WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING No.145
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION
PHOTO: BUD CHARNIGA
EKO YULI
EKO YULI IRAWAN, INA ASIAN GAMES CHAMPION IRAWAN IS LOOKING TO THE HIGHEST PEAKS IN 2020
2018 IWF JWC
ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES
ASIAN GAMES
FISU WUC
TASHKENT
OCEANIA & EUROPE
JAKARTA
BIALA PODLASKA
Published by International Weightlifting Federation DR. TAMÁS AJÁN IWF President IOC Honorary Member MOHAMMED JALOOD IWF General Secretary Editor-in-Chief KORNÉL JANCSÓ Senior Editor ANIKÓ NÉMETH-MÓRA Communication Director LILLA ROZGONYI Photos JÓZSEF SZAKA Art Editor Crazy Panda Studio Graphic Design Marcell Studio (www.marcelltamas.hu) Spanish & Russian Editions DAVID COLON ARROYO MARINA SHAFIT ÁGNES LUKÁCSFALVI
CONTENTS No.145 02-03 | FOREWORD 04-21 | 2018 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – TASHKENT, UZB 05 |
22-23 | ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES – OCEANIAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS 24-25 |
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INTERVIEW – SHAKHRILLO MAKHMOUDOV
EUROPEAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
26-34 | ASIAN GAMES – JAKARTA, INA 35 | OBITUARY - ALEXANDER KURLOVICH 36-39 | 2018 FISU WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS - BIALA PODLASKA 40-41 | AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - MAURITIUS 42-43 | 2018 IWF MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – BARCELONA, ESP 46 |
WOMEN’S PAGE – INTERVIEW WITH ZUKHRA ABDULLAEVA
48 |
TECHNICAL CORNER – NEW CATEGORIES, NEW RECORDS!
ISSN 0230-3035
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 1
› FOREWORD
FOREWORD
R
Dear Friends,
ecently, on various forums of the International Weightlifting Federation I have mentioned more than once that the year 2018 is a turning point in the life of the IWF. What does justify this attribute? First of all, that the International Olympic Committee has – and personally, I am very glad about that – made several significant steps, has arrived at decisions that made it clear: we are no longer left alone in our passionate fight against doping. Today, the IOC’s support to the International Federations, including the IWF, is far more noticeable than ever before. The IOC has confirmed on multiple occasions that it fully agrees with the very severe IWF sanctions influencing even the Olympic quota. Particularly in that respect, we can sense their backing much more than in earlier similar cases. Last June, the IOC Executive Board made a critical statement regarding weightlifting; a decision that I think was a tough lesson to our sport, but one that only inspired the IWF to take an even harder stance in its war on doping. The ultimate outcome of all that is that our sport is there on the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but for 2024 and 2028 the presence of weightlifting might be questionable in the Olympic programme should we be unable to make our anti-doping controls water-tight and effective. That is indeed a frightening perspective; however, the IWF was not just waiting for this situation sitting on the sidelines, doing nothing.
Ashgabat: host of the 2018 IWF WWC 2 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
O
ur Executive Board unanimously approved the recommendation of the so-called “Tbilisi Commission” to suspend nine countries for one year each and these have to comply with a long list of criteria in cleaning up their sport. At the same time, we established an Independent Monitoring Group whose task is to study and evaluate these Federations’ compliance with the requirements. Meanwhile, three countries have managed to complete the set of requirements and, consequently, recaptured their right to compete. The three of them could take part in the Youth Olympic Games, while the rest of six countries remained suspended until the 19 October 2018 deadline. I must mention here that anyone suspecting some kind of aversion or bias is totally wrong. Although the number of those opposing our decisions and approach our leadership in an unfriendly way is very small, everyone should understand that the sanctioned Member Federations are not our enemies but partners. The leaders of the MFs concerned are partners of the IWF as we share the long-term interest of making order and cleaning up our sport. Another factor that makes 2018 a turning point is a historic change in our Technical Rules. After 20 years, there is a new set of bodyweight categories for both men and women: ten for each gender. Of these, seven each will feature in the 2020 Olympic programme. Of course, we are not happy about the reduction of our quota and of the number of Olympic events, but it must be acknowledged that the IOC is adding further sports and events to the Olympic palette and thus had to cut numbers from several “traditional” sports, including us. We did our part in elaborating a completely new Olympic Qualification System, which the IOC endorsed and adopted eagerly, which is individual-based and promotes clean sport. Competitors must participate a minimum of 6 times in the Qualification period and are under permanent anti-doping control. I should praise the contributions of the Clean Sport Commission to both projects. The shaping of the new categories demanded great input from the Sports Program Commission. As expected, there were different opinions but in the end two times 10 new bodyweight categories were accepted to be introduced on 1 November 2018 – actually with the IWF World Championships in Ashgabat. New categories entail a new set of world records: to that World Standards have been fixed heralding a new chapter in the IWF’s life. One further project we have launched in 2018: the modernisation and update of the IWF Constitution & By-Laws. As usual, we have begun this process involving all the 192 Member Federations. A Working Group is collecting the proposals and will table them elaborated to the Executive Board, whereupon the proposals shall be submitted to the next available IWF Congress for decision. Last but not least, let me share a few words about the 2018 IWF World Championships hosted in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat. First, I must thank the Peruvian Federation for accepting the IWF’s initiative and stepping down from the WWC in favour of Turkmenistan. (I should point out that Peru is meanwhile candidate to host the 2021 World Championships.) From Lima the 2018 WWC has been transferred to Ashgabat allowing the latter to continue and further develop the legacy of the successful 2017 Asia Indoor Games. We expect fantastic World Championships in Ashgabat with an incredible new record in the number of competitors. The turnout is undoubtedly boosted to new heights partly as a result of the 20 bodyweight categories, partly the return of the 9 suspended countries and, last but not least, the WWC’s rank of Qualifying Event to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
DR. TAMÁS AJÁN IWF PRESIDENT
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 3
› LIFTER OF THE YEAR AWARD GALA IN TBILISI TEXT: KORNÉL JANCSÓ
›2018 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEXT: KORNÉL JANCSÓ PHOTO: JÓZSEF SZAKA
ANOTHER EPISODE OF SERIES “T”: TBILISI, TOKYO, TASHKENT
T
he first fortnight of July in 2018 was hallmarked in Weightlifting circles by the year’s major showdown for the under-twentyaged lifters: the Junior World Championships, this time hosted by Uzbekistan’s capital. Tashkent served as a truly exotic location for the Junior Worlds: known as an inhabited settlement since the 3rd Century, this city is located near the Kazakh border north of the famous “Silk Road”. Tashkent combines past and present; historical buildings, Old Town mosques mingle with state-of-the-art constructions like the famous TV Tower. Also called “The City of Peace and Friendship”, this hospitable Uzbek metropolis welcomed 232 strong young people from 48 countries: 136 men and 96 women. Since the first -20 Championships held in 1975, this was the 44th edition of the Junior Worlds for the men and the 24th for the women (who joined in 1995). The oldest within the age group were born in 1998 but there were also a few talented youngsters in the field who were born in 2002. Some important occurrences prior to the start of the competitions will also make Tashkent memorable in the weightlifting annals. First of all the ratification of the new set of bodyweight categories by the IWF Congress. These will be applied from 1st November 2018. The JWC in Uzbekistan was still held in the “old” categories: eight for women and eight for men. Before going into details on the various bodyweight categories, let us fix herewith the final results of the team classification. In women, the United States won
before Thailand, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Ecuador and Chinese Taipei. (N.B. The 9 suspended countries were still absent.) Among the men Iran was best, followed by the host Uzbekistan, Turkey, USA, Poland and Colombia. Thanks to the Uzbekistan Weightlifting Federation, President Mr. Botir Zokirov, 1st Vice President Shakhrillo Makhmoudov and his team for the excellent organisation and great hospitality!
4 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
IWF President, General Secretary with TWF President Botir Zokirov
Hospitality “Uzbek style”
› LIFTER OF THE YEAR AWARD GALA IN TBILISI › INTERVIEW TEXT: KORNÉL JANCSÓ PHOTO: JÓZSEF SZAKA
CHAMPIONSHIPS TO GENERAL SATISFACTION
MEET SHAKHRILLO MAKHMUDOV
Five years after the successful Youth World Championships, Uzbekistan was host to yet another – equally excellent – IWF world event, under the baton of Shakhrillo Makhmudov. WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING interviewed the Chief Organiser of the 2018 IWF Junior World Championships in Tashkent on the closing day of the event. By that time it was clear that under the leadership of Mr. Makhmudov – who is, by the way, IWF Executive Board Member, Vice President of the Asian Federation and 1st Vice President of the Weightlifting Federation of Uzbekistan – the Uzbeks carried out another successful Championship in their capital. WW: Half a decade ago you welcomed the youngest generation, the under 17 years of age; now you have been hosting the best of the juniors from all over the world. Was there any special challenge for you in this 2018 event, compared to the one in 2013? SM.: On the one hand, I was immensely proud that the IWF decided to give us this huge task, an act of great confidence. On the other hand, I was very excited as I could feel the weight of expectations heavily on my shoulders. Yes, the pressure was big to make sure everything goes well with the World Championships.
“WE TRIED TO MEET THIS BIG CHALLENGE AND IT GIVES ME THE BIGGEST HAPPINESS IF OTHERS THINK WE HAVE MANAGED.” WW: You can finally acknowledge: in general opinion it has been going splendidly… SM.: I am so happy if you see so, if that is what you have been feeling; but it must be said it was not easy. An extra task was the organisation of the various Committee meetings, the IWF Executive Board meeting and finally the Congress – prior to the competitions. To us it was a huge challenge as we had to comply with the highest expectations – both by others and by ourselves. We wouldn’t have been able to manage alone…
indebted to him first for giving us the right to organise the Championships, then because we could feel the President’s help and eyes all the way on our efforts. Thank you, Dr. Aján! WW: It must have promoted the success of the JWC that it was not the first major event hosted in Tashkent. SM.: Of course, our experience helped us a lot, as we had a number of big events behind us. Among those the Youth Worlds and a series of senior competitions, like the Asian Championships, the Asian Continental Qualification Event before the Rio Games, the Afro-Asian Championships or the Asia Cup. Together with my team, Zukhra, Bahtyor and the others, we tried to meet this big challenge and it gives me the biggest happiness if others think we have managed. WW: The competitions were outstanding but Tashkent will go down in history for all of us for another reason as well… SM.: Yes, we are so proud to have been able to host an IWF Congress that may surely be called epic, because it approved very important changes in the sport. After 20 years it happened here in Tashkent that the IWF modified the bodyweight categories, accepting ten each for the men and for the women, and it ratified the seven-seven categories for the programme of 2020 Tokyo, not to mention the unique and ground-braking Qualification System for the Olympic Games.
WW: But you were not left alone… SM.: No, we weren’t, indeed. Since the very beginning, we had the backing of the Uzbek authorities, our Government, the Ministry, and all the way we could feel the support of the IWF. For several months prior to the JWC we had permanently been in touch with the International Federation; coordinating every detail, from the training to the competition venue, the schedule, the travel, the accommodation of the delegations – everything. In the end, all pieces of the puzzle fell together but it really needed – and this is no mere politeness! – the all-inclusive cooperation of the IWF Secretariat, their meticulous attention to detail, help and activity. Special thanks to our President Dr. Tamás Aján: I am personally WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 5
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
WOMEN 48KG - THAILAND OPENS
T
he first world champion to be awarded was a woman, of course, in the lightest category, the 48kg. The happiest nation was Thailand having collected the three gold medals. Their representative, last year’s JWC second NANTHAWONG Chiraphan totalled 181kg in a truly convincing performance, adding a 100kg clean and jerk to the 81kg snatch. The identity of the runner-up (for all three silver medals) did not remain undisclosed for long either: 2017 3rd-placed Brazilian OLIVEIRA MADEIRA Luana was promoted to this position for her 76+96=172kg result. The bronze medal was allocated in a somewhat more exciting battle: the snatch bronze won by Indian DALABEHERA Jhilli; the clean and jerk by Japanese SUZUKI Rira; finally the Indian girl became the winner of the total bronze. It should be noted that both latter competitors achieved their honours lifting in Group B.
NANTHAWONG Chiraphan, THA
6 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
1 NANTHAWONG CHIRAPHAN 17.08.1999 THA 47.40
81 100 181
2 OLIVEIRA MADEIRA LUANA
76
31.01.1998 BRA 47.75
96 172
3 DALABEHERA JHILLI
03.02.1999 IND 47.60
75
92 167
4 BUACHATTURAT CHOTIMA
12.03.2000 THA 47.70
74
92 166
5 SUZUKI RIRA
06.09.1998 JPN 45.65
69
95 164
6 CUEVA URIBE FIORELLA F.
04.02.1998 PER 47.50
71
93 164
7 PUTRI YOLANDA
27.01.2000 INA 47.75
73
90 163
8 REICHARDT HAYLEY MARIE
27.04.1999 USA 47.85
72
91 163
9 KARAKOL GAMZE 10 OLESKIEWICZ SYLWIA M.
15.12.1998 TUR 47.55
72
91 163
23.06.1999 POL 47.75
68
84 152
OLIVEIRA MADEIRA Luana, BRA
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
53KG - KHAMBAO CARRIES ON
T
hailand’s brave women continued to earn the best of medals in the next category – this time the honours went to KHAMBAO Surodchana. Since last year, when she placed sixth, KHAMBAO displayed remarkable progress in Tashkent and catapulted to the winning position, taking all the three gold medals. In snatch, it was not yet an easy game for her as American DELACRUZ Jourdan Elizabeth was able to corner the Thai and in the end the latter won by just one kilo: 87:86. In clean and jerk, however, DELACRUZ stopped at 107kg, while 18-year old KHAMBAO lifted 110kg and won. All three bronze medals were captured by Colombian SINISTERRA TORRES Yenni, who lifted 84 and 104kg, 188kg in total.
1 KHAMBAO SURODCHANA
23.12.1999 THA 52.75
87 110 197
2 DELACRUZ JOURDAN ELIZABETH
20.05.1998 USA 52.55
86 107 193
3 SINISTERRA TORRES YENNY
04.05.2000 COL 52.75
84 104 188
4 JONES CATRIN HAF
13.06.1999 GBR 52.65
71
93 164
5 BECERRA ROMERO JENIFER S.
31.12.2002 ECU 52.30
72
87 159
6 OTOJONOVA ZUKHRA
10.02.2001 UZB 52.40
62
84 146
DELACRUZ Jourdan, USA
KHAMBAO Surodchana, THA
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 7
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
58KG - SIX GIRLS SHARING NINE MEDALS!
T
here were tumultuous scenes around the dais at the victory ceremony of the women’s 58kg; so much so that six medallists were crowding its steps. While it was unclear in the process who will claim which type of medal, there was no question about who will take the pole position. True to being the top favourite AND DEFENDING Junior world champion, Latvian KOHA Rebeka ruled the category and left no doubt about her supremacy on both lifts and naturally overall. The 20-year old prodigy – formerly Olympic fourth, worlds’ third and this year’s European champion – performed two good snatches (95 and 99kg) and missed only 103kg; and in clean and jerk she did three splendid attempts straight on 113, 117, finally 120kg. African champion and silver medallist in total, LANDOULSI Nouha from Tunisia made 21kg less; bronze medallist DARSIGNY Tali from Canada totalled 22kg less than the winner.
1 KOHA REBEKA
19.05.1998 LAT 57.10
99 120 219
2 LANDOULSI NOUHA
05.05.1998 TUN 55.40
90 108 198
3 DARSIGNY TALI
08.03.1998 CAN 58.00
88 109 197
4 EMDU AILADA
23.10.2000 THA 57.00
93 103 196
5 MORALES DEL AGUILA R. E.
14.11.1998 COL 57.55
83 112 195
6 CAKIN AYSEGUL
24.06.1999 TUR 57.95
82 110 192
7 PENCIU ANDREEA
07.09.2000 ROU 57.50
86 102 188
8 SANCHEZ FERRER ALBA
10.01.1998 ESP 57.30
83 101 184
9 MEGO CONTRERAS SHOELY M. 10 KOLTOWSKA PATRYCJA D.
8 / WORLD A WEIGHTLIFTING crowded podium in 58kg
12.08.1999 PER 56.75
74 104 178
03.01.1999 POL 57.80
80
89 169
KOHA REBEKA, LAT “I know nothing, no school, no studying, no leisure, just work out, training, day by day, even on Sundays! My goal is Tokyo, the Olympic Games, until then there is nothing but stone-hard work. Anything else may come only afterwards…! ”
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
63KG - JUST 16 YEARS OLD, FAYZULLAEVA KEEPS TWO GOLDS AT HOME
T
he competition in 63kg was fierce – at least in snatch. In the end, three women tied on 94kg so the winner was the one who lifted it first: AHMED Esraa Elsayed R.E. from Egypt. Tunisian BELKHIR Ghofrane was next and home favourite FAYZULLAEVA Kumushkon was the last to snatch that weight, thus defining the ranking order. In clean and jerk FAYZULLAEVA made it sure that the “equality” game is over: at the tender age of 16(!), the Uzbek girl proceeded after 114 to 120kg and earned both the clean and jerk and the total gold medals. AHMED, 2015 runner-up in both youth and junior, picked up the silver medals behind the young Uzbek super talent (113, 207kg) and BELKHIR, current youth and junior African champion finished with two bronzes. The three of them formed an elite group since all the rest of the field could only accumulate totals less than 200kg.
BELKHIR Ghofrane, TUN
1 FAYZULLAEVA KUMUSHKHON 20.01.2002 UZB 62.75
94 120 214
2 AHMED ESRAA ELSAYED R. E. 21.11.1998 EGY 62.80
94 113 207
3 BELKHIR GHOFRANE
11.08.2001 TUN 59.65
94 112 206
4 SONKAEW RODSUKON
28.11.1999 THA 62.65
93 108 201
5 LEVENT NURAY
08.05.2000 TUR 62.45
90 110 200
6 GRIGORIU MARIA-LUANA
07.02.2000 ROU 63.00
88 111 199
7 GURYEVA POLINA
05.10.1999 TKM 62.30
90 105 195
8 PAREDES VASQUEZ ELDI J.
04.08.2000 PER 62.65
85 109 194
9 DAVILA SANSINENA SUSANA 10 HSU WEI-CHUN
07.02.1998 ESP 62.55
82
98 180
10.11.1998 TPE 62.80
80
98 178
FAYZULLAEVA Kumushkhon, UZB
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
69KG - AHMED II FROM EGYPT SCORES TRIPLE CROWN
I
n this category again, Egypt was represented by Ms Ahmed, more precisely by AHMED Sara Samir Elsayed Mohamed, but unlike her sister, she did not contend with just one gold medal; she did not stop before sweeping all the three on sale. That was her compensation for having bombed in snatch at the 2017 World Championships among the seniors and leaving without a medal in total. AHMED II, formerly double Youth world champion and Rio Olympic bronze medallist, reconfirmed her reputation in Tashkent. With two valid attempts on both lifts (missing her lasts on 107 and 137kg, respectively) she became the best in snatch, clean and jerk and total. The silver medals went to USA lifter VIBERT Katherine Elizabeth for her 100+125=225kg, an achievement that made her weep for joy. On the other hand, we believe that the tears on the face of triple bronze medal winner Colombian ESCOBAR AGUIRRE Hellen Andrea (99+124=223kg) were rather of disappointment than happiness.
AHMED Sara Samir Elsayed, EGY
10 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
1 AHMED SARA SAMIR E. M.
01.01.1998 EGY 68.55 105 133 238
2 VIBERT KATHERINE ELIZABETH
05.01.1999 USA 68.60 100 125 225
3 ESCOBAR AGUIRRE HELLEN A.
07.03.1999 COL 68.50
99 124 223
4 MESSIER ANDREANNE
10.05.1999 CAN 68.95
93 111 204
5 ALEXE ALEXANDRA
20.04.2000 ROU 67.70
93 110 203
6 ROUX MAGALIE
25.01.1999 CAN 68.30
84 111 195
7 HERNANDEZ MARTIN ILIA
12.04.1998 ESP 68.85
82 113 195
8 RAMBERGENOVA BAZARGUL
13.06.1999 UZB 68.05
86 105 191
9 PAREDES ARREAGA BELLA N.
25.02.2002 ECU 68.90
86 104 190
05.05.2001 TUR 65.25
82 103 185
10 AYYILDIZ EMINE
VIBERT Katherine Elizabeth, USA
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
75KG - HAT TRICK BY DAJOMES
T
he IWF media team had a good reason for electing 75kg lifter DAJOMES BARRERA Neisi Patricia as Best Woman Lifter of the Junior World Championships. Ecuador’s 20-year old star scored triple gold winning the juniors’ honours for the third time after 2016 and 2017. Worthy of the defending champion, she pinned 255kg in total, the best of her life. Thus she exceeded even the outstanding results she had reached previously, i.e. 240kg for a silver at the world championships in Anaheim or 242kg for the JWC title, as well as 249kg for this year’s Pan-American champion title. In six faultless attempts in Tashkent DAJOMES arrived at new heights. A set of valuable silver medals was obtained by ALWINE Meredith Leigh from the USA, while the bronze medals were shared between two 16-year old talented young ladies: Turkish NARIN Dilara got the clean and jerk and Uzbek JABBOROVA Tursunoy won both other bronze medals.
1 DAJOMES BARRERA NEISI P.
12.05.1998 ECU 74.55 115 140 255
2 ALWINE MEREDITH LEIGH
08.06.1998 USA 72.25
99 121 220
3 JABBOROVA TURSUNOY
04.03.2002 UZB 74.10
96 116 212
4 NARIN DILARA
17.03.2002 TUR 74.20
90 118 208
5 KHAMWON YONLADA
22.12.1999 THA 74.70
92 115 207
6 RUBANOVICH NIKOL BELLA
09.05.1998
ISR 71.90
95 110 205
7 AKHMADOVA GULNOZA
02.03.2000 UZB 74.35
93 110 203
8 GUSTI MELINDA
20.08.2000 INA 74.50
90 113 203
9 CHEN EN-TZU
12.11.1999 TPE 74.85
87 112 199
27.05.2000 SVK 74.35
85 110 195
10 SENICOVA NIKOLA
DAJOMES BARRERA NEISI PATRICIA, ECU “I came here to win in my last junior year and I want to win again in November in Ashgabat, then again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. With God’s help, I can do it all…”
Medals in 75kg
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 11
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
90KG - LOCAL FAVOURITE WINS FROM LOST POSITION
U
zbekistan’s 17-year old entry in this category performed what could be called bravura: in snatch DAVRONOVA Dolera was only fifth with her 97kg but proceeding to the clean and jerk she did not just improve on that low position but mastered both wins, in C&J and total! True that the difference in performance in the snatch was not substantial between first-placed RIOTTO Juliana Rose from the US (99kg), second-placed Austrian FISCHER Sara (98kg), third BOYNUEGRI Tugce from Turkey (also 98kg) and the would-be winner Uzbek girl. DAVRONOVA started to work off the handicap in her first clean and jerk lift at 123kg and with her final 128kg she was already the supreme winner (225kg in total). RIOTTO captured the overall silver with 224kg and FISCHER won the bronze with the same result.
DAVRONOVA Dolera, UZB 12 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
1 DAVRONOVA DOLERA
03.11.2001 UZB 88.05
97 128 225
2 RIOTTO JULIANA ROSE
29.07.1998 USA 83.70
99 125 224
3 FISCHER SARAH
09.11.2000 AUT 87.55
98 126 224
4 BOYNUEGRI TUGCE
12.10.1998 TUR 86.95
98 116 214
5 ANANGONO PADILLA E. Y.
24.12.2000 ECU 89.10
92 120 212
6 SEO MINJI
17.06.2000 KOR 89.60
97 112 209
7 KUNPATEE JINNAPAT
03.11.2000 THA 78.50
93 108 201
8 YAO YU-SYUAN
08.01.2001 TPE 89.15
85 100 185
9 KRYLOV MONA
26.10.1998
ISR 83.20
80 100 180
22.09.1999 TPE 83.90
78 102 180
10 YU SSU-HAN
FISCHER Sarah, AUT
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOMEN
+90KG - KOREAN ASIAN CHAMPION CONQUERED THE WORLD
A
ll the three gold medals in the women’s top category went home to South-Korea. Following her success at the junior Asian championships, LEE Seon Mi triumphed in Tashkent with an impressive 274kg total result. She was particularly impressive in snatch where she marched easily through 110, 115, and then 122kg. Lagging behind LEE by a few kilos already in snatch, the silver medal was collected by AYOVI CABEZAS Lisseth Betzaida of Ecuador. Nauru could boast a precious silver medal in clean and jerk by AMOE-TARRANT Charisma Precious, Oceanian champion, who also added a bronze in total. It took a bold move from AYOVI to stay on track, let alone win, when she missed two lifts at 135kg. However, she decided to go for 141kg in her last attempt and courage worked. 1 LEE SEON MI
01.08.2000 KOR 116.70 122 152 274
2 AYOVI CABEZAS L. B.
07.08.1998 ECU 124.95 115 141 256
3 AMOE-TARRANT C. P.
26.05.1999 NRU 133.35 103 142 245
4 BENITEZ RIVERA A.
02.06.2000 USA 129.70 104 130 234
5 MANUMUA KUININI J. M.
12.12.2000 USA 105.10 101 130 231
6 KAROLAK MAGDALENA
01.06.1999 POL 124.40 101 128 229
7 ZENG YA-LI
28.11.1998 TPE 127.30
91 125 216
8 GUNAL MELIKE
05.04.1998 TUR 109.65
95 120 215
9 CHANG YU-HSUAN 10 GYURUS BARBARA
95.35
90 107 197
12.08.1998 HUN 124.50
20.11.1999 TPE
84 105 189
LEE Seon-Mi, KOR
Medal ceremony in +90kg WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 13
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
MEN 56KG - VIETNAM SETS THE TUNE
I
n the lightest men’s category Vietnam literally swept the field clean. They had two competitors and these lads collected three gold and two bronze medals for themselves and to their nation’s honour. At 20 years of age, LAI Gia Thanh, silver medallist from last year, set the course already in the snatch. He lifted 122kg: five more than the next best, GARCIA PEREZ Jairo Luis of Colombia, and nine kilos on his compatriot’s result, 17-year old NGO Son Dinh. In clean and jerk LAI missed two of his attempts but the only successful 144kg was far more than enough to win both in the discipline and overall with a very impressive 266kg total. The clean and jerk silver medal was obtained by South-Korean LIM Kanghun (143kg), while GARCIA took the bronze medal here and became the runner-up in total. Vietnam’s number two delegate NGO captured the total bronze to round up the country’s medal tally to five.
Medallists in 56kg
14 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
1 LAI GIA THANH
03.05.1998
VIE 55.45 122 144 266
2 GARCIA PEREZ JAIRO LUIS
02.08.2000 COL 55.60 117 137 254
3 NGO SON DINH
02.08.2001
4 LIM KANGHUN
29.06.1998 KOR 55.75 106 143 249
VIE 55.75 113 136 249
5 HIRAI KAITO
16.09.1998 JPN 55.70 105 136 241
6 SOMBOON-UAN THADA
03.11.2000 THA 55.70 107 127 234
7 KUBO KAITO
24.01.1999 JPN 55.60 101 129 230
8 IANCU VALENTIN-IONADI
16.01.2000 ROU 55.85
98 128 226
9 YU CHENG-EN
11.07.1999 TPE 55.75
94 130 224
23.06.1999 POL 47.75
68
10 OLESKIEWICZ SYLWIA M.
LAI Gia Thanh, VIE
84 152
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
62KG - ERGASHEV TAKES IWF BEST LIFTER TROPHY BUPPHAMALA OBTAINS 3,500TH MEDAL
E
RGASHEV Adkhamjon scored an overwhelming success on home turf; however, his performance went beyond the patriotic limits and was appreciated in the media voting by the IWF Media Trophy for Best Male Lifter of the Junior World Championships. Now 19 years old, ERGASHEV accumulated a total result 17 kilograms more (295kg) than the runner-up German, MAU Jon Luke. The Uzbek champion beat the bronze medallist ZURITA VALLKEJO Cristhian David from Ecuador by 18kg and was supreme all the way through the competition. In snatch he completed three splendid attempts on 125, 130 and 135kg. However, the bronze medal in this category had a special significance: it was the 3,500th medal in the history of Junior World Championships! Its lucky winner was BUPPHAMALA Patiphan from Thailand with his 123kg. Returning to ERGASHEV: he progressed steadily since 2016 when he was youth world champion, took a 4th place at 2017 Anaheim WWC and now rose to the top, giving the home crowd much satisfaction.
2018 JWC IWF Media Trophy winners: ERGASHEV Adkhamjon, UZB and DAJOMES Neisi Patricia, ECU
1 ERGASHEV ADKHAMJON
12.03.1999 UZB 61.70 135 160 295
2 MAU JON LUKE
02.10.1998 GER 61.80 121 157 278
3 ZURITA VALLEJO C. D.
10.02.1998 ECU 61.45 127 150 277
4 BUPPHAMALA PATIPHAN
27.08.1999 THA 61.65 123 143 266
5 ELTAMADI AHMED A. SAID
16.01.1999 EGY 61.90 115 148 263
6 YASIN MOHAMMAD
18.01.2000 INA 61.70 115 147 262
7 KARA RAMAZAN
19.06.1999 TUR 61.85 112 149 261
8 PEDRAK BENJAMIN L. M.
25.11.1998 FRA 61.65 122 136 258
9 GUNGOR ISA
13.09.1998 TUR 62.00 117 138 255
10 KAKHRAMONOV M. M.
10.08.1998 UZB 61.75 112 140 252
BUPPHAMALA Patiphan, THA won the 3,500th medal in Junior World Championships (Snatch bronze)
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 15
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
69KG - CJ CUMMINGS HIS “OLD SELF” AGAIN!
S
till a favourite fledgling of the Americans, still only 18 years old, CUMMINGS JR. Clarence is back in his former good shape – at least that is what he proved by his show in Tashkent. Multiple youth and junior world champion, CJ CUMMINGS came to Tashkent as the title defender in 69kg. At the same time, he needed to overcome the disappointment of making zero in clean and jerk last year at the senior world championships (in front of the home audience) and not scoring overall. He must have managed well since among the juniors the American prodigy proved his exceptional talent once again. He took the snatch gold with 140kg only to continue with three good lifts in the jerk until 176kg (316kg in total). 17-year old Turkish OZBEK Muhammed Furkan took the snatch silver (138kg) but in clean and jerk and total he only picked up the bronze medals. The competitor who preceded him and took both remaining silvers was Romanian DUMITRASCU Paul.
CUMMINGS JR Clarence, USA
16 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
1 CUMMINGS JR CLARENCE
06.06.2000 USA 68.95 140 176 316
2 DUMITRASCU PAUL
31.01.2000 ROU 69.00 134 175 309
3 OZBEK M. FURKAN
24.01.2001 TUR 68.95 138 168 306
4 JEERAM SUTTIPONG
28.04.2000 THA 68.90 137 166 303
5 ILHAN RAMAZAN
20.12.1998 TUR 68.60 137 155 292
6 SHEULI ACHINTA
24.11.2001 IND 68.95 129 162 291
7 YAMANE DAICHI
09.04.1998 JPN 68.55 130 160 290
8 OSORIO HERNANDEZ J. L.
04.03.2000 COL 66.00 128 160 288
9 SANCHEZ VELEZ J. J. 10 SANDOVAL PARRAS K. D.
DUMITRASCU Paul, ROU
04.11.1998 PUR 68.75 125 163 288 23.10.1999 COL 68.60 128 155 283
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
77KG - KOHA “COPIED” BY SUHAREVS
J
ust like his teammate KOHA Rebeka, Latvian SUHAREVS Ritvars did not play it for less than three gold medals in his category, the 77kg. In the snatch, the 19-year old lifter pulled off his rivals lifting 156kg; against second placed Iranian SOLTANI Hossein’s 149kg and bronze medallist Uzbek AYTMURATOV Gayrat’s 146kg. Formerly the winner of youth and junior European titles, SUHAREVS continued to excel in the second part lifting 180kg and of course winning with it by a large margin (10 kilos) on the whole. The rest of the medals, silvers and bronzes were shared in alternating order by the Iranian and Armenian HARUTYUNYAN Rafik. All three medal winners had displayed significant progress since their previous best performances.
SOLTANI Hossein, IRI
1 SUHAREVS RITVARS
11.01.1999 LAT 76.25 156 180 336
2 SOLTANI HOSSEIN
02.12.1999
IRI 76.30 149 177 326
3 HARUTYUNYAN RAFIK
17.05.2000 ARM 76.80 145 179 324
4 KORNELUK PRZEMYSLAW
22.06.1998 POL 77.00 141 176 317
5 AYTMURATOV GAYRAT
29.04.1998 UZB 76.70 146 165 311
6 TOUAIRI FARIS
11.06.1999 ALG 76.80 140 170 310
7 ABDULLAH RAHMAT ERWIN 13.10.2000 INA 73.65 141 168 309 8 ALAM OMED 9 TERRONES MIRANDA O. A. 10 ANNABERDIYEV RUSTEM
20.05.1999 DEN 76.75 135 171 306 23.01.1998 PER 72.55 133 165 298 18.04.1999 TKM 76.45 134 160 294
SUHAREVS Ritvars, LAT
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 17
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
85KG - EUROPEAN CHAMPION NOW JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPION AS WELL
H
e had some medals from various age-group world championships; he won the senior European champion title in 2018, but in order to claim his share of junior world championship gold medals DAVITADZE Revaz had to travel to Uzbekistan from Georgia. The 20 years old succeeded in filling this void already in snatch, completing 164kg there. Behind him, there were many contenders to the other medals: the gap between the results of the second and the eighth placed was a mere 6 kilos. Even an 8-kg handicap of 9th placed MAURUS
Harrison James (USA) seemed manageable. Egyptian ALI Ahmed Sayed Ashour won the bronze in clean and jerk but with 350kg he clinched the silver medal in total. DAVITADZE’s victory with his 356kg was unshakeable (192kg in jerk) despite a brave attempt by the American. The latter, MAURUS got wings in clean and jerk and with an imposing 198kg captured the gold medal of that lift, along with the bronze overall. Once he learns how to snatch…
1 DAVITADZE REVAZ
16.10.1998 GEO 84.65 164 192 356
2 ALI AHMED SAYED ASHOUR
10.01.1999 EGY 85.00 159 191 350
3 MAURUS HARRISON JAMES
26.02.2000 USA 82.15 151 198 349
4 ADAMUS BARTLOMIEJ S.
12.05.2000 POL 84.35 158 190 348
5 KAKABADZE NODARI
26.05.1999 GEO 84.35 157 187 344
6 KHAKI BAKHTIARVAND A.
24.12.1998
7 SOLIS ARBOLEDA JUAN F.
05.03.1999 COL 83.65 150 190 340
8 BELLEMARRE ALEX
22.06.1998 CAN 83.95 155 179 334
9 SKULIMOWSKI MATEUSZ
31.07.1998 POL 84.35 153 178 331
10 TAHERI HAJI VAND AFSHIN
DAVITADZE Revaz, GEO 18 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
IRI 85.00 156 185 341
09.03.2000
ALI AHMED Sayed Ashour, EGY
IRI 84.70 156 173 329
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
94KG - COLOMBIA ONE – QATAR TWO
C
lose battles, good show in this category – up until the point when Qatari ELBAKH Fares Ibrahim detached himself from the field and launched his own private show in clean and jerk. But let us not run ahead so fast: in snatch Colombian RIVAS MOSQUERA Jhonatan took the lead with 171kg on the Qatari’s 170kg. This minimum advantage vanished in the second act where the Colombian faced Iranian MOTAMEDI and bronze medal winner Armenian BABAKYAN Samvel, while ELBAKH Fares waited for them to finish before stepping on the platform with an opening 205kg. Already the winner of 2 gold medals, the Qatari performed a brave 215kg lift “just for fun”, abandoning his third attempt, and finished with 385kg to his credit. 1 ELBAKH FARES IBRAHIM E. H.
04.06.1998 QAT 93.55 170 215 385
2 RIVAS MOSQUERA JHONATAN
11.07.1998 COL 93.70 171 203 374
3 BABAKYAN SAMVEL
08.12.1998 ARM 93.60 160 201 361
4 MOTAMEDI SEDEH RASOUL
09.11.1998
IRI 93.75 151 202 353
5 AL-BADRAWI HAYDER HUSSEIN ALI ASKAR
05.08.1998
IRQ 90.50 157 190 347
6 ALKHAZAL ALI AHMED A
21.08.1998 KSA 94.00 152 186 338
7 PIANSKI JULIAN
10.06.1998 GER 93.50 155 180 335
8 BESSETTE PIERRE-ALEXANDRE
28.09.1999 CAN 91.90 156 176 332
9 WASHINGTON JADEN MYKAL
06.06.1999 USA 91.90 145 185 330
10 KHOJIEV AZIMJON
16.11.2000 UZB 93.05 146 183 329
ELBAKH Fares Ibrahim, QAT
RIVAS MOSQUERA Jhonatan, COL WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 19
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
105KG - ANOTHER GEORGIAN VICTORY
D
AVITADZE’s triumph in 85kg must have served as a start signal to the other strong man in the Georgian team, CHKHEIDZE Irakli. He braced himself for winning and win he did, even more impressively than his friend. In the first half, CHKHEIDZE played with 163, 168, then 171kg, securing a 4-kg advantage on Uzbekistan’s DJURAEV Akbar, who made two futile attempts at 172kg. Youth world and European champion in 2016, now at the age of 19 years the Georgian gave not a single chance to his challenger in the second act. DJURAEV had to be content with 202kg, while CHKHEIDZE progressed irresistibly with 201, 205, finally 211kg lifts. The three gold and three silver medals thus allocated, the other competitors were left to fight for the bronzes. Among them Iranian AZIZI Amir was best in snatch, while in jerk and total Egypt’s junior African champion ABDELAZIZ Mohamed A. M. captured the two available bronze medals.
1 CHKHEIDZE IRAKLI
05.01.1999 GEO 102.55 171 211 382
2 DJURAEV AKBAR
08.10.1999 UZB 102.35 167 202 369
3 ABDELAZIZ MOHAMED ABDELRAHMAN MOHAMED
07.04.1998 EGY 104.75 160 200 360
4 AZIZI AMIR
09.01.1999
IRI 104.40 162 194 356
5 FISCHER DAVID
03.11.1998 AUT 101.55 157 195 352
6 OURAMEH RAHMAN
01.11.1998
IRI
96.25 151 194 345
7 COHEN MICHAEL HOWARD
24.02.1998 USA 101.90 145 189 334
8 LIN SHENG-LUN
22.01.2000 TPE 104.90 147 185 332
9 GORNY JAKUB
05.07.1998 CZE 102.50 150 180 330
10 BURKS ZACKARY RYAN
DJURAEV Akbar, UZB 20 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
23.10.1998 USA 103.40 140 185 325
CHKHEIDZE Irakli, GEO
› JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- MEN
+105KG - IRANIAN VICTORY AMONG THE YOUNG GIANTS
I
n the contest of the heaviest and strongest, Iran’s DAVOUDI Ali quickly discouraged his rivals when snatching 192kg, 15 kilograms more than runner-up LALAYAN Varazdat from Armenia, and 19 kilograms over the bronze medallist BUTT Muhammad Nooh Dastgir’s (PAK) result. Surprisingly, in clean and jerk BUTT annoyed the Iranian and his other rivals by lifting 228kg and taking the gold medal for Pakistan, but this remarkable success could not change the order in total. The Iranian giant (160 kilos on the scale) became the junior world champion with an effortless 419kg total, followed by the Armenian and the Pakistani tying on 399kg.
DAVOUDI Ali, IRI
1 DAVOUDI ALI
22.03.1999
2 LALAYAN VARAZDAT
01.05.1999 ARM 136.95 177 222 399
IRI 160.50 192 227 419
3 BUTT MUHAMMAD NOOH D.
03.02.1998 PAK 156.50 171 228 399
4 HSIEH YUN-TING
08.08.1999 TPE 122.75 160 198 358
5 ELGARHY OSAMA MOHAMED M. I.
02.06.1998 EGY 137.60 166 191 357
6 MAHAMMADZADEHDIZABADI A.
20.08.1998
7 WEGRZYN JAKUB
28.07.1999 POL 132.45 162 190 352
8 KAPLAN YILDIRAY
19.04.2000 TUR 116.05 155 187 342
9 SETEFANO JOACHIM TUIGAMALA O. 10 KAWAMURA MASAKI
IRI 142.40 164 190 354
18.07.1998 NZL 162.90 150 187 337 25.03.1998 JPN 160.90 145 186 331
LALAYAN Varazdat, ARM WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 21
› ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES TEXT: KORNÉL JANCSÓ PHOTOS: CURTESY OWF, PAUL COFFA
ROAD TO
FROM OCEANIA TO EUROPE
I
n the next issue of WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING we intend to report in full about the weightlifting competitions of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The last two stations on the “Road to Buenos Aires” were the qualification championships in Oceania and Europe. The Road started last year with the 2017 IWF Youth World Championships in Bangkok, followed this year by the Continental events; i.e. Africa, Asia and Panamerica (covered in issue 144), finally Oceania and Europe. In the course of the whole series a total of 55 boys and 55 girls aged 14 to 17 have won the right to lift on the stage of the Europa Pavilion in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 7-13 October. It should be mentioned that, as opposed to the first two Youth Olympic Games (2010 and 2014) six male and five female categories were contested, now, for Buenos Aires, the IOC approved the increase to 6 female classes so that gender parity is reached!
MOZES Ezekiel, NRU
22 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
ANDREWS-NAHU Kanah Shenelle, NZL
› ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES
OCEANIA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS - MONT DORE, NCL
A
ll of Oceania’s top weightlifters – Seniors, Juniors and Youth – convened at the end of June in Mont Dore, New Caledonia for their annual Championships. In the age group 13 to 17 years, six nations were represented in men and six in women. In the boys’ field, Australia turned out the largest team of eight, Nauru six, New Zealand five young lifters. Kiribati and the Marshall Islands were represented by one lifter each. Among the girls the field was also composed by 23 lifters: Nauru and Australia brought seven-seven, New Zealand had six competitors and one each came from the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Guam. Of all the five Continental YOG qualifications this was the smallest field. Of the altogether ten participating nations Nauru emerged as most successful. Their young ladies collected 16 (!) gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals. The boys added 9 gold and 9 silver
medals pinning NRU in the pole position of the medal table by a large margin. Australia (9, 20, 6) and New Zealand (9, 4, 9) were close, with the former collecting more silvers.) Most of the male competitors were born in 2001 or 2002, while the biggest number (9) of the female lifters were 15 years old. In both genders we saw even 13-year olds! As for the individual performances, the best of the young men was 17-year old MOSES Ezekiel from Nauru, totalling 240kg in 62kg category. In the absolute ranking he preceded two Australians: SAXTON William Cooper (77kg, 236kg) and 15-year old GAFFNEY Jeff (62kg, 200kg). Among the girls the absolute best lifter was ANDREWS-NAHU Kanah Shenelle from New Zealand. Born in 2001, she won the 75kg with a total of 194kg. Next best were two talents from Nauru: 16-year old UEPA Maxima (63kg, 175kg) and 15-year old ABOUKE Nancy Genzel (58kg, 162kg).
GAFFNEY Jeff, AUS
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 23
› ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES
ROAD TO
2018 EUROPEAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS MILANO, ITA
T
he series of YOG Qualification Events had their last stop at Milano: the European Youth Championships. An unprecedented populous field turned out in Italy: 199 young men (113) and women (86) from a total of 31 countries. The Championships actually took place in San Donato Milanese, a charming village in Milano’s neighbourhood. Competitions were held in the 2 times 8 IWF official bodyweight categories, among which naturally the 2 times 6 qualifying for the YOG. The results of the best six lifters by country were taken into consideration for the Buenos Aires summit. In both genders the top four nations won one Youth Olympic quota each. In men: GEO, ROU, CZE and POL; in women: BUL, POL, ESP and HUN. Twelve countries for the boys and ten for the girls were able to win a spot on the Medal Table. In the women’s Championships Romania was most successful with 9 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals. Bulgaria (5, 4, 0) was next, followed by Turkey (3, 5,5), Poland (3, 2 6), Armenia (3, 0, 3), Latvia (1, 1, 1), Italy (0, 2, 1), Belgium (0, 2, 1), Hungary (0, 2, 0), Spain (0, 1, 0).
Best of the men: OZBEK Muhammed Furkan, TUR 24 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
In the men’s Italy finished in first place (5, 0, 4) ahead of Turkey (4, 5, 4), Bulgaria (4, 4, 1) and Azerbaijan (4, 3, 2). Indeed, there was a wide medal winners’ range including further nations like Armenia, Georgia, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Romania, Greece, Germany and Latvia. In the performance-on-bodyweight calculation the strongest man was 69kg winner Turkish OZBEK Muhammed Furkan (299kg) with Bulgaria’s European superheavy champion HRISTOV Hristo Dimitrov (364kg) and MARGARYAN Karen, Armenia (77kg, 313kg) following up. The absolute best female lifter of the Championships was Bulgarian SHATOVA Galya Anetova thanks to her 200kg total in the 63kg category. She is followed by 53kg winner (177kg) Romanian BALTAG Sabina, as well as also 53kg silver medallist (176kg) IVANOVA Daniela from Latvia. Next stop, and final destination: Buenos Aires, Argentina!
MARGARYAN Karen, ARM
SHATOVA Galya, BUL WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 25
› ASIAN GAMES TEXT: KORNÉL JANCSÓ PHOTOS: BUD CHARNIGA
WORLD RECORD BY IRAN, GOLD SHOWER BY PRK, HISTORIC FIRSTS IN JAKARTA
T
he 2018 Asian Games hosted by Indonesia will go down in history as a successful event from all points of view. Weightlifting at the Games was part of this great success. In the line of records we must mention in the first place the world record by MORADI Sohrab, but at the same time first-time-in-history gold medals were recorded by three countries: Indonesia, Iraq and the Philippines. Another notable entry in the Asian Games annals tells about the 8 gold medals won by North-Korea out of the available 15. Before going into details, we should stop for a moment recalling a few milestones in the history of these
prestigious Continental Games. The one held this year was the 18th edition of the Asian Games launched in 1951. The opening event was organised in Delhi, India, listing 489 athletes from 11 nations. Weightlifting was – and has been ever since – a core sport of the Games program; seven countries sent weightlifters to seven bodyweight categories in 1951. Now, 67 years later, the mega competitions of Olympic dimensions welcomed over 10,000 (!) athletes, of which in weightlifting 166 competitors – 62 women and 104 men – were vying for the honours.
Sheikh AHMED AL-FAHAD Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, OCA President with Dr. AJÁN Tamás, IWF and Mr. AL MANA Mohamed Yousef, AWF President
26 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
H.W. WIDODO Joko, Indonesian President with IRAWAN Eko Yuli
PRESIDENTS PRESENT – GAMES HIGHLIGHTS
W
eightlifting was carried out in the Jakarta International Expo Convention Center, a 2,000 spectator facility. Several notabilities highlighted the competitions with their presence. Among them Dr. AJÁN Tamás, IWF President, Sheikh AHMED AL-FAHAD Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) President, AL MANA Mohamed Yousef, AWF President, as well as none less than the President of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. WIDODO Joko, who awarded the Asian Games gold medal to IRAWAN Eko Yuli, the first Indonesian to win an Asian Games weightlifting event. Similar honours were claimed by DIAZ Hidilyn and ALJUMAILI Safaa Rashid Mahmoud, as they are the first representatives of the Philippines and Iraq, respectively, to become Asian Games champions. A special triumph was recorded by DPR Korea’s team who literally swept the fields of the eight men’s and seven women’s categories winning a total of 10 medals, including 8 gold.
DIAZ Hidilyn: the first winner from Philippines
The first Iraqi Asian Games Champion: ALJUMAILI Safaa R. M.
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 27
WORLD RECORD IN JAKARTA
I
ran’s 94kg lifter MORADI Sohrab set a new world record in snatch (probably the last in this category) and now, with this 189kg he broke an “ancient” record (188kg) by KAKHIASHVILI Kakhi, triple Olympic champion and current President of the Georgian Weightlifting Federation. That record had been the oldest one remaining, standing since 1999, the introduction of the current (until 31 October 2018) bodyweight categories!
MORADI Sohrab, IRI capturing the snatch world record, too
IRAWAN DONATES GOLD TO HOSTS
A
more roaring applause and celebration than MORADI’s was drawn only by the victory of IRAWAN, iconic weightlifter of the host nation. Active since 2006, silver and bronze medallist in Olympic Games and World Championships, Eko Yuli excelled in a category (62kg) inserted in the Games program especially because of him as the eighth category for men. IRAWAN (29) expressed his gratitude by winning over all his fourteen rivals and capturing the first (and last) gold medal for Indonesia in weightlifting. The Asia Games award only medals for the total, yet it is worth pointing out that IRAWAN’s domination was overwhelming: 8kg in snatch and 4kg in clean and jerk on the next best, totalling an impressive 311kg.
IRAWAN Eko Yuli excelled on home ground 28 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
CHOE JON WI, PRK
› ASIAN GAMES
OM LAUNCHES PRK GOLD STREAK
O
ne of the many excellent champions of North-Korea deserves special mention: Olympic champion and defending Asian Games winner OM Yun Chol in 56kg. Now at the age of 27 years, the three-times world champion OM lagged by one kilo in snatch but as always, he could rely on his clean and jerk power. As it was, he lifted 160kg (his own world record lies at 171kg) in the second act and with 287kg overall he defeated Vietnam’s star, last year’s world champion THACH Kim Tuan (280kg). Still speaking of the men’s competitions, we should highlight Iran’s superheavyweight superstar, SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad. On the one hand, because the Olympic and double world champion scored his third straight victory at the Asian Games (2010, 2014 and 2018). On the other hand, and this may be even more important: Jakarta marked SALIMI’s last appearance in competition – which he won with 461kg, by the way. According to the statement of the Iranian Weightlifting Federation, the 28-year old superheavyweight is retiring from competition. As a kind of counterpoint, Uzbekistan’s NURUDINOV Ruslan made his international comeback, picked up the thread again and did not stop before reaching the top of the podium in the 105kg category. Completing his 27th year at the end of November, world champion in 2013, Olympic champion in 2016, was absent from the world stage since Rio de Janeiro. In Jakarta, in turn, he certified his return by an impressive 421kg total.
OM Yun Chol, PRK
NURUDINOV Ruslan, UZB made a successful comeback
30 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
THACH Kim Tuan, VIE
› ASIAN GAMES
ONLY KUO ABLE TO BREAK NORTH-KOREAN SERIES
T
he women competed in seven categories – 48, 53, 58, 63, 69, 75 and +75kg – the majority of them trying to defeat the girls from DPR Korea: with no success whatsoever. The tune for Team PRK was set on Day 1 by their first entry, 48-kg RI Song Gum. She won with a total of 199kg. In the following days, one of the most valuable victories was scored by 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and Lifter of the Year KUO Hsing-Chun from TPE in 58kg. KUO returned to the stage after recovering from an unpleasant injury and added another title to her already impressive career. At the same time, she compensated for a low 4th place at the previous Asian Games in 2014 lifting 235kg overall in Jakarta beating Thailand’s SUKANYA Srisurat, Olympic champion in 2016. We mentioned about the opening of the women’s contests and we could wind it up evaluating the heaviest category of the ladies, as the +75kg winner was another North-Korean, KIM Kuk Hyang (291kg). In between, however, there were further Asian champions from PRK, some of them winning in a notable manner. Let us point first at 63kg champion KIM Hyo Sim, if not for another reason but a 250kg total; as well as at the runner-up in this category, another North-Korean, CHOE Hyo Sim.
KIM Kuk Hyang, PRK
KUO Hsing-Chun, TPE
SUKANYA Srisurat, THA
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 31
RIM Un Sim, PRK
The 63kg medallists
32 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
› ASIAN GAMES
RIM SISTERS: A WINNING PAIR
T
he true curiosity of the Games was, however, served in the 69 and 75kg classes. In these two categories a pair of sisters became Asian champions! First RIM Un Sim, followed by RIM Jong Sim. A rarity for brothers and sisters to win in the same competition: we witnessed this event in Jakarta! Actually, RIM Jong Sim, 25 years old, 75kg, did not surprise us by her victory (26kg on the next best); she came to Indonesia as two-times Olympic champion (2012 and 2016) and added the Asian Games title to her collection. In the previous category, her 22-year old sister, Un Sim, set a personal record taking the continental title. After the double victory, RIM Jr. said on behalf of both that they are aiming at the top places at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. RIM Jong Sim, PRK
JAKARTA:
OLYMPIC ASPIRATIONS FOR 2032?
J
akarta proved to be excellent hosts to the 18th Asian Games. They deserved all praise and Indonesian President Joko Widodo suggested that with this experience they might become host to an even larger-scale event. When he added that he had just met Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, he left no doubt about the nature of event he was referring to: Indonesia will be candidate to the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 33
› ASIAN GAMES MEN
WOMEN
56 KG
48 KG PRK
47.98
87 112
199
1 OM YUN CHOL
18.11.1991
13.08.1994
INA
47.74
88 107
195
2 THACH KIM TUAN
21.04.1997
THA
47.73
87 102
189
3 WIJOYO SURAHMAT BIN S.
1 RI SONG GUM
17.10.1997
2 AGUSTIANI SRI WAHYUNI 3 SUKCHAROEN THUNYA
PRK
55.89 127 160
287
15.01.1994
VIE
55.79 128 152
280
11.05.1988
INA
55.91 119 153
272
62 KG
53 KG 1 DIAZ HIDILYN
20.02.1991
PHI
52.86
92 115
207
1 IRAWAN EKO YULI
24.07.1989
INA
61.83 141 170
311
2 SHERMETOVA KRISTINA
25.05.1993
TKM
53.00
93 113
206
2 TRINH VAN VINH
17.12.1995
VIE
61.78 133 166
299
3 KHAMBAO SURODCHANA
23.12.1999
THA
52.72
86 115
201
3 ERGASHEV ADKHAMJON
12.03.1999
UZB
61.81 136 162
298
69 KG
58 KG 1 KUO HSING-CHUN
26.11.1993
TPE
57.77 105 130
235
1 O KHANG CHOL
16.09.1993
PRK
68.68 151 185
336
2 SRISURAT SUKANYA
03.05.1995
THA
57.65 103 123
226
2 YOKUBOV DOSTON
05.04.1995
UZB
68.96 145 186
331
3 ANDOH MIKIKO
30.09.1992
JPN
57.96
218
3 ARTYKOV IZZAT
08.09.1993
KGZ
68.79 147 183
330
91 127
77 KG
63 KG 1 KIM HYO SIM
29.03.1994
PRK
62.98 113 137
250
1 CHOE JON WI
29.06.1993
PRK
76.95 155 193
348
2 CHOE HYO SIM
05.12.1993
PRK
62.67 105 133
238
2 KIM WOO JAE
26.09.1991
KOR
76.95 160 187
347
3 WAMALUN RATTANAWAN
15.07.1995
THA
62.77 102 123
225
3 CHINNAWONG CHATUPHUM
19.07.1993
THA
76.51 154 187
341
85 KG
69 KG 1 RIM UN SIM
05.07.1996
PRK
65.56 109 137
246
1 ALJUMAILI SAFAA RASHID M.
01.01.1990
IRQ
84.81 159 202
361
2 HUNG WAN-TING
21.06.1990
TPE
68.25 103 130
233
2 JANG YEONHAK
14.02.1997
KOR
84.89 165 195
360
3 MUN YURA
13.05.1990
KOR
68.97 101 130
231
3 JON MYONG SONG
19.08.1993
PRK
84.91 158 190
348
1 RIM JONG SIM
05.02.1993
PRK
74.31 116 147
263
1 MORADI SOHRAB
22.09.1988
IRI
93.97 189 221
410
2 OTAKUZIYEVA OMADOY
04.04.1996
UZB
74.62 101 136
237
2 ELBAKH FARES IBRAHIM E. H.
04.06.1998
QAT
93.67 166 215
381
3 MUN MINHEE
07.07.1995
KOR
74.76 106 130
236
3 SUMPRADIT SARAT
17.04.1994
THA
93.27 170 210
380
94 KG
75 KG
105 KG
+75 KG 1 KIM KUK HYANG
20.04.1993
PRK
97.49 126 165
291
1 NURUDINOV RUSLAN
24.11.1991
UZB 104.98 191 230
421
2 SON YOUNGHEE
24.04.1993
KOR 112.34 122 160
282
2 ALAIFURI SALWAN JASIM A.
26.09.1991
IRQ 104.68 181 224
405
3 CHAIDEE DUANGAKSORN
11.08.1997
THA 112.86 121 159
280
3 HASHEMI ALI
01.11.1991
IRI
104.48 184 219
403
1 SALIMIKORDASIABI BEHDAD
08.12.1989
IRI
169.98 208 253
461
2 ALIHOSSEINI SAEID
02.02.1988
IRI
166.50 208 248
456
3 DJANGABAEV RUSTAM
25.08.1993
UZB 147.45 203 252
455
+105 KG
SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad, IRI – last competition 34 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
› OBITUARY - ALEXANDER KURLOVICH
OBITUARY ALEXANDER KURLOVICH WE LOST ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER
A
lexander Nikolaevich Kurlovich suddenly passed away on the 6th of April, Friday in Grodno where he was born on 28 July in 1961. Two times Olympic Champion (1988 and 1992) four times World Champion (1987,1989,1991,1994), two times European Champion (1989,1990) and World Record holder twelve times, Kurlovich possessed exceptional qualities and achieved these results in the sport’s most showcased prime event: the superheavyweight category. Both his athletic and human qualities were outstanding and unparalleled. Called “Sasha” by his closer friends, he was loved by his teammates, colleagues both inside Belarus and in the World of Weightlifting. He finished his sports career at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta where he was proud to compete under the Belarus flag. His best results are 215kg in the Snatch, 260kg in the Clean and Jerk and 472.5kg in the Total. Alexander Kurlovich was the Director of the Representative Office of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus in Grodno Province. He was also a Member of the Executive Committee of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus and deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Weightlifting Union; Vice-President of the European Weightlifting Federation; 2000-2005 IWF Executive Board Member and since 2005 Member of the IWF Technical Committee. He was entered to the IWF Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2006.
The National Championships of Belarus have been traditionally held in Grodno, his hometown. After the tragic passing away of their national hero the 2018 event was held in commemoration of his memory. The IWF was represented by Éva Balogh, Office Manager and Kornél Jancsó, Editor-in-Chief of WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING. At the opening ceremony on behalf of Dr.Tamas Ajan, IWF President the delegation expressed their heartfelt condolences to the widow, Olga Kurlovich, the Belarus Weightlifting Union and the leaders of Grodno. The IWF representatives, accompanied by Siarhei Samuseu, BWU General Secretary and Vitaliy Kreidich, Executive Secretary visited the training hall where Alexander Kurlovich used to train for several years, the monument of Olympic Champions initiated by Mr. Kurlovich. They laid a wreath on his grave. The Belarus Weightlifting Family and the sport authorities of Grodno greatly honour the memory of their weightlifting legend; they plan to hold international competitions in memoriam Alexander Kurlovich each year in his hometown. Alongside with the widow, they will continue Kurlovich’s great humanitarian work of educating young athletes in all fields of sport and spreading the spirit of Olympism. The dear memory of Alexander Kurlovich will remain with us forever.
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 35
› 2018 FISU WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS TEXT: ANIKÓ NÉMETH-MÓRA PHOTO: HOOKGRIP & FISU
“EXCELLENCE IN MIND AND BODY”
N
ever a worse day to kick off the 2018 World University Championships in Weightlifting than on 20th September, the International Day of University Sport (IDUS)! The 6th edition of the FISU World Championships took place at the facilities of the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Biala Podlaska, Poland. The hosts offered ideal conditions for the participants: competition, training, accommodation, meals – everything in a convenient and compact venue on the University campus. As regards the number of participating athletes, it might have failed to meet the expectations, but we should be aware of two factors probably influencing the turnout. For one: FISU has lowered the age limit of eligibility from 28 to 25 years, keeping some potential competitors at home. More importantly, however, it is obvious that the IWF’s strict anti-doping measures and the consistent implementation of the whereabouts submission rules have made an impact on the turnouts of several IWF Events recently – and the 2018 WUC was no exception. Some athletes ignoring those regulations had to be declared ineligible, in the end leaving 77 women and 58 men from 26 countries. For the first time in a major international competition, the women outnumbered the male athletes!
48kg medal winners
36 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
Japan was the absolute winner of the first day, having swept the women’s 48kg, the men’s 56kg and 62kg categories. In the women’s 53kg first France celebrated a winner in snatch: RIGAUD Garance. In the clean and jerk, however, she faced a strong challenge from Mexico, USA and Great Britain. In the close fight that arose, the ultimate winner was FUENTES ZAVALA Susana from Mexico. On Day 2, Poland celebrated their first gold medal and USA surged forward in the women’s 58kg. The snatch was dominated by home favourite DZIENIS Monika, but in the second part American BRAMWELL Kaija drew away from her opponents and scored a very convincing victory in clean and jerk and total. We saw the same pattern in the men’s 69kg category; i.e. Poland’s ROTNICKI Szymon was supreme in the snatch taking gold, yet his 6kg advantage over Chinese Taipei’s HUANG Ding-Chieh was not enough to keep him ahead all the way through to the end. HUANG overwhelmed with 155kg and won overall. The bronzes were picked up by Canada’s DUMAS Alexandre.
CHINEN Hayato, JPN
› 2018 FISU WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS
HUANG Dina-Chieh, TPE
FUENTES ZAVALA Susana, MEX
58kg podium
Women’s 63kg: CHARRON Maude, CAN, 2017 WWC snatch silver medallist and Commonwealth champion took the snatch gold medal and continued dominating in clean and jerk. After all athletes had finished their act – including snatch bomber GANZORIG Anuujin, MGL taking the C&J silver, and Australian ELLIOTT Kiana, silver in total – she appeared for 120-124-127kg in a one-woman show and collected all honours. The Canadian’s result is 24kg more than the next best’s. Men’s 77kg: In a big fight and suspenseful competition, Serbian competitor ROZSNYIK Ervin emerged as the winner of the snatch (139kg). In clean and jerk with steady lifting and superb tactics he managed to keep his advantage of 6 kilograms until the moment when two lifts were left for Japanese HARA Yuki to beat ROZSNYIK. Eventually, both of HARA’s efforts remained unsuccessful landing him in the silver medallist position behind the Serbian, while VACHON Nicolas, Canada took the bronze. USA and Japan shared the gold medals in the women’s 69kg, with the former taking two of them thanks to BREMNER Aria (204kg). Japanese ISHII Miku, winner in snatch, had to settle for the runnerup place with her 203kg overall. Two bronzes went to Canada, while HERTLOVA from CZE also pinched one silver medal in snatch.
CHARRON Maude, CAN
ROZSNYIK Ervin, SRB
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 37
› 2018 FISU WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS 85kg, men – Korean YEOM Dahoon and Canadian BELLEMARRE Alex, by now a regular WUC competitor, had their own special duel for the top positions, however, the big rivalry that drove the audience into excitement was running for the third positions and down. Ultimately, the Canadian surprised by failing in all his clean and jerk attempts and having to cede two gold medals to YEOM Dahoon, son of Professor YEOM Dong-Chul, President of the Korean University Weightlifting Federation. Women’s 75kg – With JAEGGI Nora, Switzerland clinched a medal in snatch and another one in total in a very close competition. University World Champion in this category is CHEN En-Tzu from TPE and the silvers were won by FEYOVA Karin, SVK. Men’s 94kg – CHEN Po-Jen from Chinese Taipei stood out from the field and fought his lonely battle with the barbell after all the other medals had found their winners. In clean and jerk he first frightened his team by missing the opening 185kg, while BOONLANG Weeraphat, THA challenged him with 186kg, a weight the Thai finally could not even clean. Triple crown already on his head, CHEN lifted 191kg for an overwhelming win in total as well. The heavyweights got into action on the final day of the 2018 WUC. USA, Austria and Germany vied for the top positions in the men’s 105kg and shared the snatch medals. KOCH Florian from Austria was best in snatch, but in clean and jerk LIN Sheng-Lun from TPE rose to prominence. However, the overall best turned out to be GUNTHER Bjorn, Germany. In the women’s 90kg Tom GOEGEBUER’s lifter, European Championship silver medallist VANBELLINGHEN Anna represented Belgium, won hands down, and added 3 WUC gold medals to her new collection. Women’s +90kg – 2017 Universiade 4th Korean KO A-Rang and 2016 WUC 3rd Mexican BUENO PLACENCIA Gladis G. were fighting for the gold medals. Since the Korean was better on both lifts, finishing with 239kg in total, she won all the three gold medals ahead of BUENO. The men’s superheavies were last to board the platform. Serbia’s KAJDOCI Tamas came out last but in snatch he received strong competition from HSIEH Yun-Ting, TPE who captured the gold for his 170kg, four kilograms over the Serbian’s. Excitement rose in clean and jerk where KAJDOCI met his match again, this time in NONAKA Masahiro, Japan. Their chase ended with the Serbian tackling 222kg successfully for a 388kg winning total. The 2018 WUC was an excellent demonstration for the slogan of the FISU ‘Excellence in Mind and Body’. As FISU Technical Delegate for Weightlifting, I am happy and proud to have had another successful World University Championships like this one in Biala Podlaska. All participants had a great time and enjoyed perfect competing, lodging and catering conditions. Last but not least, we must be grateful to the hosting University and AZS, but first of all to Dr. Paulina SZYSZKA, for the faultless organisation and traditional warm Polish hospitality.
38 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
YEOM Dahoon, KOR
KAJDOCI Tamas, SRB
VANBELLINGHEN Anna, BEL
› 2018 FISU WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS MEN
WOMEN
56 KG
48 KG 1 SUZUKI RIRA
06.09.1998
JPN
45.76
68
93
161
1 CHINEN HAYATO
03.09.1996
2 RESTREPO VERONICA A.
16.07.1999
USA
47.25
70
87
157
2 KUBO KAITO
144
3 KIM SEUNGHWAN
3 IRAMINA RIE
21.01.1999
JPN
47.95
60
84
1 FUENTES ZAVALA SUSANA P.
22.08.1994
MEX
52.50
74
98
172
2 GRANTOM MEGAN KAY
20.01.1995
USA
53.00
75
93
168
3 RIGAUD GARANCE
12.11.1999
FRA
52.45
75
91
166
58 KG 14.07.1997
USA
58.00
85 104
189
2 DZIENIS MONIKA
01.06.1994
POL
57.55
86
96
182
3 MAKARA AKARI
05.12.1996
JPN
57.40
79
99
178
63 KG 1 CHARRON MAUDE G
28.04.1993
CAN
62.30
99 127
226
2 ELLIOTT KIANA ROSE
27.07.1997
AUS
62.25
93 109
202
3 CHEN WEN-HUEI
23.02.1997
TPE
62.55
92 106
198
69 KG 1 BREMNER ARIA KELLYN
04.03.1994
USA
68.45
88 116
204
2 ISHII MIKU
30.03.1998
JPN
68.35
90 113
203
3 ROUX MAGALIE
25.01.1999
CAN
67.45
87 109
196
75 KG 1 CHEN EN-TZU
55.35 101 128
229
24.01.1999
JPN
55.65 100 125
225
04.01.1999
KOR
55.90 105 119
224
1 MASHIKO HIROYUKI
08.10.1997
JPN
61.70 114 145
259
2 CHIANG NIEN-EN
19.02.2000
TPE
60.90 113 140
253
1 HUANG DING-CHIEH
20.03.1994
TPE
68.30 118 155
273
2 ROTNICKI SZYMON
05.05.1996
POL
68.15 124 143
267
3 DUMAS ALEXANDRE
24.06.1994
CAN
68.05 114 145
259
1 ROZSNYIK ERVIN
22.05.1993
SRB
76.55 139 170
309
2 HARA YUKI
12.05.1997
JPN
76.85 135 168
303
3 VACHON NICOLAS
05.07.1996
CAN
76.60 133 167
300
1 YEOM DAHOON
31.03.1999
KOR
84.90 155 176
331
2 SOWA MATEUSZ
01.11.1996
POL
84.55 141 168
309
3 RODRIGUEZ OCASIO C. A.
14.07.1993
USA
83.65 140 167
307
1 CHEN PO-JEN
11.05.1998
TPE
93.45 160 191
351
2 BOONLANG WEERAPHAT
23.03.1997
THA
93.20 145 178
323
3 SOWKA SZYMON
13.08.1996
POL
93.15 140 175
315
1 GUNTHER BJORN
04.06.1996
GER 103.20 157 181
338
2 MC CARTY MATTHEW SCOTT
23.06.1995
USA 104.70 152 183
335
3 LIN SHENG-LUN
22.01.2000
TPE 104.90 147 186
333
1 KAJDOCI TAMAS
21.04.1997
SRB 140.80 166 222
388
2 NONAKA MASAHIRO
17.07.1996
JPN 146.60 165 217
382
3 HSIEH YUN-TING
08.08.1999
TPE 125.80 170 200
370
62 KG
53 KG
1 BRAMWELL KAIJA F.
JPN
12.11.1999
TPE
74.40
93 115
208
2 FREYOVA KARIN
21.04.1995
SVK
72.50
92 113
205
3 JAEGGI NORA
16.04.1995
SUI
72.60
91 112
203
90 KG 1 VANBELLINGHEN ANNA
10.03.1994
BEL
83.10 101 117
218
2 PAN LI-CHEN
29.12.1997
TPE
90.00
91 113
204
3 TANG WAN-SIOU
28.07.1995
TPE
88.95
93 110
203
+90 KG 1 KO A-RANG
16.08.1997
KOR 121.30 107 132
239
2 BUENO PLACENCIA G. G.
12.04.1994
MEX 117.50 103 125
228
3 AWANO CHIKAKO
30.09.1997
JPN
219
Technical Officials in Biala Podlaska
98.15
97 122
69 KG
77 KG
85 KG
94 KG
105 KG
+105 KG
› 2018 AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS TEXT: : RAVI BHOLLAH & TÍMEA HORVÁTH
MAURITIUS WELCOMES AFRICA
T
he 2018 African Senior Weightlifting Championships (28th Men & 17th Women) took place on the 10-17 August 2018 at the Pointe Jerome Youth Centre, Mahébourg. Mahébourg is a small city on the southeastern coast of the island of Mauritius with a population of approximately 16,000. It is considered as the capital of the Grand Port District. It reflects a medieval appearance and is beautifully framed by the dramatic Lion Mountain. The major occupation of the villagers is fishing. The town is famous for its market. After a dramatic cut (over 40%) in the expected participation as a result of the IWF’s strict antidoping policy on whereabouts submission, finally 31 men and 18 women remained eligible.
Let us tell some of the highlights of the Championships: In the women’s contests, in 58kg Junior lifter LANGHOUATI Fatima Zohra from Algeria added 3 senior gold medals to her already remarkable collection of medals at the African level. Host Mauritius celebrated winners in 53kg, 63kg and 75kg categories. Of these winners RANAIVOSOA Marie Hanitra definitely stands out with her 80100=180kg in the 53kg category. In 69kg, PRETORIUS Mona, RSA finally won her very first gold medal at an African Championships at the age of 30. Egypt’s ABBAS Halima Abdelazim won the +90kg with 263kg in total and became the best female lifter of the Championships.
PRETORIUS Mona, RSA
Athletes and officials from Mauritius: Poorun Bhollah, President, Khelwin Juboo, Ravi Bhollah, coach, Alvin Jooron, athlete
40 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
› 2018 AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
BIDANI Walid, ALG
The men’s fields represented a higher level on the average, chiefly because of the presence of Tunisian, Algerian and Egyptian squads. In the first class of 56kg the hosts celebrated AMDRIAITISTOUATMA Eric as their winner with 232kg, whose success was continued in 62kg by CORET Marc Jonathan (241kg). Tunisian BEN HNIA Karem compensated his Anaheim bombing by a third consecutive African Champion title in 69kg. In 77kg, Egyptian ELSAYED Ahmed’s victory by a very large margin was no surprise. One of the most experienced lifters of the championships, BAHLOUL Ramzi, TUN won gold after bombing out last year in the clean and jerk during the African Champs last year also held in Mauritius. Egyptian lifters dominated the previous categories of the championships and in 105kg RAMKH Ahmed Tolba was not willing to spoil the show. Ahmed won the 3 gold medals and completed a clean sweep of gold medals by Egyptian athletes (Total 12 Gold Medals won by Egyptian Athletes). BIDANI Walid from Algeria wound up the Championships with 180+210=390kg and triple victory in the +105kg.
ABBAS Halima, EGY
BEN HNIA Karem, TUN
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 41
› 2018 IWF MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA, ESP TEXT: DENISE OFFERMANN, IWF MASTERS CHAIRWOMAN
GIGANTIC FIELDS LIFT ON OLYMPIC PLATFORM
2
018 has presented the biggest challenge ever for the IWF Masters. We had to organize the 2018 IWF Masters World Championship in L’Hospitalet/Barcelona, together with the Spanish host, Francisco Garcia Rodriguez. The IWF Masters had to make the toughest decision when the number of registered athletes reached 850 entries (475 men + 385 women), the registration had to be stopped, one week before the original deadline, for fear of not being able to provide enough IWF Technical Officials to the competitions. With a record number of 385 women entries, Francisco decided to add a second competition platform and for that he brought in the competition platform of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games (!) Finally, we ran a 9-days’ event on 2 competition platforms for the very first time, from early morning to late evening in a sequence of men and women sessions. Technical officials from all over the world supported this championship immensely. The venue set up
Great hospitality by the Spanish hosts
42 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
was built up to the highest standard with 14 warmup platforms. IWF Masters Liaison Matyas Lencser came for 3 days to give great support especially at the Congress of Nations. IWF Medical Committee member Mark Lavallee was once again in full operation mode with his team by our side to provide professional medical help at all times. What made our extraordinary efforts indeed worthwhile was the great feedback we were receiving constantly. Many athletes travelled with their families to combine a great championship with great summer holidays in Spain. We must thank the hosts for their wonderful hospitality as well. Next year we look forward to introducing new bodyweight categories, a new Qualifying system ensuring a balanced number of entries for each nation so that the entries in total shall not exceed 700 in future IWF Masters Championships. The 2019 MWC will be held in Montreal, Canada from 16 – 24 August.
Warm-up fully equipped
IWF Masters Congress of Nations
Competitions on two platforms
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 43
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WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 45
› WOMEN’S PAGE TEXT: LILLA ROZGONYI
WOMEN BEHIND THE SCENES
INTERVIEW WITH ZUKHRA ABDULLAEVA WW: Is it difficult to organize IWF World Junior Championships? ZA.: It’s perhaps more difficult to answer this question. In general, organizing such a high-ranking event is a great honour for any country. But only when you actually conduct such a sporting event will you understand the huge responsibility. The first time Uzbekistan hosted a prestigious international weightlifting event was in 2005: the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships. 8 years later, our country was chosen to host the IWF World Youth Championships in 2013. From 2005 to 2013, we carried out 5 major Asian competitions. We are a big team, dedicated to our work, under the leadership of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the National Olympic Committee and Uzbekistan Weightlifting Federation, and with the permanent guidance of the International Weightlifting Federation. The latter generously supports our sport manifesting especially in the results of our national weightlifters who have become world class athletes. In 2018, we undertook to hold a really large-scale event – the IWF World Junior Championships – on relatively short notice. In the end, the organization was highly appreciated. Now, we can say with certainty that we are ready to take on the IWF World Senior Championships; we have the prerequisites and accumulated experience. WW: What was your role in organizing this important event? ZA.: I am Sport Director of the Uzbekistan Weightlifting Federation, as well as the head of the International Department. Thus my work includes cooperation with the International and Asian Weightlifting Federations, as well as the national and regional federations. My main duties include organizing trips for our national team to international competitions and ensuring the participation of representatives of the Uzbekistan Weightlifting Federation at the IWF and AWF Congresses and Executive Board meetings. When international competitions are held in our country, the task of our department includes meeting and hosting foreign guests, recording competition schedule, designing the hall, working with the press and television etc. In addition, I am an international category one Technical Official. I had the opportunity to judge competitions such as the Rio 2016 Olympics and many World and Asian Championships .I am also an announcer at major international competitions, like just recently the Asian Games in Jakarta. WW: What difficulties did you encounter during the competition and how did you solve this issue? ZA.: I am never afraid of difficulties in life and always try to find a way out of any situation. Since the beginning of this year, we have been preparing parallel for two major competitions: April 20 to 30 the 2018 Asian Qualification Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Urgench, where about 420 people participated. At the same time, we had to get ready for July 7 to 14, 2018 the IWF Junior World Championship in Tashkent, welcoming 550 participants. It seems that we managed both to satisfaction… But speaking of difficulties, for example, on the first day of the competition Thailand won the first gold medal to be awarded by the President of the IWF, however due to technical errors the anthem couldn’t be played. It was an awkward moment 46 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
and I had to solve this problem urgently. Within a few seconds, I remembered to use my mobile phone and the YouTube application to find and play the national the anthem of Thailand. The problem was solved.
“I AM NEVER AFRAID OF DIFFICULTIES IN LIFE AND ALWAYS TRY TO FIND A WAY OUT OF ANY SITUATION. ” WW: How long have you been involved in weightlifting? ZA.: I came on board in 2005 as a student at the Uzbek State World Languages University when we were sent as translators and volunteers to practice English at the above mentioned competitions. Before that, I had nothing to do with sports. I began to translate the negotiations at official meetings, and then I was invited as an announcer at the Asian Championships. I was very excited and I felt I was made to be a professional presenter. Ever since, they keep inviting me as a speaker and I enjoy my work tremendously. Since then, I graduated from the Uzbek State University of Physical Culture and Sports and I am a licensed coach as well: I have been absorbed by weightlifting… WW: Your best memories? ZA.: In 2010, at the International Arnold Classic tournament which was held in Ohio, USA, I was fortunate enough to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger. We not only met but worked together in the same team as referees of this tournament. One of the greatest memories in my life is also the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as a referee. I became the first female from our country to be TO in weightlifting at the Olympic Games. When our athlete Ruslan Nurudinov won a gold medal and set an Olympic record, I was centre referee, giving me both pride and joy. It will remain in my memory for a long time. WW: What did you expect and how far did your dreams come true? ZA.: I was born and grew up in the city of Nukus of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, which is located 1,200 kilometres away from the capital. I, like all my friends in my childhood, dreamed to travel all over the world. My dreams came true only because of weightlifting and my favourite work which I dedicate my life to. I’m infinitely happy. With confidence, I can say that the weightlifting world has given me more than I did. Today, I have a lot of friends from different countries. I repeat, I came to sports by chance, but it was a lucky chance, which is not given to everyone. And most importantly, I do not want to stop, but continue to achieve my goals.
WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 47
› TECHNICAL CORNER TEXT: ATTILA ÁDÁMFI
NEW CATEGORIES - NEW RECORDS!
A
fter 20 years the IWF decided that it is high time to change the structure of weightlifting bodyweight categories and established a new set of categories for both genders. As of 1 November 2018 the men (seniors and juniors) shall compete in the following IWF bodyweight categories: 55kg, 61kg, 67kg, 73kg, 81kg, 89kg, 96kg, 102kg, 109kg, +109kg and the women in: 45kg, 49kg, 55kg, 59kg, 64kg, 71kg, 76kg, 81kg, 87kg, +87kg
The youth categories have been set accordingly. (See www.iwf.net) These new Technical Rules – with regard to their significance in the sport – were ratified by the IWF Congress in Tashkent. Naturally, new categories demand new records, therefore the Sport Programme Commission’s Working Group elaborated a method to be applied in the establishment of new World and Olympic Records. Since the record figures have been scientifically created in a mathematical process, and do not represent the actual achievement of an athlete, it was agreed to call them World Standards until an athlete exceeds them by a minimum of 1 kg. The methodology applied is the following: - The trendline of the current World / Olympic Records for both genders and age groups is drawn; - The point where the trendline meets the new bodyweight category is the reference figure for the new Standard; - The reference figure is decreased by a set percentage to provide a realistically reachable figure, also supporting marketing objectives; - Percentage (different for both gender and age groups) aligned to the average winning results of the last 3 IWF World Championships - * Women Records for the 7th (90kg – Senior/Junior, 75kg - Youth) bodyweight categories are not considered for the trendline as results clearly show that the athlete performance is not yet maximised; - ** Superheavy Records were made with higher bodyweight than the new highest bodyweight category (i.e. athletes’ bodyweight is the same), for this reason the actual Record is decreased by a set percentage; Percentages GENDER
SENIOR
JUNIOR
YOUTH
MEN
95%
90%
89%
WOMEN
92%
87%
85%
Example – Senior Men:
48 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
The Working Group agreed that the World Standards/Records should be reconsidered after 2020 and in the categories where World Standards still exist the highest athlete performance shall be considered as World Record.
WERK SAN Sport International
Weightlifting
The real power of athletes WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 49
RAISING THE BAR FOR 60 YEARS
50 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING
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