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Irawan (INA) is ready for a fifth Olympic medal!

At 34, Eko Yuli Irawan is an Indonesian hero and for sure one of the most successful lifters in history. He has no Olympic gold, but one medal in each of the four Games he entered. If he qualifies for Paris (it won’t be very difficult in his case), and if he reaches the podium in the French capital, he will be the only athlete in this sport to have medalled in five editions of the Olympic showcase. On the fourth day of the IWF World Championships in Riyadh, Irawan, competing in the 67kg, was largely better than the rest of the field in the… B session. With a total of 146-175-321 (equalling his personal best in this category), he ended up getting two silver medals in this event (snatch and total). Irawan started his international career in 2006, when he got the silver at the IWF World Junior Championships, in the 56kg category. His total at the time: 269kg. He progressed quite quickly, and two years later, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (CHN), he got the bronze in 288kg. And the achievements go on, with successful appearances in London 2012 (also third, with 317kg, this time in the 62kg), Rio 2016 (silver, 312kg), and Tokyo 2020ne (runner-up in the 61kg, with 302kg). Between these highlights, the Indonesian lifter has also amassed several medals at the World and continental level. At the IWF showcase, his only victory came in 2018, when he lifted 143-174-317 in the 61kg. Going to Paris, Irawan appears twice in the Olympic ranking, both in the 61kg and 67kg category. He is clearly best in the lighter one – his “natural” weight –, where he is the third best so far (300kg, from his silver performance at the IWF Worlds in Bogota), after China’s Li (314kg) and Italy’s Massidda (302kg, at yesterday’s final of the event in Riyadh). In the 67kg, he equalled his best of 321kg, which is clearly not enough to guarantee the presence in the top-10 (the cut is at 332kg). After his final lift in Saudi Arabia, he was obviously satisfied with the outcome, but clarified that he will be back to the 61kg category, most “probably in time for the IWF Grand Prix in Qatar, in December”. On the competition in Saudi Arabia, Irawan “enjoyed it a lot. All the conditions are perfect, the organisation is very good and the athletes feel comfortable here”. On the Olympic prospects, he is also optimistic: “I’ll of course go for the 61kg. I think the qualification is guaranteed. If I can lift 310-315 in Paris, I think I have many chances of getting a medal. It would be quite amazing and incredible. I am working hard to reach the right level and all indicators are positive. The preparation is going quite well and we remain optimistic,” he declares. Suffering from a “minor problem” in his left knee, the Indonesian star confessed that his last clean and jerk attempt at 181kg “was a bit too much – it proved too heavy for my physical condition today”. After this short interview, he came back, a couple of hours later, to the podium, after the conclusion of the A session – to collect two more medals for his outstanding collection! And the story is far from being over. By Pedro Adrega, IWF Communications Photos by Giorgio

Riyadh, Day 3: Photo Gallery

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Riyadh, Day 3: Glory for China, Italy and USA on day of drama and red lights

The Olympic champion Li Fabin claimed his third world title, Sergio Massidda hit a career high for Italy and the United States had its first male gold medallist in decades on day three of the IWF World Championships in Riyadh. There was a sea of red lights throughout the 61kg A and B sessions. Even Li was caught up in it as he missed an attempt at a snatch world record and failed with two of his clean and jerks. Li Fabin (CHN) He posted 141-167-308 to register his lowest total in a major competition since 2019, finishing 6kg ahead of Massidda on 137-165-302. Li’s team-mate Ding Hongjie was third from the B Group despite making only two good lifts for 135-166-301. The American teenager Hampton Morris was one of six athletes who failed to make a total but he compensated for three snatch failures by beating the Olympic champion in clean and jerk with a junior world record of 168kg. The C Group athlete Aniq Kasdan from Malaysia won clean and jerk bronze with 166kg and finished ninth on total. The snatch medallists were Li on 141kg, Massidda on 137kg and Shota Mishvelidze from Georgia, who totalled 297kg, third on 136kg. Hampton Morris (USA) Morris became the first male lifter from the United States to win a World Championships gold medal since Mario Martinez in 1984, when the Los Angeles Olympic Games doubled up as the World Championships. Super-heavyweight Martinez, whose coach Jim Schmitz was in the audience in Riyadh, won the snatch before finishing second on total to the Australian Dean Lukin. The top 11 places in the 61kg field of 43 included one from the D Group, one from C and three from B because so many of the leading contenders underperformed. Massidda made four from six in becoming the first European to hit the 300kg mark in this weight category, moving up to second place in the simplified ranking list for Paris 2024. “This is the high point of my career, my best moment but I can feel there is more to come,” he said. He went up 2kg from one lift to the next in both snatch and clean and jerk, while others made larger and mostly unsuccessful leaps. Sergio Massidda (ITA) Massidda was not watching while others kept failing but said of his strategy, “I tried to go up with the kilos I know, weights I am comfortable with in training. “The 300 is just the beginning, there will be more, maybe in Qatar or Turkey,” he said, looking ahead to the next qualifiers in December and February. Massidda, 21, said the atmosphere in Italy’s team was very good and that he and everybody else had prepared well for these Championships. “But there was a lot of blood!” he said, holding out his callused, gnarled hands. "I can say that for Paris I put Li in the crosshairs." Sebastiano Corbu, Italy's technical director, said, "Sergio is an athlete who manages to maintain coolness and lucidity even in conditions of great tension. Also this time he proved to be an athlete of the highest level." Finally, Antonio Urso, President of FIPE, considered, "The 61 kg is one of the most complicated categories of the men’s world championship, an important specific weight. Sergio won two very important medals that fill us with pride and improve his Olympic ranking." China now holds the top three places in the long-list Olympic rankings at 61kg, Li, Chen Lijun - who like the fourth-placed Indonesian Eko Yuli Irawan lifts here at 67kg - and Ding. He Yueji on 296kg makes it four in the top 10 for China. Ten men posted original A Group entry totals of 300kg or more, nine of whom had never been beyond the 290s in their life at this weight. Li and Massidda were the only ones who achieved the feat in the A Group. The Malaysian D Group lifter Aznil Bidin outperformed five in the A Group with a total of 290kg, only to be outdone by his 21-year-old team-mate Aniq, who made 291kg in the C Group. “Unfortunately, only one weightlifter per nation is allowed to compete in each weight category at the Olympics so they will have to compete against each other,” the Malaysian Federation secretary Wan Muhammad Hafiz had said before the Championships. The same applies to China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey, who all have at least two with a realistic chance of qualifying. A high number of no-lifts in the A Group had been predicted a couple of hours before it happened by Simon Brandhuber from Germany, who posted a four-from-six 133-154-287 in the B Group for 13th place overall. “I thought my entry total would put me in the A Group here but perhaps the high number at 300 has worked to my advantage,” he said. “If they go high with their entry they will have to start high, and we might see a lot of red lights in the A Group like we had here in the B Group. “I had hoped for 290-292 but I’m happy with 287. I feel comfortable at this weight and I know there are more kilos in me.” Brandhuber had a better experience in Riyadh than in Bogotá, Colombia at last year’s World Championships. He had a fever five days before the Championships and tested positive for Covid. When his health improved and he was keen to lift but had to lose nearly a kilo. “I couldn’t go into the sauna with other athletes because of my Covid test so I couldn’t cut the weight and had to withdraw.” Ivan Dimov from Bulgaria moved up the rankings by improving his best qualifying total by 16kg to 293kg, while Arley Calderon from Cuba was 5kg better on 291kg. Chen Guan-Ling (TPE) There were plenty of red lights in the other medal event of the day, the women’s 55kg, as well as three B Group lifters in the top 10. Four athletes from a field of 30 failed to make a total. Chen Guan-Ling from Chinese Taipei had a sweep of golds on 91-112-203, and all three silvers went to Rohelys Galvis from Colombia on 90-11-201. Irene Borrego from Mexico was third in snatch and total on 89-110-199, and the clean and jerk bronze was won by the Colombian Rosalba Morales on 110kg. Jenly Wini from the Solomon Islands, more than double Chen’s age at 40, had an impressive 84-100-184 for 13th place from the C Group. She will be hoping for similar good form in November when Solomon Islands hosts the Pacific Games, which doubles up as the Oceania Championships and is an Olympic qualifier. Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by Giorgio

Aline de Souza (WRT): historical debut for the IWF

Never before in the history of a weightlifting competition, has the acronym WRT appeared in front of an athlete’s name. It happened today, during the third day of the IWF World Championships, taking place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. In the B session of the women’s 55kg, Aline de Souza was the first-ever lifter representing a Weightlifting Refugee Team (WRT). After the IWF decision to launch such a team in March, seven athletes are now part of this group and Souza was the first to compete under this status.   Originally from Brazil, and born in June 1999, she managed a 82kg snatch, followed by a 100kg clean and jerk (her personal best is 85-100-185). “I was expecting a bit better, but I am quite happy that I managed to have a total in these World Championships, my first senior ones”. Presently living in Miami, in the United States, Souza attended a training camp for the Refugee Team in June in Sweden, and after that returned to preparation before the IWF showcase in Riyadh. “Everything went very well and I arrived here in quite good shape. My preparation ran smoothly and consistently, according to the plan we had established with my coach [Patric Bettembourg]”.   Commenting on the historical moment for our International Federation, Souza can’t hide her satisfaction. “Nervous? Not so much. I was extremely happy and proud to be the first, not only for the IWF, but also in terms of our group. I felt a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of gratitude in my heart”. Asked about the atmosphere of the IWF showcase in Saudi Arabia, Souza considers that everything is “very well organised and the set-up of the venue is really beautiful”.    After more than seven years without competing, she confessed taking this challenge with a lot of “emotion, as if it was the first event of my career”. But at the end of the day, she thinks that she “represented quite well the Refugee Team”. This determination will naturally continue in the future: “Always strive to lift heavier loads, so that I can progress in the world rankings”.    In the late days of April, soon after the constitution of the Refugee Team, a thrilled Aline de Souza had spoken to the IWF. “Being selected to be part of this group was like a miracle! I know very well the meaning of the word and I don’t hesitate in using it: a miracle. When everything seemed dark for us, when we couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, came the news: we are part of the Refugee Team and we can again compete in the sport we cherish so much! It’s a new life for us!”   Initiated in the sport when she was 11, she lastly participated at the 2015 IWF World Youth Championships (where she was second overall in the 48kg category, but won the snatch with a 73kg lift) – since then and until today’s competition, she had only lifted barbells on gyms. “For me, it was a passion that progressively got bigger as I was achieving better results”.     Back then, in April, Souza had huge expectations. “My Olympic dream is getting closer… It has been a very long road… But with faith and hope, we got here. And I can tell you: each time I lift in training, I feel stronger, I want more, heavier loads. I feel blessed to have this opportunity – and this makes me more determined than ever”.   Is the dream closer to reality after today’s appearance in Riyadh? Don’t miss the next episodes…    By Pedro Adrega, IWF Communications    Photos by Giorgio

Riyadh, Day 2: Photo Gallery

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Riyadh, Day 2: World records for China’s Jiang, and place on podium for USA’s Delacruz

China began their campaign with a 1-2 finish and two world records on the second day of the ÏWF World Championships in Riyadh. Jiang Huihua made six from six and took her record to 16 good lifts from 18 attempts in Paris 2024 qualifying when she won the women’s 49kg. In second place was her team-mate Hou Zhihui, the Olympic champion who has been beaten by Jiang three times since winning in Tokyo. By ending with a good lift at 120kg Jiang, 25, set world records in clean and jerk and total. By making 95-120-215 she moved 4kg clear of Hou at the top of the long list in the rankings, and 15kg clear of her nearest rivals in the simplified list. Hou, who made 95-116-211, had tried to better her own world record on total a minute earlier but failed on 119kg. Jourdan Delacruz (USA) “The good news for us is that China can only take one athlete to Paris,” joked Mike Gattone, a very happy United States performance director after Jourdan Delacruz finished third and joined three others on 200kg in the long list. All three are Asian, Mirabai Chanu from India – who weighed in without lifting in Riyadh and lost her clean and jerk record to Jiang - and the Thailand pair Surodchana Khambao and Thanyathon Sukcharoen. That is no surprise, because nobody from outside Asia has been on the podium in the lightest women’s category in the past four Olympic Games. Delacruz, who failed with her first attempts in snatch and clean and jerk, recovered to make 88-112-200, taking bronze in clean and jerk and total. She is the only non-Asian ever to have totalled 200kg in the 49kg category, a feat she first achieved in winning the Pan American title in 2021. Did it feel better second time around? “Oh yes,” said Delacruz, “because these are my first world championships medals. “I was disappointed to miss my openers but there were a lot of successes there and I’m really proud of myself. “I love competing, but what really gives me the biggest buzz in weightlifting is reaching my personal goals and to keep improving – it’s a long-term thing for me and it’s going well.” There were some big moves in the Olympic rankings, led by 19-year-old Rosegie Ramos from the Philippines.  Ramos went from 49th in the long list, where she was behind team-mate Lovely Inan, to the top 10 on the simplified version by making a five-from-six 86-102-188. Inan failed to make a total. Mihaela Cambei (ROU) Mihaela Cambei from Romania was only 2kg short of 200kg when she won the European title in April and it was looking good for her when she came out last in the snatch – a rarity with two Chinese lifters in the field – and made 90kg, which won her the snatch bronze. But two failures followed, the second of them when she dropped the bar off the front of the platform, and there was a repeat in clean and jerk when Cambei opened with 105kg before two missed attempts. Cambei is entered for the IWF Grand Prix in Qatar in December, when she will have another chance to become the first European to breach the 200kg mark. Khambao aws fourth on total on 87-109-196, and Hayley Reichardt of the United States was a place behind Cambei in sixth, making only two good lifts in a total of 189kg. While other medal contenders saw red lights, there were none for the Chinese until Hou’s failed world record attempt. In the second medal event of the day, the men’s 55kg, Lai Gia Thanh struck gold at the fourth attempt after failing to make a total at the World Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Lai Gia Thanh (VIE) The 2018 junior world champion made a career-best 123-146-269. He has now won seven of his past 10 competitions, and failed to make a total in the other three. Lai Gia’s team-mate Ngo Son Dinh had a sweep of silvers on 117-144-261, with Natthawat Chomchuen from Thailand third on 116-143-259. Saudi Arabia came desperately close to a medal when Mansour Al Saleem made the same numbers as others in snatch, clean and jerk and total but finished fourth in all three. The snatch bronze went to Thada Somboon Uan from Thailand, and the other two bronzes to his team-mate Chomchuen. Al Saleem, 35, had plenty of support from the home crowd, who cheered him off after his brave attempt to win a medal. After making his second clean and jerk, Al Saleem fell to the floor and screamed in pain. He was suffering severe muscle spasms and had to be carried off the platform – but a few minutes later he was back, trying in vain to make 147kg for clean and jerk gold. By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games Photos by Giorgio