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IWF President visits Teheran for Namdjou Cup

The new leadership of the Iranian Weightlifting Federation, under the baton of Mr. Bahram Afsharzadeh, an experienced leader and former NOC General Secretary, has set a new line of governance in the country's weightlifting sport. In an attempt to reunite the heros of the past, great champions like Mahmoud Namdjou or Mohamed Nassiri, and the Iranian and international elite of today, they revived the Namdjou Cup and organised its 8th edition in Teheran.In a large-scale event with substantial international participation, competitors enjoy the benefits of a venue built and used specifically and exclusively for weightlifting. Dr. Tamás Aján, IWF President and IOC Member highlighted the competitions with his presence. The IWF President also used his presence in Teheran to visit the office of the Asian Weightlifting Federation General

German victory winds up Beijing Pre-Olympic Event

Just a few weeks after having received his German passport, Matthias STEINER - formerly representing Austria - scored a hands-down victory in the men's superheavyweight category at the Olympic Test Event held in the BUAA Gymnasium, Beijing. Performing in an excellent shape, Steiner was the only one to produce an impressive 423kg total, a result that would have placed him 8th in the 2007 World Ranking List.The host BOCOG and Chinese Weightlifting Association can only be praised for the excellent staging of the"Good Luck Beijing" Invitational Tournament. The venue, the venue management and technical facilities also passed the test with outstanding marks. Of course, minor adjustments need to be done (that was the very purpose of the test), but participants from 14 countries agreed that the Chinese will stage great Games this August and within that we can expect wonderful weightlifting competitions.Matthias STEINER - GER (Randall J. Strossen

World Class lifting in Beijing Test Event

199 days prior to the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games, world and junior world champions highlighted the "Good Luck Beijing" International Invitational Tournament in the Chinese capital. Competitions were organized in the 2008 Beijing Olympic venue, the BUAA Gymnasium under conditions as similar as possible to those at Games time to best serve testing purposes. The Tournament took place in two women's and two men's bodyweight categories with international lifters competing in the A sessions and only Chinese competitors in the B groups. In the women's 53kg category Doha 2005 World Champion Chinese prodigy WANG Mingjuan triumphed with a just-over-the-limit 49-kg bodyweight. Will she be a contender for the first Olympic gold medal to be awarded this August in Beijing? At the moment, no-one knows but her performance was promising (205kg with ease at this early stage of preparation).Vietnam's hero HOANG Anh Tuan presented himself as winner of the men's 56kg category and reconfirmed his position as a strong (gold?)medal-contender at the Games.On the second day the competition in the women's +75kg produced victory for last year's junior world champion HUANG Huan of China. Results are available at the official website of the Test Event: Good Luck