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IOC Solidarity Q&A: Alexandra Escobar

Weightlifter Alexandra Escobar from Ecuador is hoping her Olympic Solidarity scholarship will help her earn a place on the podium at next year's Games How are your preparations progressing as you look to qualify for the London Games? I'm training very hard in Esmeraldas, my home city, where the government has given me the facilities I need to step up my preparation. I'm in good shape and I'm ready for all the upcoming competitions. I'm looking forward to them and can't wait for the moment when I can get out there and compete. What competitions are you due to take part in prior to London? The most important events are the Pan American Games in Mexico and the World Championships, both of which are qualifiers for the Olympic Games, so I have to work hard to try to improve and ensure I perform to the best of my abilities at these events. How does your Olympic Solidarity scholarship help you? It's a great help. The scholarship enables me to train without having to worry, and allows me to buy what I need for each competition. Thanks to Olympic Solidarity, I'm able to train in my home city so I'm close to my daughter and my husband, which gives me peace of mind and enables me to train in the best possible way. This allows me to devote all my energy to my sport and my attempts to qualify for the Games in London next year. Do you have any Olympic heroes? Halil Mutlu, the Turkish weightlifter who won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, would be my Olympic hero. I've always admired him - he was my inspiration. He's so small but he has a big heart and so much courage and strength. Do you know London? I have not been to London but I will get to know it. That is another incentive for me to qualify for the Games and I'm sure London is expecting me! How did you become a weightlifter? It was my sister who first got me into weightlifting; she competed for a local sports club and I instantly fell in love with the sport. What is your goal at the Games in London? What I really want is to step up onto the podium and hear my country's national anthem. I've won medals at all the other major competitions - the South American, Bolivian and Pan American Games, and the World Championships. The only thing I don't have is the Olympic medal, which is why I'm going to give it everything I have to win one in London. Discover the latest edition of the Olympic

The best Junior World Championships ever in Penang

The 2011 Junior Weightlifting Championships held in Penang, Malaysia welcomed 272 participating lifters. The athletes rewarded the outstanding organization with outstanding performances during the long stretch of 8 days competition. At the Closing Ceremony Lydia Ong Kok Fooi, Penang's Minister of Youth and Sport emphasized the beneficial experience of this international competition that fostered friendship and brotherhood among athletes and officials. Dato' Ong Poh Eng, IWF Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Organizing Committee underlined peace and friendship among participating countries and said that - "No record is unbreakable. I hope everyone will continue to excel by outdoing the others with the prevailing true friendship transcending borders in a true spirit of fellowship upheld by the International Weightlifting Federation" The ELEIKO-IWF Press Commission's Trophy of "Best Lifter" for Men went to ROSTAMI Kianoush (IRI) who won a Silver Medal in the Snatch and 2 Gold Medals for the Clean & Jerk and the Total in the 85kg bodyweight category. The "Best Women" Trophy was awarded to DENG Wei (CHN) who set a new Junior World Record with a Total of 243kg and stood on the top of the podium to take over 3 Gold Medals in the 58kg bodyweight category. The 15 year old Kazakh lifter NOGAY Nadezhda set a new Youth World Record in the Snatch with 122kg. New Youth World Records among Men were set by THACH KIM Tuan (VIE) in the Clean & Jerk with 153kg and in the Total with 273kg. According to the Team classification, the first 3 best performing Men and Women Team stood on stage during the Closing Ceremony to receive a special award. Within the 152 participating Men lifters out of 47 countries, the Iranian Team finished as first. The ranking follows as China and Russia. Among the 120 participating Women out of 32 countries: Thailand, Russia and China got awarded within Team classification. The previous participation record of 104 women athlete in 1998 Sofia, Bulgaria was broken here with 120 women weightlifters participating. It is important to note, that the IWF Technical Committee made a historical decision in Penang, Malaysia regarding the weightlifting clothing. For more details please check the RESULT BOOK Under the leadership of Chairmen Dato' Ong Poh Eng and Competition Director Paul Coffa, the 2011 Junior World Championships have been of the highest standard. The 5 star accommodation, the food, the transport, the training and the competition facilities have all been carefully prepared in order to give the athletes the best possible opportunity to perform at their best. The warm hospitality of Malaysian people was appreciated by all participants and guests. "Dato' Ong Poh Eng, with his clear and honest approach; his waste experience and his organizational skills is a most reliable pillar and a great asset to World and to Asian Weightlifting. Penang being the main center for weightlifting proved several times its capabilities to deliver a prestigious event and I am happy to state that the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation and the Organizing Committee excelled once again and delivered the best Junior World Championships ever" said Dr. Tamás

Tickets on sale for the 2011 World Weightlifting Championships

30 years after the 1981 World Weightlifting Championships organized in Lille, France it is time for Disneyland® Paris to glow. France will welcome the best weightlifters from all around the world from Saturday 5th to Sunday 13th November 2011 for this prestigious event. The 79th Men's and 22nd Women's World Weightlifting Championships will take place at the Dôme Disney® Village. The website is now available, in French and in English : http://paris2011.com/ Tickets are available by the following

Impressive performances during the last competition day at the JWC

Junior World Championships Podium Men's 105kg Snatch: 1 ARROYO VALDEZ Jorge David (ECU) 183kg, 2 BERSANOV Ibragim (KAZ) 175kg, 3 PLESNIEKS Arturs (LAT) 173kgClean & Jerk: 1 ARROYO VALDEZ Jorge David (ECU) 210kg, 2 PLESNIEKS Arturs (LAT) 210kg, 3 JEON Dae-Un (KOR) 207kgTOTAL: 1 ARROYO VALDEZ Jorge David (ECU) 393kg, 2 PLESNIEKS Arturs (LAT) 383kg, 3 TKACHENKO Oleksandr (UKR) 378kg ARROYO VALDEZ Jorge David won the first Gold Medal of the competition for Ecuador and performed above his expectations. He broke his personal bests with 183kg in the Snatch and 210kg in the Clean & Jerk. After a Gold a Silver and a Bronze Medal for the Total won in Sofia at the World Championships 2010, he ended up with outstanding results and the so coveted 3 Gold at the 2011 WJC. "All the work, the hard training and the good advices were fruitful" - he said. Junior World Championships Podium Men's +105kg Snatch: 1 MINASYAN Gor (ARM) 178kg, 2 MOULAEI Bahador (IRI) 177kg, 3 ORESHNIKOV Sergey (RUS) 174kgClean & Jerk: 1 MOULAEI Bahador (IRI) 231kg, 2 KAZEMINEJAD Alireza (IRI) 217kg, 3 ORESHNIKOV Sergey (RUS) 210kgTOTAL: 1 MOULAEI Bahador (IRI) 408kg, 2 KAZEMINEJAD Alireza (IRI) 386kg, 3 ORESHNIKOV Sergey (RUS) 384kg MOULAEI Bahador (IRI) broke his Personal Record in the Clean & Jerk and in the Total, performance that allowed him to take over two Gold Medals in the Super-Heavy. Second place was also grabbed by an Iranian lifter: KAZEMINEJAD Alireza. Hossein Rezazadeh's presence nearby the stage motivated both lifters to give their bests and they tried to excel in order to impress the Iranian Legend. The Bronze Medal went to the Russian lifter ORESHNIKOV Sergey who had serious misfortune while performing his second attempt of the Clean & Jerk. The barbell hit his throat and despite the fact that his coach told him to drop the barbell he tried his best to stabilize it. Congratulations to all participants of the 2011

IOC elects PyeongChang as the host city of 2018 Olympic Winter Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday elected PyeongChang (Republic of Korea) as the host city of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in 2018 during its 123rd Session in Durban, South Africa. PyeongChang won in the first round of voting with 63 votes, against Munich (25 votes) and Annecy (7 votes). Ahead of the signing of the Host City Contract, which sets out the legal, commercial and financial rights and obligations of the IOC, the Host City and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Host Country in relation to the Olympic Games, IOC President Jacques Rogge congratulated the PyeongChang team for winning the vote and praised the high quality of their file and final presentation. "PyeongChang presented a strong and inspiring project that enjoys massive support from the government and the public," said Rogge ahead of the press conference that followed the announcement ceremony. "I have every confidence that PyeongChang will deliver on its commitment and host excellent Games in 2018." Concratulations to

Education Seminar at the JWC

The IWF held its Education Seminar in Penang, Malaysia during the 2011 Junior World Championships at the Hotel Equatorial on 6th of July. This successful edition held and organized by the IWF attracted 45 participants from 20 countries. The following lectures were presented in regard to current weightlifting topics: Mr. Sam Coffa, IWF Vice President, Chairman of the Technical Committee discussed Technical issues and rule modifications in Weightlifting with special emphasize on the recent rule changes related to the new costume called "unitard". Mr. Attila Ádámfi, IWF Competition Director gave general information about the Olympic Games and presented a report on the progress of "The road to London". He pointed out some key facts about the IWF's Competition Management and the Olympic Qualification System. To conclude, Dr. Mónika Ungár, IWF Legal Counsel gave practical instructions on ADAMS, and a live demonstration about its usage was shown to the attendees. She has explained the rules and responsibilities of an athlete during the doping control. Please note that all the athletes coming to the 2011 World Championships to be held in Paris, France shall submit their whereabouts