THE EWC 2011 STARTED

Large crowds of people gathered in the main venue of the European Weightlifting Championships 2011 in Kazan, Russia for the Opening Ceremony with the view to witness further on the major weightlifting show of the year.

Ildar Khalikov, Prime-minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, expressed gratitude in his welcoming addresses for the honor to stage the top rank events. “We will conduct the European Weightlifting Championships on the top level, - he promised. - Tatarstan has good weightlifting traditions and rich potential. A number of merited weightlifters had been born here; Olympic Champions Arkady Vorobjev, Alexander Kurynov and Nicolay Kolesnikov are among them.”

Besides the Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan Mr Rafis Burganov, the Executive director of the Russian Olympic committee Mr. Marat Bariev also attended the Opening Ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championships 2011.

According to Sergey Syrtsov, Russian Weightlifting Federation President, European Championships in Kazan is a milestone for the Russian weightlifting.

“We are happy, that international level weightlifting is back to Russia, - he noted in particular, - Russia is known for the rich weightlifting history, and it is quite remarkable, that it is Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, to stage this significant sport forum. I wish fans witness the great sport show, competitors take heavy weights and referees enjoy the principal officiating”.

EWC 2011 – THE FIRST PODIUMS

In the Women’s 48kg bodyweight category, Nurcan TAYLAN (TUR) ended up on the highest stage of the podium winning the Gold right before her teammate Nurdan KARAGOZ (TUR) and Genny C. PAGLIARO (ITA). 

In Men’s 56kg, the Moldavian lifter Oleg SIRGHI managed to take the first place. Turkey grabbed another medal thanks to Gokhan KILIC, while the Romanian lifter Florin Ionut CROITORU took home the bronze.

Women's competition pursued with the 53kg bodyweight category. Turkish lifters are showing outstanding performances and Aylin DASDELEN also managed to win the Gold on the second day of competition. Elen GRIGORYAN (ARM) ended up with a silver medal and the German lifter Julia ROHDE managed to keep the third place.

SPORTACCORD CLOSED WITH THE REELECTION OF HEIN VERBRUGGEN

Hein Verbruggen was reelected as President of SportAccord. Since Dr. Tamás Aján did not stand for reelection in SportAccord council, his 34 years of activity were emphasized and thanked by President Verbruggen and the General Assembly.

Hein Verbruggen, President of SportAccord, officially closed the 9th Annual SportAccord Convention in London on 7th April 2011. More than 1,500 delegates attended the six-day gathering of sport federations.

The leaders of world sport will gather next in Quebec City with London 2012 knocking on the door. The 10th annual SportAccord Convention is provisionally slated for May 20-25, roughly two months before the opening ceremony to next year's Olympic Games.

FIRST ISSUE OF RADO NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE

The first issue of the Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO) Newsletter is now available.

The Newsletter, a publication developed by the global network of RADOs, was created to promote the activities of the RADOs and their member countries, with future editions highlighting specific programs being implemented by the regions.

The RADO concept was created as a way for countries to work together and share resources with the goal of developing and implementing effective anti-doping programs. Currently there are fifteen RADOs worldwide, including six in Africa, two in the Americas, five in Asia, one in Europe, and one in Oceania.

Click here to read the RADO Newsletter.

MOIRA LASSEN - ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT TO THE ONTARIO WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION

Moira Lassen, IWF Technical Committee member, was recently elected as Vice President (Technical) to the Ontario Weightlifting Association, a member of the Canadian Weightlifting Federation. Ontario is hosting the 2011 Canadian Senior Championships in Toronto, as well as the Canadian Junior Championships in early 2012. The 2015 Pan American Games will also be hosted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

RUSSIAN WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION CONGRESS

Dr. Tamás Aján, IWF President and Mr. Attila Ádámfi, IWF Competition Director attended the Congress of the Russian Weightlifting Federation in Kazan, Russia.  

42 delegates attended the Congress, and seems that the European Weightlifting Championships attracted and brought together an impressive number of former Olympic and World Champions. New statutes were adopted and the Congress delegates proceeded to the election of the new Executive Board Members. 

During the Congress, Mr. Sergei Syrtsov, President of the Russian Weightlifting Federation and Mr. Alexandr Gerasimenko, Chairman of the Russian Weightlifting Federation’s Supervisory Board greeted Dr. Tamás Aján IWF President who addressed a welcome speech to all the attendees.

NEW LEADER FOR THE MONGOLIAN WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION

The Electoral Congress of the Mongolian Weightlifting Federation was held on April 2nd in the city of Darkhan, Mongolia. Dr. Demchigjav Zagdsuren, also President of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee (MNOC) was elected unanimously by the Congress as President of the Mongolian Weightlifting Federation.

The 53 year old sports leader is President of the MNOC since 2001, and initiated the development of many Olympic activities. His main objective is to further improve the achievements of Mongolian weightlifting and increase its visibility in order to make it a top sport within the country.

Mr.Baasankhuu Gansukh was re-elected as Secretary-General of the Mongolian Weightlifting Federation for another term.

CONFERENCE ON INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION DEEMED A SUCCESS IN MONACO

The 2011 IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport came to a successful conclusion on 9 April in Monaco.

The meetings, described by some as the most constructive yet for researchers in the field, were attended by 940 delegates from 85 countries and included 5 keynote lectures, 21 symposia, 39 workshops and 64 oral presentations.

Experts exchanged the latest news and advancements in the prevention of illness and injury in athletes; and several symposia on the implementation of the field’s current knowledge showed that the message and penetration are improving.

Read the full report here.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION

The South American Weightlifting Federation held its Annual Conference on 1st April in Lima, Peru. Delegates from 8 countries participated in the meeting, where the President of the Federation Mr. Luis Zambrano (ECU) leaded the debates. Topics concerning the major issues of the Federation’s operational activity were discussed. The place and dates of the South American Weightlifting Championships was also set during the meeting. The IWF was represented at the Conference by Ms. Éva Moska, Assistant to the IWF President.

WORLD JUNIOR WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS QUIZ

Answer to three questions on the website of the World Junior Championships www.2011wjwc.com and win a T-Shirt! The first correct entry to all three questions will receive a World Junior Championships T'Shirt from the Organising Committee. Three new questions every week! Try your luck and see how good your weightlifting memory is!
The answers to Quiz 2 and the winner will be announced on Saturday, 16th April.

Quiz Number 2

1/ In which World Junior Championship did Leonid Taranenko win the Silver medal in the Clean & Jerk?

2/ What was Blagoi Blagoev second attempt in the Clean &Jerk at the Black Sea International tournament held in Varna-Bulgaria in 1984.

3/ This weightlifter was a World Junior champion. What is her name?