News

Junior World Championships nearing its end in Sofia

Both men and women under 20 years of age have excelled in the Bulgarian capital since 14th June 2010. With the last women's category (+75kg) just being contested, only three men's categories are yet to be organised. The progress of the competitions - as usual - can be followed through the IWF's "LIVE RESULTS" service which is a real-time copy of the scoreboard in the Universiade Hall of Sofia. Each category's competition and the auxiliary events of the 2010 Junior World Championships are amply documented by photos in the "PHOTO GALLERY".

IWF Congress highlights

Under the chairmanship of Dr. Tamás Aján, President and Mr. Ma Wenguang, General Secretary, the IWF Congress was held in Sofia on 13th June, in the presence of delegations from 56 countries. As the main highlight of the Congress, Pyrros Dimas became a Member of the Weightlifting Hall of Fame. The exceptional career of the Greek hero, three times Olympic Champion plus once bronze-medal winner received due acknowledgement by this membership. The Turkish Federation, represented by its President Dr. Hasan Akkus gave a report on the preparations of the 2011 Qualification World Championships, which will take place in Antalya in September. The Organising Committee's delegation included weightlifting's first triple Olympic Champion Naim Suleymanoglu, another member of the Hall of Fame.

Future World Championships allocated

At its meeting in Sofia, the Executive Board approved that the 2nd Youth World Championships be carried out by the Peruvian Federation in Lima. The projected dates are in May 2011. The Board also allocated the organisation of the 2012 Junior World Championships to Guatemala City, Guatemala. The Championships will be combined with the Pan-American Continental Qualification Championships for the 2012 London Olympic Games and are planned to take place at the end of April - beginning of May. At the same time, Kosice, Slovakia was entrusted with the organisation of the 3rd Youth World Championships in 2012.

IWF Executive Board meets in Sofia

As usual before World Champioships, the IWF Executive Board is holding its regular meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, two days before the opening of the 36th Men's and 16th Women's Junior World Championships. Significant issues of the sport are on the agenda.Mr. Sliven Nejkov, Minister of Sport and BWF President Mr. Anton Kodjabashev, together with BWF General Secretary Mr. Tenyo Tenev welcomed the Board Members to Bulgaria.

IWF meetings in action prior to opening of Junior World Championships

Prior to the opening of the 2010 Junior World Championships, the various IWF bodies have started their activities in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Council had its gathering on 10th June, followed by the meetings of the Technical, Medical and Coaching & Research Committees on 11th June

Change of Junior WC headquarters hotel in Sofia!

Due to the unexpectedly high number of participating teams and delegations, the Organising Committee of the 2010 Junior World Championships (to open on 13 June) decided to change the main hotel of the Championships to HOTEL RODINA. Hotel “Rodina” is the tallest 4-star hotel in Sofia and is located on the “Russki Pametnik” (the Russian monument) square. Address: 8 General Totleben Blvd, BG-1606 Sofia. Website: www.rodina.bg Hotel Rodina is not only larger than the originally selected Park Hotel Moskva and Hotel Pliska, so that it will be able to accommodate all the participants, but it is also an upgrade to 4-star accommodation - at the same price, i.e. - Double room: US $110 (80 Euro) per person per day with three meals.- Single room: US $130 ( 100 Euro) per person per day with three