatched 100kg and clean and jerked 130 kg in training. Pledging to be among the medalists at London Olympics, Dasdelen said she will celebrate her 30th birthday on 1st of January and London 2012 would possibly be her last competition. Being asked over the black ribbon on her cloth, Turkish medalist said it was the sign of grief over the death of many of her home mates in the recent

Change-over on the top

A year ago at Antalya Worlds North Korean Kim Un Guk became gold medallist for the first time in his life. His rival Chinese Zhang Jie had to settle for the second place. This year the situation has turned round. Kim Un Guk lost the Asian Championship against his rival and he had to congratulate him in Paris again. However the Snatch promised him forceful continuation as he reached 150 kg without missed attempt. While Zhang failed at his last trial with 147 kg. At that moment not too many thought that five kilogram difference supported by lighter bodyweight will not be enough for a North Korean victory again. Turkish Sezer captured the bronze feeling Irawan's breathe on his neck. Clean and Jerk brought strange series of attempts by the athletes' final lifts. Almost everyone was all nerves. Out of 10 just two was able to close successfully the competition and all the others missed their last chance. Kim lost his power just during the very last phase of his 175 kg attempt. His failure opened the gate in front of Zhang. The Chinese had a mistake for the first time and had to show himself again. Silver as it happened a year ago or gold for the first time? His fate was in his hands and Zhang made a score and became the World Champion of Paris. He improved 6 kg comparing to his Antalya result while Kim could not show any development during the last year. Snatch bronze medallist Sezer had a poor Clean and Jerk performance and the bronze in total was taken over by Irawan. Kim was presented a special prize as he won the 3700th medal of World Championships history. Cold comfort for the poor North Korean lifter who returns home with his injured

The young queen of 53 kg returned

53 kg category was determined by Asia as the group A line up had 9 Asian lifters out of 13. The field was decorated by 2009 World champion Kazakh Chinshanlo and 2011Universiade winner Ji Jing. Yuderquis Contreras, a well known 58kg competitor, was registered into this category as a surprise. Chinshanlo made life difficult for her closest contenders as she had very good tactics pushing Ji Jing higher and higher. Contreras was successful in snatch achieving one kilo less than her Pan American record.(95 kg) Very unexpectedly Ji Jing remained on her opening 93 kg and was far behind to the leaders due to her massive bodyweight also. However Chinshanlo was not able to snatch 100 kg but she was waiting for Clean and Jerk in leading position. The second part of the competition was a memorable run for Chinsanlo. Surprisingly there was no battle between her and Chinese lifter. Duplicating her snatch result Ji Jing could not step forward than her first attempt in Clean and Jerk. Turkish Dasdelen passed her by to end with the silver medal in total with 219 kg, while Ji Jing was left 3rd with 214kg. Dasdelen was the only athlete with six correct attempts. With her last exercise Chinshanlo triumphed. One lift - three records. Her 130 kg meant Senior Clean and Jerk World Record, and at the same time she broke the junior clean and jerk and total world records as well (227 kg). Compering to the result of her first World Championship title in 2009 she improved 8 kg. The gold medal went to the youngest competitor (18 years) and the silver to the oldest (30

Interview with Ma Wenguang, General Secretary of the IWF and President of the Chinese Weightlifting Association

Q: DID LAST NIGHT DOUBLE VICTORY MAKE YOU ALREADY SATISFIED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS? A: The champion Wu Jingbiao's spirit and his manner impressed me very much. The audience enjoyed the way he was struggling for the gold. To overcome difficulties is the universal language of sport. Of course it was not a perfect performance as I do not think anything is perfect in our world around us. I appreciate how our lifter could express himself with all his power and energy on the platform. The performance of Tian Yuan winning the gold with six good attempts is memorable, not to forget her very young age, but she still has a long way to go. In China specially in competitive sports there is a saying that the last minute of the victory ceremony is the best moment to restart everything from the very beginning again. This is the only way to expect better performances by better athletes. Q: WHY DID NOT TIAN YUAN TRY TO BREAK THE JUNIOR WORLD RECORD? SHE WAS SO CLOSE TO IT. A: You must know before travelling to Paris she has just finished the city games in China and her coach did not want to risk any injury. Q: CHINA IS SO STORNG IN WEIGHTLIFTING THAT OLYMPIC CHAMPION LONG, WORLD CHAMPIONS CHEN XIAOTING AND WEI DENG ARE NOT PRESENT IN PARIS. WHAT IS THE REASON? A: It is due to a change in our selection policy. There is a very strong rivalry among the best lifters of the different provinces. This year I changed the way of selecting athletes for top competitions like this. Just one occasion decides all questions. Long lost to Wu and as a result Wu Jingbiao was given a chance to come. No excuse for the lifters not to take part at the competiton to select the best. No injury, no illness, nothing is accepted if somebody does not start for any reason. This system of selection follow the truth of the rule the stronger can compete. All the three athletes you have mentioned lost to their rivals even though they had good training results. This system is very much similar to American track and field model where there is just one chance is given to everybody. This is the new trend in Chinese weightlifting and we select for London the same way. Q: WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE NEXT TWO CATEGORIES OF TODAY? A: I hope they are both ready to present the culture of weightlifting, spirit, technique and good manner. This way the audience will have perfect enjoyment. First place I am not interested in their final positions but their performance makes me excited. Ji Jing and Zhang Jie must achieve their usual training results. This championship is mostly a platform to gain more experience and to be more mature before the Games. I never put pressure on our athletes shoulder before