News

Long Qingquan Selected for Top Sports Awards

A handful of China's top Olympic athletes were honored at the country's most prestigious annual sports award ceremony in Beijing. At 2008 China Top Ten Benefiting Laureus Sports For Good award ceremony, seventeen-year-old Long Qingquan who won a gold medal in the men's 56kg weightlifting competition at the Beijing Olympics received the Rising Star award. (source: Chinese Weightlifting

WADA President and Director General give Press Conference during blitz visit at IWF

Upon the personal invitation of Dr. Tamás Aján, IWF President, WADA President John Fahey and Director General David Howman paid a 20-hour visit to Budapest on 25 February. "The IWF's anti-doping program has improved tremendously, year by year, and is very successful - as proven by the Beijing Olympic Games, when only one positive case was found in weightlifting," declared Mr. Fahey at a Press Conference. "That was undoubtedly the success of the IWF's extensive, clever and well-organized anti-doping program especially prior to the Games." The WADA President stated that the activities of WADA, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its foundation this year, had improved and it extended its tentacles to all corners of the world. He pointed out that 220,000 tests had been carried out last year of which two per cent came back positive. He concluded that the message was slowly getting to everyone that it was not worth cheating."Are we winning the fight against dopoing? - Yes, we are!" asserted the chief of WADA.He and the Director General both emphasized that the whereabouts system was although sometimes admittedly uncomfortable still a key factor in the anti-doping battle's success and praised the IWF's and in particular WADA Foundation Board Member Dr. Aján's contributions and co-operation in that regard.

Last date for hotel reservation at Madrid Electoral Congress is 10 March 2009

Those National Federation delegates who have not yet sent their Final Registration Form and hotel reservation to the Spanish Organising Committee regarding the IWF Electoral Congress in Madrid must do so before 10 March 2009. Updated information on hotel rates and Final Registration Forms can be found by clicking on the Electoral Congress on this website.

2010 World University Championships allocated to Chinese Taipei

At its meeting held in Harbin, China, on 13 February 2009, the FISU Executive Committee allocated the 2nd World University Weightlifting Championships to Chinese Taipei. The Championships will be held in 2010 in the city of

WADA President Calls for Intensification of New Strategies to Fight against Doping in Sport

On the occasion of WADA's fourth Media Symposium, held at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne on February 24, WADA's President John Fahey urged all parties involved in the fight against doping in sport to further strengthen the foundations of the anti-doping system and to intensify the implementation of new strategies to supplement the traditional means used in this field. Mr Fahey emphasized the importance of continued innovations in order to protect the integrity of sport. "Under WADA's leadership, the traditional anti-doping model has evolved from a strategy focusing only on the athlete and relying mainly on testing, research and education, to a new kind of model incorporating also the athlete's entourage and the upstream elements of doping," he said. "We need to continue to implement innovations through new types of cooperation, new strategies and ideas borrowed from other fields." WADA's President referred in particular to a number of new strategies developed by WADA in the past few months and years: the early detection of potentially performance-enhancing substances in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies; the partnership recently formalized by the Agency with Interpol, which will in particular facilitate evidence and information gathering and sharing between law enforcement and anti-doping organizations; and the involvement of governments to combat production and trafficking of illegal substances. In his opening address, Mr Fahey also expressed confidence that the Athlete Passport championed by WADA could become a powerful tool to deter and detect cheating in the near future by using an increasingly global approach to monitor an athlete's selected biological parameters. "Potentially, the Athlete Passport developed under WADA's leadership could represent one of the most significant advances in the global fight against doping in sport in the coming months and years." "Are we winning the fight against doping in sport?" asked Mr Fahey. "I believe we are on the right path. And I believe that, with the commitment of all those involved in this fight, we can continue to overcome challenges and keep the momentum going forward." "We combat doping because we believe in the universal principles of truth, fairness, health, hard work and respect. We believe it is our responsibility to preserve these values for our youth and the generations to come. It may take a while to reach the finishing line in this fight, but I have no doubt we are much closer to that finishing line than we were last year and we will be even closer next year." (source WADA)

Executive Board confirms payment of membership fees as a condition for NF eligibility in Madrid

Regarding the participation, voting and candidate-nominating rights of the IWF members at the upcoming IWF Electoral Congress in Madrid (31 March - 1 April 2009), and with reference to Article 18 of the Constitution, the IWF Executive Board took the following unanimous decision: In order to be eligible to vote and present candidates for election at the 2009 IWF Electoral Congress in Madrid, a National Federation must settle its membership fees (US$500 annually) for the last 4 years (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). Settlement of the outstanding membership fees must be made:- either by bank transfer to the IWF before 15 March 2009- or in cash latest before 21:00h on 30 March 2009, in Madrid Delegates of countries failing to settle their membership arrears may participate but may not vote or present candidates for election.