News

CAS dismissed Greek weightlifters’ appeal, confirming the IWF sanctions

10 out of 11 Greek weightlifters who had tested positive on an Out-of-Competition testing in March 2008, filed an appeal to CAS on the 7th July 2008 against the IWF Hearing Panel’s decision of the 4th June 2008.CAS (Court of Arbitration in Sport) held its hearing on the 15th January in Athens and issued its ruling on 6th March 2009 as follows: The appeal filed on 7th July 2008 by the athletes against the decision issued on the 4th June 2008 by the doping Hearing Panel of the International Weightlifting Federation is dismissed. The decision issued on the 4th June 2008 by the doping Hearing Panel of the International Weightlifting Federation is confirmed. A suspension of two years is imposed on the athletes commencing on the 7th March

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Steiner Meet – Story by Randall J. Strossen

Matthias Steiner came to the Arnold Sports Festival hoping to meet California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the IronMind Invitational provided the perfect setting. Olympic gold medalist Matthias Steiner said that Governor Schwarzenegger was his hero and the possibility of Arnold being in Beijing fueled both his final preparation and his dramatic performance on the lifting platform. Showing just how seriously he took Steiner's Olympic victory, this afternoon Governor Schwarzenegger chatted with Steiner before the lifting started on the main stage of the Exposition Hall of Greater Columbus Convention Center; he sat ringside throughout the entire exhibition, and then came on the stage to chat some more with Steiner and his German Olympic teammates. Steiner told IronMind that Governor Schwarzenegger explained how he had originally trained as a weightlifter because that was the system in Austria, and only later did he train as a bodybuilder; and that the man who has made the name Arnold known the world over was quick to extoll the many benefits of weightlifting. Signaling the importance of the event, German television had sent multiple crews to cover the anticipated meeting between the two men, creating a media frenzy around a weightlifter never seen before the Arnold Sports Festival and rivaling anything seen abroad. Arnold Weightlifting Championship attracted the entire of 213 men and 48 women. Best male liftier became Patrick Mendes, BW 125,94kg, snatch 160kg, clean and jerk 195kg, total of 355kg, 367,8 points.  Best female liftier became Bass Kendal, BW 85,05, 85+110=195kg,

Change in leadership of Algerian Weightlifting Federation

Abdellaou Larbi (42) has been elected as the new President of Federation Algerienne d'Halterophilie replacing Hasni Fekir. The new General Secretary is Cherrak Hadj Ahmed. The Technical Director is Chekri Youcef. The new President collected 51 votes while the other candidate, Yataguène Mohamed Rezki obtained 21 votes. President Abdellaoui Larbi succeeds Hasni Fekir who was elected Vice-President of the Weightlifting Federation of Africa of in Tunis. Abdellaoui Larbi  : I used to be a lifter but only on national level. I participated in various championships of Algeria. Later I worked as a trainer, then as a technical director in sports, and as director of the sports complex of Bourouba. My program is based on the development of weightlifting through the whole country, that is to create new centers. It is necessary to attack in particular the schools because the training is very inferior, especially some of our children have an untrue image of our sport. They think that the practice of weightlifting limits their growth. It is very important to quickly deprive them of this silly idea.(

USA Weightlifting Announces New Board of Directors

USA Weightlifting announced its new Board of Directors, bringing to conclusion the governance reform process which began in April 2008. With the announcement, the new Board will immediately take control of the organization which has been overseen by a Nominating and Governance Committee appointed by the United States Olympic Committee in April 2008 to see the organization through the governance reform process. "There were many qualified candidates for the new USA Weightlifting Board of Directors. We are confident that the individuals listed below are, collectively, the right group to lead this organization at this critical juncture." said Tim Willis, Chair of the USA Weightlifting Nominating and Governance Committee. Individuals comprising the new 11-member Board of Directors (10 voting and one non-voting) and their positions are as follows: Megan Tornstrom DeFourny(Columbus, Ohio) - At-Large Representative Mike Wittmer(Florissant, Mo.) - At-Large RepresentativeRegis Becker(Pittsburgh, Pa.) - Grassroots Representative Mark Cameron(Middletown, R.I.) - Grassroots Representative Michael Cayton(Kerrville, Texas) - Independent Representative Jack Lano(Anaheim, Calif.) - Independent RepresentativeUrsula Papandrea(Pflugerville, Texas) - Technical Representative Leo Temoshenko(Raleigh, N.C.) - Technical Representative Rachel Hearn(Savannah, Ga./Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Athlete Representative Emmy Vargas(Panorama City, Calif./Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Athlete Representative Dragomir Cioroslan(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Non-voting Representative, International Weightlifting Federation Vice President Now that the Board members have been announced, their first order of business will be to meet as a group and select a Chair. (source:

Change of city for 2009 Junior World Championships

The 2009 Junior World Championships will be held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania - not in Constanta, as originally planned - indicated by Nicu Vlad, President of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation and of the Organising Committee. The Championships will take place 14-21 June. The competitions will take place in the Sala Polivalenta, the accommodation is at the Rin Grand Hotel. Invitation, Technical Regulations and Entry Forms will soon follow.

COMING SOON! IWF IS TO PUBLISH A BOOK ON BEIJING 2008 OLYMPICS

By the end of March an album of 700 photos is to be published to bring back memories of the most successful weightlifting Olympics ever. The book titled Magical Games and Magical lifters contains all the 255 lifters' photos who participated in the Games. It also features giant pictures of all the Olympic Champions and marks of all the medal winners. The photo album introduces all the VIP guests of the competitions and with its 700 exciting photos it tells the story of those marvellous fights lifters had in Beijing. The Editor-in-Chief is Dezső Dobor, IWF Media Officer. The Photographer is József Szaka. Further information: