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Day Three in Cicago

The day started out with some great competition in the women's 69 kg Group A, as competing were two 4th place finishers from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, Leidy Yessenia Solis Arboleda from Colombia in the 69 kg weight class and Christine Girard from Canada in the 63 kg weight class. Girard has now switched to the heavier weight class and thus the women are pitted against each other. "I competed in the Olympics, so this year has not been as big for me," Girard said. "I finished university so I put a lot of effort and work into that. Switching to the 69 kg weight class, the diet is definitely easier, but I do have to get stronger." Finishing 4th at any event often leaves an athlete frustrated, to work so hard and just miss out on the prize. They were sure to come out strong today with something to prove. While Solis Arboleda ended up winning the gold, Girard was extremely happy with her second place finish, as this tournament was her first competing in the new weight class. The women's 75 kg Group A proved to be extremely exciting, as the crowd watched history being made. This tournament and this weight class marks the first time a Cuban woman has competed in weightlifting in the United States. Tamara Hernandez Conde lifted for Cuba and forever will be remembered as a barrier breaker. This is a perfect example of how sport can bring people from all over the world together. The energy in this competition was also ramped up as Lidia Valentin Perez from Spain took the floor. Valentin Perez finished 5th in Beijing with a total score of 250 kg and she was no less impressive here. She dominated this group, giving the crowd a lift of 136 kg in the clean and jerk and winning with a total score of 241 kg. "It was my first time competing in this tournament," Valentin Perez said. "I am really happy because I won." (Ibero American Weightlifting Championships ) Kendrick Farris, the USA athlete who finished 8th in the Summer Olympic in Beijing was up next in the men's 85 kg Group A. Farris did have some stiff competition though in Colombian Carlos Hernan Andica Andica, who finished 10th in Beijing. But it was Cuban Elio Osdany Guerra Aranoz who won the day, with a total lift of 350 kg, 2 kg more than Andica Andica's total of 348 kg. It is fitting that a Cuban take home one of the gold medals because of the history that was made today at the tournament between Cuba and the USA. The last event of the day, the men's 94 kg Group A also belonged to Cuba, with Javier Enrique Vanega Rios winning the group. The USA finally was able to have a time to shine though, with a third place finish by Norik Vardanian, the first medal won by a United States athlete in the Pan-American Weightlifting Championships. With one final day of competition tomorrow, who knows what will happen. Will the Colombians continue to dominate? Will the USA be able to get another medal? Will an unknown come out to win it all?

London 2012

Status The Weightlifting competition venue will be located in ExCeL which is the Games' largest competition venue. It has 60,000 square metres of exhibition space and will be divided into five arenas. The enormous amount of space available allows the flexibility to create a bespoke arena for Weightlifting and provides all the necessary back of house space to service the event. Overlay plans are in the process of being worked up and LOCOG will look to engage with IWF to take them through the plans over the coming months. Training venue Training will be provided at a single venue capable of hosting up to 50 platforms. Preferred and reserve sites have been identified and LOCOG will look to engage with the IWF on training at the earliest opportunity. The location of the training complex is currently discussed. Legacy The Handball Arena will be built to ensure flexibility in legacy mode for a range of sports including Weightlifting, allowing both training and competition to take place there. Competition Manager Australian, Matthew Curtain has been appointed as Weightlifting Manager. Venue: ExCeL Seating capacity: 6,000 Distance from Olympic Village: 10km, 12

Day one in Chicago

It was the first day of competition for the Pan-American/Ibero-American Weightlifting Championships and U.S. National Championships, and competition there was.  The day started out strong, as because of technical problems, one of the top women weightlifters in the 48 kg class was competing in the B group, which started out the tournament along with Group B of the women's 53 kg class.  Carolina Valencia Hernandez from Mexico blew the competition away, lifting 83 kg in the snatch and 97 kg in the clean and jerk, over twice her own body weight.  Valencia Hernandez did not compete in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and thus has had ample time to prepare for this tournament, her first big competition in over a year.  Her Mexican teammates were cheering and screaming for her the whole time as well, urging her along. "We really formed a camaraderie in the housing," Valencia Hernandez said through a translator.  "Everyone is friends and everyone has been very welcoming." When the women's 48 kg Group A competed later in the day, there were thrills as well, as attempting her first clean and jerk lift, Stacy Suyama of the USA collapsed and had to be lead of the stage in tears.  A true competitor though, after a short rest Suyama was back and completed the competition.  She even ended up winning a gold medal in the snatch in the U.S. National Championships. Looking at these women you would never guess that they were weightlifters.  All of the women competing in the 48 kg (106 lbs) weight class are significantly shorter than me, at 5'6", and yet could easily lift my weight and more.  Weightlifting is not just a sport for 300 plus pound men, it's a sport for all sizes, and watching these women lift that much weight, is more amazing than watching those huge men. As we move into the Men's 56 kg Group A, the stakes are really raised with medals now at stake.  In their first snatch lifts, many of these men are almost lifting twice their own body weight, bringing 106 kg over their head.  Sergio Armando Rada Rodriguez from Colombia seems to be the comfortable favorite in this event with his Colombia teammates loudly cheering from the stands.  Rada Rodriguez finishes the snatch with his highest lift, 112 kg, 7 kg more than the lifter in second place.  Rada Rodriguez really makes this sport look easy, walking up to that bar and looking like he lifts it without strain.  Rada Rodriguez ended up easily winning the event with an over score of 255 kg. "I have been working very very hard," Rada Rodriguez said through a translator.  "I want to bring my country dignity and pride.  I wanted to make my country proud." As we near the end of day 1, the Colombians are still making it look easy.  Rusmeris Villar Barbosa who competes in the women's 53 kg group opened her snatch lifting with 77 kg, almost beating the highest overall lift of all the other girls after their three tries.  Villar Barbosa also makes it look easy, lifting the weight straight above her head showing no strain or hesitation.  Villar Barbosa won the group with a score of 189 kg, proving that so far in this tournament the Colombians seem to be the team to beat. "All my hard work paid off," Villar Barbosa said through a translator.  "I came here to win and I did.  I could show all my

Independent WFZ

ZIMBABWE National Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Association has split to form the Weightlifting Federation of Zimbabwe and the Bodybuilding Association to serve the different needs of Weightlifters and Bodybuilders. Former ZNBBWA president George Takundwa Nyawo is now the president of WFZ while Kays Rushika was named the Bodybuilding president. In a press statement released by WFZ, the president, Nyawo explained that the dissolution was very amicable and had come about as a result of the need to adequately service the two disciplines. "Weightlifting and Bodybuilding are two different disciplines with their own techniques and training programs. "If athletes in both of these disciplines are to advance and compete at the highest level, then they need to train using the correct training program as well as follow the correct nutritional guidelines. "Weightlifting is an Olympic sport with the highlight being the Olympic Games in addition to national, regional and international competitions that are held throughout the year," he said. He also said pressure from the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee and the Sport and Recreation Commission on ZNBBWA to concentrate on Weightlifting as it is an Olympic sport that brings medals also led to the formation of WFZ. Nyawo noted that weightlifting has been suffering in terms of development and WFZ executive is going to work on the development of weightlifting. "The WFZ has already applied for affiliation to the Sport and Recreation Committee whilst it has also started on a program on identifying suitable venues where athletes from the weightlifting discipline can train. "This process is being undertaken as soon as possible in order to prepare for the 2012 Olympics." said Nyawo.

Weightlifting officials laud Chicago for event organization

So far, the visitors are impressed with the way Chicago is handling the Pan American Weighlifting Championships.``I'm very pleased,'' Luis Zambrano, president of the Ecuador Weightlifting Federation and treasurer of the Pan American Weightlifting Federation, said Thursday. ``We believed Chicago had the capacity to organize this event very well, and what we are seeing is an excellent organization.''This is believed to be the largest Pan Am weightlifting championships ever in both numbers of countries (21) and athletes (267).``And it is the best Pan American Championships ever in terms of organization,'' Zambrano said.Antonio Urso of Italy, president of the European Weightlifting Federation, seconded that opinion.``The organization is top-flight, which doesn't surprise me,'' Urso said. ``Surely, this will be good for Chicago's (2016) Olympic bid.''Why? One clear reason is the nice setup for the athletes at these 3-in-1 championships, where Pan Am, U.S. and Ibero-American titles are being contested simultaneously.The University of Illinois-Chicago Forum has turned out to be a perfect venue for the event. Officials at event organizer World Sport Chicago, the child of Chicago's 2016 bid, first thought about putting the competition at the proposed 2016 weightlifting venue -- Arie Crown Theater. But someone wisely realized that however many fans did show up, free tickets notwithstanding, would be lost in the 4,250-seat theater and chose the UIC Forum instead because it could be subdivided into smaller halls. There are some 900 seats in the competition space. The locker rooms are designed for the concert performers who often play this venue -- giving the athletes a taste of being a rock n' roll star.And a U.S. athlete who figured he would be using a floor to rest in the two hours between weigh-in and competition (the usual situation at national meets) found a room full of massage tables for that purpose.Athletes needing to sweat off some weight -- and check how much they have lost -- have access to saunas and scales at the Hilton Chicago, where they are staying; Export Fitness, a sponsor; and at UIC.Some visiting athletes are reciprocating that hospitality by going to Chicago elementary schools Friday. Team members from Brazil and Puerto Rico will visit Anderson, which has a Spanish magnet program, while Venezuela and Colombia are scheduled for Burr, which has a Japanese program. The visits are meant to be cultural exchanges as much as introductions to weightlifting. (Chicago

IWF Technology applied at Pan-Am: Live Results on this website!

At the combined Pan-American, US National and Ibero-American Championships starting today in Chicago, USA, the application of the IWF TIS (Technology and Information System) will enable real time scoreboard display of all the competitions.Follow the progress of contests between 267 lifters from 21 countries by clicking on the Live Results