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2024 IWF Ordinary Congress: all info sent to National Federations

The IWF National Federations have received on 3 October 2024 all the necessary information concerning the IWF Ordinary Congress to be held in Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel in Manama, BRN on 4 December 2024. On the Invitation that was sent to our 194 Members, it was namely written: Due to exceptional circumstances, it is expected that some Member Federations (MFs) might be prevented from travelling to Bahrain. To ensure that all MFs – even the ones with no physical presence – receive an equal opportunity to participate in the Congress, IWF will provide a connection link in due time, to the MFs not able to join the Congress in person. Member Federations using such opportunity shall do so at their own risks and the IWF shall not be liable for any claim resulting from any possible technical failures which will be deemed as a consequence of the Member Federation’s own decision to attend the Congress online based on the relevant circumstances. Membership Fees or Other Amounts Due   MFs must make sure that any outstanding fees are paid in full. As per previous info on 25 January 2024, in accordance with Article 11.3 in combination with 9.1(a)(v) of the IWF Constitution, a Member Federation’s right to enter athletes in International Competitions will be automatically suspended if payment is not made in full. AgendaThe Agenda for the 2024 IWF Congress can be downloaded from here. MFs can download the documents relevant to item 4 on the Agenda regarding the Constitution amendments by clicking on the links below: Constitution Draft Comparison Table of Changes Member Federation Proposal Registration to the Congress  Registration to the 2024 IWF Congress can be made at the following link in the IWF E-entry system: mf.iwf.sport MFs must upload their official appointment letter, which can be downloaded in word format from here. IWF accepts only this document, which shall be filled in, signed and stamped by the respective Federation. No other document will be accepted by IWF The deadline to register in the E-entry System for the Congress and upload the official appointment letter is 29 November 2024. However, MFs are kindly requested to make their registration for the Congress ASAP and duly inform the Local Organising Committee at [email protected]  to complete their visa procedures in time ensuring their entry to Bahrain. Travel expenses and accommodation costs of Congress delegates shall be borne by the delegates. MFs must send their arrival-departure information and their hotel booking to the Local Organising Committee ([email protected] ) as soon as possible to ensure accommodation for their respective delegate. The Accommodation & Transportation Form can be downloaded from here. VisaThose coming from countries that require a Visa to enter Bahrain, please contact the Local Organising Committee ([email protected]) urgently by sending the Visa Application Form filled in, that can be downloaded from here. Contact details of the Local Organising Committee:Bahrain Weightlifting Federation / Local Organising CommitteeCommittee Building 21, Road 3501, Block 335 UM ALHUSSAM – Kingdom of BahrainPhone & WhatsApp: +973 3330 2392 & +973 3332 2977E-Mail: [email protected]  & [email protected]  

León Review: Rizki and Olivia Reeves did it last time, now the stars of 2024 World Juniors are ready to shine

Before the 2024 Championships ended in León, Spain last week, the last time a World Junior Championships was held in an Olympic year was in 2021 in Tashkent. Among the winners in the Uzbekistan capital were the Paris 2024 Olympic champions Rizki Juniansyah from Indonesia and Olivia Reeves from the United States. Few people outside their own country had heard of them at the time. Other future Olympians won junior world titles three years ago – Sergio Massidda from Italy, Muhammed Furkan Ozbek from Turkey, Garik Karapetyan from Armenia and Kamila Konotop from Ukraine all lifted in Paris, and Hristo Hristov from Bulgaria competed at the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo a few months after becoming junior world champion. Shahzadbek Matyakubov (TKM) Among those who won silver or bronze in Tashkent were Mihaela Cambei from Romania, Nina Sterckx from Belgium and Yekta Jamali, then lifting for Iran and now a medal-winning member of the Weightlifting Refugee Team. They competed in Paris too, where Cambei won a silver medal. During the three years between winning in Tashkent and competing in Paris, those 2021 junior world champions trained harder, got stronger and improved their best competitive totals by huge amounts. The biggest female improver was Reeves, up 39kg, while Karapetyan did best of the men, up 46kg. The stars from León have four years rather than three before the next Olympics. While they may be “unknown” as of now, you may well hear much more about them in the coming years. Some of the best juniors did not win. Remarkably, the IWF’s “best lifter” rankings, based on Robi points, featured three silver medallists in the men’s top six. In the best competition of the Championships, the men’s 102kg, winner Shahzadbek Matyakubov from Turkmenistan and runner-up Matheus Pessanha from Brazil both broke world records. Shahzadbek, ranked best individual in León, will go for more world records at the senior World Championships in Bahrain in December. Kwon Dae Hee (KOR) Kwon Dae Hee from Korea, ranked second, was within 8kg of Karlos Nasar’s clean and jerk junior record when he made his final attempt at 200kg. That was at 81kg, and nobody in the 89kg or 96kg sessions matched it. Four men from the 81kg contest were ranked in the top nine. There was no doubt about the best individual female – 55kg junior world record breaker Chen Guan-Ling, who is also the senior world champion. Chen had four junior world records in outperforming her senior gold medal total by 14kg. Ingrid Segura (COL) The 64kg and 71kg champions, Ingrid Segura from Colombia and Charlotte Simoneau from Canada, were ranked second and third. United States filled positions four, five and six in the individual rankings – Ella Nicholson, Katie Estep and Miranda Ulrey – and topped the team medals table for the second straight year. Their top-rated male was Hampton Morris, who won a medal in Paris and holds a senior world record. American team-building for their “home" Olympics in 2028 is clearly going very well. Chen Guan-Ling (TPE) Even though China and North Korea, the world’s strongest weightlifting nations, did not send teams to Spain, the standard of lifting was very high. There was an exceptional performance at the concurrent Commonwealth Championships in Fiji, too. Femily Notte from the remote Pacific island of Nauru, who was second in this year’s World Youth Championships in Lima, Peru, swept the youth, junior and senior titles at 64kg with a 220kg total at the age of 15 years four months. That is better than the current European, African and Pan American youth records, and within 13kg of the world youth record set by Pei Xinyi from China when she was two and a half years older. By Brian

León, Day 9: Sarria widens medal spread with gold for Cuba – and Love claims Canada’s first world record in 70 years

The 2024 World Junior Championships ended with super-heavyweight victories for Cuba in the women and Korea in the men, and a first world record for Canada since the 1950s. Marifelix Sarria became Cuba’s first ever junior world champion when she made all six lifts for a wide-margin success. Sarria, 20 last month, improved her best total by 20kg in making 115-155-270. Cuba became the 14th team to win a title. Like last year, United States topped the final medals table, which once more included a wide spread of nations. Marifelix Sarria (CUB)  Of the 62 teams taking part in León, Spain – 60 nations plus the Individual Neutral Athletes from Belarus and the Weightlifting Refugee Team – 34 won at least one medal on the extended table featuring snatch, clean and jerk and total. The latest additions on the final day were Cuba, New Zealand and Poland. That means medals have been won by more than half of the competing teams at all four Youth and Junior World Championships in the past two years. “I can’t think of any other Olympic sport that can match that spread of medals,” said Craig Walker, president of the Canadian Federation who was among the medal presenters today. The same point was made by Simon Kent, president of the New Zealand Federation. “The sport is obviously cleaning up, and that favours us,” he said. “Things are changing.” Etta Love (CAN) Canada was on the podium for a second time this week when Etta Love finished second to Sarria. Love, the 17-year-old youth world champion, claimed the clean and jerk youth world record from the Olympic medallist Park Hyejeong when she made her final attempt on 146kg. Love was close to taking all three youth world records. She failed once, on 111kg when going for the snatch record, and finished 108-146-254. That was up 11kg on her winning Youths total in May, and was 1kg short of the youth record on total. “I’ll try again for the other two at the senior Worlds in Bahrain in December,” said Love, who had a lot of support in the audience from her parents, brothers, grandparents and a cousin who lives in Spain. Love has improved her best total by 44kg since her debut two and a half years ago and is aware that she will have to add another 50kg to be competitive in the seniors. “I love this sport, I feel a deep connection with it,” she said. “I know the numbers I need can be scary, but they’re scary and doable at the same time. “I’m confident I will continue to improve but I don’t know what my limit is, or how long I’ll have that connection with the bar. The barbell makes me feel alive. I want to go to the (2028) Olympics and continue for as long as that connection remains.” Canada’s last world record holder was Doug Hepburn in the old clean and press discipline in the early 1950s. Taiane Justino (BRA) Brazil had its second medallist in two days when Taiane Justino finished third on 110-141-241. Yairan Tysforod from Colombia won bronze in snatch on 110kg. In the men’s contest Jiyong Nam moved from fourth at halfway to top of the podium. The 19-year-old Korean came out after everybody else had finished in clean and jerk, needing 223kg for victory. He did it with a lift to spare, which he declined. Jiyong Nam (KOR) Robert Kurouski, the Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus, made 170-212-382 in second place, and Ashot Movsisyan from Armenia was third on 158-208-366. Robert Kurouski (AIN) Szymon Ziolkowski from Poland and Numi Tepololo took silver and bronze in snatch on 170kg and 161kg. Tepololo, his country’s first male medallist at a World Championships in any age group, celebrated by performing the haka on the platform after the medal ceremony, as his team-mates joined in from the spectator area. Irakli Vekua from Georgia, twice a youth world champion, passed the 200kg mark for the first time in competition, aged 17. He made 157-201-358 in fifth place. Ashot Movsisyan (ARM) Ali Ammar Yusur will have been watching with interest in Iraq. The 20-year-old, who has snatched 200kg and totalled 427kg at the IWF World Cup in April, was hoping to be in Spain to win gold but instead he has stayed at home to train and put on weight in preparation for Bahrain. By Brian

León, Day 8: Brazil’s first world record lasts less than two minutes in sensational finish

Two world records, another “holiday” victory for the champion from Turkmenistan, seven lifts of 200kg or more and an unforgettable arrival on the world stage for a Brazilian teenager. Those were some of the features of the most entertaining session so far at the World Junior Championships in León, Spain. There were two competitions within the 102kg contest, one for 10 athletes and another for the three who finished on the podium – Shahzadbek Matyakubov from Turkmenistan, Matheus Pessanha from Brazil and Mahmoud Hosny from Egypt. Shahzadbek Matyakubov (TKM) Matyakubov and Hosny have both won major senior medals but Pessanha, 19 last month, had never competed outside South America. On his global debut he became the first Brazilian ever to claim a world record, improved his best total by 25kg and scored more Robi points – the system by which the IWF rates the best individual performers – than every gold medallist in León except the man who beat him, Matyakubov. Pessanha’s final lift of 215kg gave him the lead on 168-215-383, and the junior world record in clean and jerk. Out came Matyakubov little more than a minute later. He made 216kg to bump Pessanha down to second place and out of the record books. Garik Karapetyan from Armenia still holds the snatch and total junior world records of 183kg and 393kg. “I wanted the total record today but we didn’t risk it,” said Matyakubov, who finished 175-216-391, up 5kg on his previous best total. “We were surprised by the Brazilian. Matheus Pessanha (BRA) “This was my last junior competition so I trained especially hard for it, and world records were always part of the plan.” He still has a chance to break junior records until the end of the year, and is due to lift at the senior World Championships in Bahrain in December. “I’ll be going for all three,” he said. “Tomorrow is National Day in Turkmenistan (marking 33 years of independence) and this victory is my gift to the country.” Last December Matyakubov won a senior gold at the IWF Grand Prix in Qatar at 96kg. It was also a national holiday then, Turkmenistan’s Day of Neutrality. That, too, had been “a gift for my country”. This year’s Day of Neutrality falls the day before his competition in Bahrain. Matyakubov missed once, his final snatch attempt at 180kg, while Pessanha made all six lifts. Pessanha was down at 89kg at last year’s Pan American Youth Championships, then dropped the barbell on his heel during training and was out of action for several months in the second half of 2023. Pessanha had started out in CrossFit because he thought he was too fat, he said, “and I just loved the feeling of power when I lifted weights”. He was worried about putting on weight again after the injury but Brazil’s national coach Dragos Doru Storica told him he needed to get bigger. “When I saw him for the first time at a local competition five years ago I spoke to his father and brought him to Rio for some training,” said Storica. “It can be difficult because he is from Cabo Frio, about 200 kilometres away. I want to get him to Rio permanently. “What a performance today. The first world record ever for Brazil, and the first world junior medal on total for a Brazilian male.” Hosny, back in action after an elbow joint injury, was up with the top two until he failed at 211kg and 212kg and finished 169-200-369. Hosny, who holds the clean and jerk youth world record at 89kg, won a bronze in clean and jerk at the senior World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia a year ago. There was a 17kg gap to fourth place, filled by Yemialyan Maskaleu, the Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus who was making his first international appearance. Uladzislau Sakovich (AIN) Another neutral from Belarus, Uladzislau Sakovich, won the evening 109kg session. Nobody came close to the numbers made by the top two at 102kg and Sakovich was the only one to better Hosny’s bronze-medal total in the earlier contest.   Sakovich, fourth at this weight last year, made five from six for 170-204-374 to finish well clear. Emin Burun from Turkey, who was fourth at 102kg a year ago, missed his final two attempts in second place on 168-198-366. Gurami Vekua from Georgia, a bronze medallist last year at 102kg, took bronze again on 162-200-362. Two others made the podium – Hassan Emadi from Iran and Asem Alsallaj from Jordan, who won bronze in snatch and clean and jerk respectively. Rahma Ahmed (EGY) Egypt had its first champion in León when Rahma Ahmed won at 87kg. When she ran off the platform at the finish and jumped into the arms of coach Ala Hasan she knocked him to the ground, but he was soon up and smiling. Ahmed made a six-from-six 110-130-240 for a sweep of golds. She won gold and silver at World Youths and now has gold and bronze at World Juniors, with two more years to come in the junior ranks. Busra Can (TUR) Another former youth champion, Busra Can from Turkey, was second on 102-129-233. Georgia had a rare women’s medallist when snatch silver medallist Marian Murgvliani held on to third place on 105-125-230, ahead of clean and jerk bronze medallist Valeria Ruiz from Colombia. By Brian

León, Day 7: Refugee Jamali wins landmark medals – and Nishikawa thinks long-term after Japan gold

Yekta Jamali made her mark in her sport’s history today when she became the first member of the Weightlifting Refugee Team to win medals. Jamali, who left Iran in 2022 and lives in Germany, finished third behind the Armenian Emma Poghosyan in the women’s 81kg on day seven of the World Junior Championships in León, Spain. By halfway Jamali was sure of one medal, having finished second in snatch with three good lifts. She made all three in clean and jerk too for 104-127-231 and bronze on total. Yekta Jamali (WRT) That was 1kg more than her total at the Paris Olympic Games, where Jamali, 20, finished ninth. “I have made six from six before, and I felt good all the way through,” said Jamali, who won a youth world title for Iran in 2021. She was away from the gym for five to six months after first arriving in Germany. She said she had improved since Almir Velagic became her coach at the start of the year. Velagic was also a refugee, from the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, and became an Olympian for Germany. Jamali is hoping she, too, can gain German citizenship. After the medal ceremony Jamali posed for a photograph with her medal in one hand and her phone, showing a photo of her family, in the other. “I am in touch with them but only online,” she said. Emma Poghosyan (ARM) Florian Sperl, the team co-ordinator, said, “Yekta can be very proud, and the IWF can also be very proud of its team. This is good for the sport and good for the promotion of weightlifting. “I will make sure that the International Olympic Committee is aware of Yekta’s historic achievement.” The IOC has supported the IWF in the project to create a Refugee Team (WRT), as has the Swedish equipment manufacturer Eleiko. The WRT first competed when two women lifted at last year’s senior World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Five team members – two originally from Cuba, two from Brazil, plus Jamali – are entered for this year’s World Championships in Bahrain in December. Poghosyan won with the last lift of a tense session. She improved from fifth place in snatch, 4kg behind snatch winner Mairyn Hernandez from Mexico. Three good clean and jerks took Poghosyan to 100-133-233. Hernandez, 19, was second on 104-128-232 and made the podium at a youth or junior World Championships for the fourth time. Masashi Nishikawa (JPN) Masashi Nishikawa took a big step on the path towards his long-term goal of winning an Olympic medal in 2032 when he won Japan’s first gold. Nishikawa improved from third place last year to the top of the podium at 96kg. He broke the national record in snatch and would have taken the other two Japanese records as well if he had made his final attempt at 206kg, a weight he has made off blocks in training. Nishikawa, who combines weightlifting with studying physical education at university. finished 171-195-366, slightly down on the 370kg total he made recently at the national championships. Next up will be his first senior competition at the World Championships in Bahrain in December. Nishikawa is already thinking way beyond that. “My long-term goal is to compete at the Olympic Games in 2028 in Los Angeles, and to win a medal in Brisbane in 2032.” Ihnatsi Pauliukavets, a bronze medallist last year, finished second on 164-196-360. The Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus continued an impressive run of success for the team in grey – one of the conditions of their entry as neutrals. Ihnatsi Pauliukavets (AIN) Since their return to international competition in June last year at the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba, the Belarus neutrals have appeared at eight events including the Olympic Games. They have been on the podium at all of them. “We expected gold today, but if we get a win in the next two days we will be more than happy,” said team leader Aleh Loban, who won World Juniors medals in 2003 and 2005. Uladislau Sakovich has a good chance at 109kg, and Belarus also has contenders at 102kg and in the super-heavyweights. “We always want to do better,” said Loban. “We work hard on analysing any mistakes in training. We support each other, and if we appear to be a unified team to those looking from the outside, we are very happy about that.” Third place went to Sergio Munoz from Colombia, who made a career-best 157-198-355 despite dropping down from 102kg for the first time. Ertjan Kofsha from Albania, third in snatch, failed with his last two attempts and finished fifth, 3kg behind Munoz. Eki Lizaso from the host nation won the biggest cheer of the Championships to date despite finishing 10th from the B Group. An audience boosted by a visit from local schools made a lot of noise when Lizaso made his final attempt at 181kg, and even more when he rewarded them with a backflip. By Brian

León, Day 6: The man with the golden smile strikes again for Kazakhstan, and Nicholson claims USA’s fourth win

Yedige Yemberdi is a name to remember. If his numbers are remarkable – four wins in four international competitions and 11 good clean and jerks in a row – his stage presence is even more impressive. For the second straight year 19-year-old Yemberdi, from Kazakhstan, overcame a big deficit in snatch to claim the junior world title. He has also won world and continental youth gold since his first appearance in 2022. Yedige Yemberdi (KAZ) Last November in Guadalajara, Mexico, Yemberdi thumped his chest after every lift and led the applause himself as he moved from ninth place at halfway to the top of the podium at 81kg. The crowd loved it. Today at the 2024 World Juniors in León, Spain, Yemberdi did it again at 89kg. He was fifth in snatch, 9kg behind the leader Diyorbek Ermatov from Uzbekistan. He smiled every time he came on the platform, encouraged the audience to make some noise, and finished with six good lifts. “It comes from my mother,” he explained. “She taught me that you can beat the stress with a smile, and that’s what I do. If you win you have to do it with a smile, and you should do it if you lose too. “After the snatch I was not sure I would win, but I made myself believe it. My coach came here at his own expense and I would have been ashamed if I didn’t win for him. I persuaded myself that I would do it, and I did – with a smile.”   Jokser Albornoz (COL) After his first clean and jerk, Yemberdi was 8kg behind Ermatov, who then failed with his last two attempts and finished fourth on total. After the next one the deficit was 3kg behind new leader Jokser Albornoz from Colombia, who had finished on 158-192-350. Alireza Abbaspoor from Iran was next out. He made his final attempt for 156-195-351 to take the lead, and Yemberdi needed 199kg to win. He came out smiling, roused the audience again, made the lift comfortably and posed for the cameras before he left the platform. Yemberdi finished on 153-199-352. “What a presence! He’s amazing - we need more athletes like this in weightlifting,” said the IWF Athletes Commission chair Forrester Osei, who has succeeded in rousing  the audience as an enthusiastic speaker at several sessions here. Alireza Abbaspoor (IRI) The only clean and jerk Yemberdi has missed in his international career was the first one, at the 2022 World Youth Championships in the other León, in Mexico. He has had only three no-lifts in 24 attempts. Yemberdi weighed in light at 86kg and looks forward to dropping to 81kg for his first senior outing at the World Championships in Bahrain in December. “It will be easy to lose five kilos,” he said. “I’ve had to eat two lunches and two dinners to bulk up for this weight class and I look forward to not doing it any more.” The United States had its fourth winner of the Championships in the women’s 76kg evening session when Ella Nicholson added the junior world title to last year’s youth gold with an impressive 244kg total. Ella Nicholson (USA) Heesoo Jeon from Korea claimed the youth world record in total in second place, Anna Amroyan from Armenia was third, and Great Britain was on the podium when Isabella Brown took snatch bronze. “That was my best total (by 2kg), best competition, best preparation and first senior American record,” said Nicholson, who won by a wide margin on 113-131-244. “Now I’m looking forward to the senior Worlds.” Heesoo Jeon (KOR) Nicholson, 18, made a great save in her first attempt and went on to beat Mattie Rogers’ national snatch record.   Heesoo, 17, would have had three youth world records rather than one if she had made her final attempt on 134kg. She finished 102-130-232, ahead of Amroyan on 100-128-228. Anna Amroyan (ARM) Brown was 1kg short of Sarah Davies’ British snatch record as she improved her best numbers by 4kg in snatch and 1kg in clean and jerk, finishing fifth on 101-121-122. By Brian