World Weightlifting Magazine No. 148 by Dunsar Media Company Limited

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING No.148

VOTED BEST OF THE YEAR AGAIN

VALENTIN LIDIA - ESP TALAKHADZE LASHA - GEO LIFTERS OF THE YEAR GALA KOBULETI

2019 IWF JWC SUVA

READY STEADY TOKYO

PACIFIC GAMES APIA

PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIMA

PHOTO: JÃ&#x201C;ZSEF SZAKA

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION

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 Media and Communication Manager ADRIENN SZÁSZ 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

Printed by TypoNova (www.typonova.hu) All communications: world.weightlifting@iwfnet.net www.iwf.net facebook.com/iwfnet twitter.com/iwfnet instagram.com/iwfnet youtube.com/iwfmedia Any articles, results or photos published in WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING may be reproduced without the written consent of the IWF, however, reference should be made to this publication.

The IWF Technical Officials’ family in Suva at the 2019 Junior World Championships

CONTENTS No.148 02-03 | FOREWORD 04-07 | LIFTER OF THE YEAR AWARD GALA, KOBULETI 08-29 |

2019 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA

10 | INTERVIEW WITH DR. ROBIN MITCHELL 30-31 |

FIJI MOMENTS

ISSN 0230-3035

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 1

› FOREWORD

FOREWORD

Dear Friends,

ur sport is just facing the 2019 edition of the IWF World Championships, which is a main Gold Level Qualification Event to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. There is nothing special in the status itself, since any world championships held in the year preceding the Olympics would normally grant qualification to the Games. However, the one ahead will be carried out under the new 2020 Olympic Qualification System containing significant novelties and fundamentally different from those of earlier Games, be it the 2016, 2012 or the 2008 editions. No doubt, in weightlifting the issue of the fight against doping must always be in the centre of attention. I do believe this, and I have been convinced so for the last 43 years, ever since I have been engaged in the management of this sport. Our anti-doping battle, therefore, stays a priority also clearly reflected in the Olympic Qualification Regulation. Namely, it provides for the chance to win Olympic quota on an individual basis, but this individual lifter must be subject to multiple anti-doping controls during the qualification period. A multitude of events have been given the rank of qualification – Gold, Silver or Bronze – many more than ever before. Thus, Continental Games, World Cups, etc. offer qualification opportunities of which each aspirant Olympian must participate in minimum 2 per qualification period. There are three such periods, so it is simply unavoidable for all future Olympians to be tested prior to getting to the Games – which is the very aim of the system. Beyond the aspect of the war on doping, multiple competitions give more chance for weightlifters to achieve qualification under controlled conditions, because any Event that is granted the status of qualification must comply with a set of standardized stipulations checked by the IWF. The 2019 WWC in Pattaya, Thailand is the peak of the qualification period and as such, I have very high expectations. At the same time, I immensely regret the occurrence of multiple doping cases at the realm of the hosts. This circumstance has left its mark on the whole subject of the WWC organisation. Weightlifting is Thailand’s most successful sport; obviously they would have wished to have no change in the scenario. Eventually, TAWA remains the host of the World Championships, if only at the cost of the Association’s self-imposed undertaking not to enter their own athletes in the event. One cannot overestimate the difference between having and not having your potential medal winners in the line-up. Television takes a different approach and we have all experienced the fanatic support of the Thai public in any competition held

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in their land. Therefore, I am extremely sorry that Thai lifters cannot participate in Pattaya. At the same time, however, it must be said: the IWF takes the strictest possible stance against those breaching its Anti-Doping Rules, and no exception can be made here! I might say: I laugh and cry at the same time. Namely because Thailand deserves the right to host the World Championships being one of the most active Federations; on the other hand the Rules must be adhered to by everyone, in all severity. Notwithstanding the above, I expect excellent performances, good results. With the two times ten bodyweight categories and intense interest in participation, sessions must be running from morning till night, but there should be no problem with the TAWA and IWF staffs and the competent Technical Officials working hard for the success of the 2019 WWC in Pattaya. Another point I would like to touch upon: let me inspire the IWF Member Federations to be more engaged and more active, even during the year and between World Championships. Sports today, including weightlifting, demand permanent and a higher standard of administrative work to maintain interest within and outside one’s own country. It is only with a joint effort from all that we can elevate the sport and keep it in its deserved position. The sport progresses and the International Weightlifting Federation does remain active also in terms of coaching clinics, technical courses in many different countries of the world. In the near future we wish to organise a global Marketing Symposium. We are looking forward to a major Grand Prix in China combined with a coaching clinic and conducted by select and highly qualified coaches. The WWC will be followed by a qualification event in China and another important one in Lima, Peru. Meanwhile, we want to do everything in our power to remain compliant with the IOC’s decision on our Olympic status and also continue being a sample-to-follow for other International Federations – as the IWF has been portrayed several times with regard to our anti-doping actions.

DR. TAMÁS AJÁN IWF PRESIDENT The IWF Executive Board held a meeting in Suva and was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Fiji

› IWF 2018 LIFTER OF THE YEAR AWARD GALA TEXT: KORNÉL JANCSÓ PHOTO: JÓZSEF SZAKA

ENCORE BY LIDIA AND LASHA – MEMORABLE CEREMONY IN KOBULETI

‘R

epetitio est mater studiorum’ – ‘Repetition is the mother of learning’, I learned this Latin phrase once upon a time at middle school. Little did I suspect then in what context this ancient wisdom would flash in my mind many years later. It did when it became obvious: the same two weightlifters who won the Lifter of the Year voting in 2017 would win the ballots once again; i.e. Spanish Lidia VALENTIN and Georgian Lasha TALAKHADZE. By winning again, both outstanding stars earned the Trophy founded in memory of the late Editor-in-Chief of WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING, Jenő BOSKOVICS, the mastermind behind the annual Best Lifter elections.

Gaining the IWF Lifter of the Year 2018 title is no child’s game: like in the year before, both winners had to work hard for this honour. To perform a series of excellent lifts on the podium of various world competitions is not enough: personality, positive character and becoming image of both Lidia and Lasha must have definitely guided the voters’ hands when casting their ballots in their favour on the IWF website. Over thirty thousand ballot-clicks were donated to the list of candidates, five from each gender, as pre-selected by WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING for the election. Those giving their ballots represented about 60 countries but were overwhelmingly in agreement when putting these international heroes into the pole position. Lidia VALENTIN PEREZ, a true grace from Spain, may easily be called the “Face of Weightlifting” – not only in Spain but beyond its borders as well. Lasha TALAKHADZE, the gentle giant from Georgia, has been repeatedly stretching the limits of human performance with his amazing world records in the superheavyweight category. Lidia won with 13,000, Lasha with 18,000 clicks – both of them registering huge advantage over their equally excellent competitors. The outcome of the election already known, we were getting ready for another worthy ceremony at which to acclaim both winners and present their precious trophies. Spain appeared as an obvious organiser this time; however, they could not undertake to host the event. Fortunately, Georgia was ready to take over and a year after the first celebration the Georgian Weightlifting Federation once again staged the award gala. In the end, the ceremony, held with the help of the IWF, proved to be another success thanks to the Georgian hosts.

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Lifters of the Year 2018 with presenters Dr. Tamás AJÁN, IWF President and Kornél JANCSÓ, Editor-in-Chief WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

Under the guidance and watchful eyes of GEOWF President, Kakhi KAKHIASHVILI, 3-times Olympic champion and weightlifting icon, and involving a handful skilled team, the Federation hosted an elegant and memorable gala matching in standard the one held in Tbilisi honouring the 2017 winners. In the spirit of change – to quote another Latin phrase ‘Varietas delectat’, i.e. ‘diversity is delightful’ – a different setting was chosen by our Georgian friends. As opposed to the Georgian capital, this time the award gala took place in the popular Black Sea resort, Kobuleti, not far from Batumi. Spanish Weightlifting Federation President Constantino IGLESIAS is proud of their graceful champion

We were lucky even with the weather: the Kakhiashvili Team “arranged” sunshine and glowing spring weather to ensure a smooth running of the open-air program in the garden of the Georgia Palace Hotel. The IWF Jenő Boskovics Lifter of the Year Award Gala – by the way televised live by Georgian State Television for 45 minutes - started off with a colourful but at the same time tasteful cultural show in the presence of a public counting over a hundred prominent guests. A traditional choir and soloists singing, a big band, folk music and especially folk dancing made up the show delighting the audience including IWF President Dr. Tamás AJÁN. Among the prominent guests were, among others, Shalva GOGOLADZE, Deputy Minister Education, Culture and Sports of Georgia, Leri KHABELOV, GOC President, Lasha KOMAKHIDZE, Mayor of Batumi and Mirian KATAMADZE, Mayor of Kobuleti. Both award winners being Europeans, Dr. Antonio URSO, EWF President and Dr. Hasan AKKUS, EWF General Secretary were among the invited international VIPs.

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 5

Host Georgian Federation President Kakhi KAKHIASHVILI with the IWF President

› IWF 2018 LIFTER OF THE YEAR AWARD GALA

n his address, Dr. Tamás AJÁN greeted the award-winning champions and praised the – by now traditionally outstanding – Georgian organisation and exceptional hospitality. The Georgian Weightlifting Federation – a short month after hosting excellent European Championships in neighbouring Batumi – prepared and staged yet another great event, he said, without a hitch and to the glory of weightlifting. The IWF President acclaimed the careers of the trophy recipients but besides citing their sporting achievements he also highlighted the fact that the honour went to two very popular role models of the sport. Both Best Lifters are positive, iconic figures, flag-bearers of weightlifting and the number of votes cast did very well reflect these characteristics. Naturally, both winners had their chance to speak and, not surprisingly, both of them emphasized the significance of this repeated success, the unfailing support of the fans. Lidia said thanks to the Spanish, Lasha to the Georgian voters and to the International Weightlifting Federation.

“Having a leading role in women’s weightlifting and earning this honour is a dream come true. An event like this brings people together; I am so happy to be a part of it. Next on my agenda is the World Championships in Thailand, then competing in further qualifying events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games” – stated Lidia VALENTIN.

TALAKHADZE: “I really hope to be able to make weightlifting even more popular in my country and I can motivate the young people to choose this wonderful sport. This gives me the chance to show the world what a wonderful country Georgia is and how wonderful its people are."

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Almost every lift by Lasha is an amazing new record

Her special image and personal radiation must have contributed to her Best Lifter election

Lasha TALAKHADZE praised his teammates, thanked the Georgian Federation for the permanent support received and said that this renewed recognition to become Lifter of the Year for the second time gave him new motivation. “I really hope to be able to make weightlifting even more popular in my country and I can motivate the young people to choose this wonderful sport” – he added. At the same time, he said he was feeling very proud that the Gala was again hosted by Georgia and said: “This gives me the chance to show the world what a wonderful country Georgia is and how wonderful its people are”. The speeches were followed by the actual presentation of the trophies: Dr. AJÁN and the author of this article as Editor-in-Chief of WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING together passed on the beautiful glass trophies to the awardees. Following the protocol the colourful show continued and a video message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Georgia, Mamuka BAKHTADZE rounded up the program. After the ceremony I asked the father of the World’s Strongest Man Alive, his former coach and fresh grandfather, to add his comments. Mr. TALAKHADZE SR. is convinced his son has the potential for further fantastic results including new world records. “If he continues to live healthy and work hard and if he is saved injuries and illness, he can not only win more Olympic, world and European gold medals but he might be able to achieve the 500 kilo mark” – he stated. Lasha is now just 25 years old and sits on top of the absolute ranking of weightlifting with the 478kg total world record. He also has the world records on both lifts: 218kg in snatch, 260kg in clean and jerk. Here is how Lasha reacted to his father’s prophecy: “I also believe I could reach the 500 kilo total! That would take a 230kg snatch and a 270kg clean and jerk but if everything works out well I might be able to do even more…!”

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 7

› 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI TEXT: ANIKÓ NÉMETH-MÓRA, ADRIENN SZÁSZ PHOTO: NAT AREM, HOOKGRIP

SMALL PACIFIC ISLAND STATE HOSTS SPLENDID PREMIERE

“

This tiny island on the Pacific defied all skepticism and, despite not having prior experience in organizing a weightlifting World Championships, Fiji and the Local Organising Committee under the leadership of Dr. Robin Mitchell, President of ANOC and ONOC, IOC Member, delivered this Gold Level Olympic qualification event in the most professional manner.” - Such were the comments by IWF President Dr. Tamás Aján at the closing ceremony of the 2019 IWF JWC in Suva, the first ever event of this calibre (in any Olympic sport) held in the Pacific area.

Beyond faultless organisation, traditional Fijian hospitality and the general kindness of the island’s people made the event enjoyable and unforgettable for all participants. In a unique gesture of welcoming guests, the country’s No.1 dignitary, none less than the President of Fiji, Major-General Jioji Konusi Konrote greeted the IWF Executive Board on the eve of the Championships and later on honoured the competitions with his high presence and genuine interest in weightlifting. “In addition to support from the Government, we cannot thank enough to Weightlifting Fiji and its President, Mr. Atma Maharaj for his devoted service by living up to the challenge of a world event and thus confirming Fiji as a strong weightlifting nation even in a global context.” – The IWF President evaluated the Championships with these words.

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› 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI

hanking the IWF for its confidence in his Federation, Mr. Atma Maharaj pointed out that never before had so many countries been represented at a sports event in Fiji. Indeed, the Junior World Championships were treated in Fiji as a matter of national interest and pride. No wonder that the national television was present with 6 cameras for domestic live television broadcasting while streaming with professional commentary was available all around the world.

In total, 235 athletes participated, 105 women and 130 men from 41 countries. In the women, China won the medal tally (11,1,0), followed by Kazakhstan (6,0,0) and Vietnam (3,3,0). At the men’s Championships, Uzbekistan had the most medals (6,0,0) followed by Egypt (3,0,0) and Iran (2,4,9). While many countries undertook the long trip from overseas, it was somewhat disappointing to note that Oceanian countries failed to turn up with the exception of Australia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Samoa and of course the host Fiji… IWF has chosen NYE Katherine Elizabeth (USA) and OPELOGE Don (SAM) for the Best Lifters of the JWC. USA’s new hopeful NYE won the women’s 71kg bodyweight category with an astonishing 36kg advantage over the second finisher, while OPELOGE excelled in men’s 89kg category, winning the first gold medal for Samoa in Junior World Championships. Women’s Team Classification: 1. USA (615), 2. KOR (431), 3.TUR (409) Men’s Team Classification: 1. IRI (622), 2. USA (552), 3. JPN (521)

› INTERVIEW TEXT: ANIKÓ NÉMETH-MÓRA

INTERVIEW WITH DR ROBIN E. MITCHELL

ANOC ACTING PRESIDENT, ONOC PRESIDENT, IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER WW: What does the JWC mean to Fiji as a country? It is a very important event for the country in the sense that in the last four years the government has been pushing sports, and tries to bring more international sporting events here. Fiji enjoys the economic benefits of sports events. WW: What is the place of weightlifting in Fiji’s sporting environment? Weightlifting is a small sport in Fiji in terms of the number of participants, but they have been quite successful performance wise. They hosted several Oceania Championships. Fiji Weightlifting has an excellent team, some of them are ex Oceania Olympic Committee Executive Board Members; for example, Atma Maharaj was Senior Vice President. We are happy to provide them support from the ONOC. WW: As you said, the Fiji government tries to attract major sporting events. Are there any specific plans for the future? We hoping for Fiji to host the Pacific Games again, and there is even a chance to hold Youth Olympic Games in the Pacific area. WW: Widening the scope of our interview first into an Oceanian perspective: how do sports evolve in Oceania? The potential is improving in the two bigger countries, Australia and New Zealand. They are quite strong at the Olympic Games. Australia is usually in the top 10; New Zealand is in the top 20 on the medal table. However, there are many smaller countries in this region, so our job is to give those better training opportunities as well as founding to train. Professional sport requires expensive equipment. We (ONOC) helped Fiji to be able to compete in more expensive sports such as sailing. A Fiji athlete ranked top three in the world. We also support weightlifting and the results are already visible. We have a women’s Olympic silver medal for Samoa from Beijing. Actually, Oceanian women have great success in this sport. WW: Dr Mitchell, currently you are also ANOC Acting President and one of the longest serving IOC members, you have a perspective on the past. We all know that the Olympic movement faces quite a few challenges nowadays. For instance, do you also think the Olympic sports are contested and there is a strong competition from outside the Olympic Movement? The movement has changed a lot since I joined, and with all the new technology, I am sure we need to catch up in order to keep the pace with other sports and similar activities. Honestly, I think we are a few steps behind. We have to keep in mind the interest of the future generation and enter the digital age. We have to find out how we can sell our sports to the current and next generations. That has started: we try to make sports more attractive to the viewer. WW: How do you see the situation and the role of the different stakeholders in the Olympic movement? Our weakest link both for sports and the Olympic Movement is the National Federations or Committees. We all need to work together to build up strong organisations. We have 12 Olympic sports that are active. We got to work with the members to build a strong foundation for our athletes. WW: Are there any major political challenges that you think are an issue? There are always challenges. The focus should be on sport education. But unfortunately it is often controlled with money. WW: In terms of ANOC, what is its priority? What are the possibilities for the 206 NOCs? It should be recognised that we are all working at different speeds. Europe is well developed, USA is well organized under the new leadership, Asia has plenty of Members. Oceania is the smallest with only 17 Members. Our challenge is to make sure the money gets down to the NOCs and the athletes, and it is spent the right way. We have to make sure sport is not interfering with other areas of politics. I believe we should be focused on the athletes. WW: You have mentioned that you have 4 children and 11 grandchildren. Any of them work in sports management? Yes, my oldest granddaughter is in school in the UK. She told me she will be the President of University swimming. My two daughters are national canoeing representatives and medallists. In a slightly different role, the opening ceremony at the recent Commonwealth Games was directed by my oldest daughter, who is a choreographer at the Sydney Opera House. WW: Here too, the opening ceremony of the Junior Worlds was fantastic, I guess it was performed by your top art groups. Not really. That group only got together two weeks before the ceremony and – to make the show more international – they used some Chinese drums as well. WW: Which is the top sport in Fiji? It is definitely rugby. Due to our genetics most of us is perfectly sized for rugby. Most Pacific countries do really good in this sport. WW: What is the best chance for young Fiji people to have a bright future? Is it more art or sport? Sport is a good chance, but the Fiji government is very focused on education. Elementary education is free and now the government tries to secure more and more free university slots. The top 600 students get full funding for their studies and they don’t have to repay it. WW: How popular is weightlifting in the Pacific area? It is more popular in the smaller countries like Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Samoa. The hardest thing is to get the equipment to all the small islands and countries. But then anybody can go and use it. WW: You think this Junior World Championship will leave a good legacy here? It definitely will. The biggest legacy will be the equipment that has been donated to Weightlifting Fiji by ZKC. After the Championships, these barbells will be made available to schools. Also, Fiji is exposed to publicity through the Championships. Many people watch it on television or stream live on iwf.net. My daughter for example is watching it from the United Kingdom and told me on the phone how well 10 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING organized it is. It is a way for Fiji to show what they are capable of.

WE MUST MAKE OLYMPIC SPORTS MORE ATTRACTIVE TO THE VIEWER!

KHONG My Phuong, VIE

› 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI - WOMEN

WOMEN 45KG - THREE IN LINE – THREE WINNING

n exotic and spectacular Opening Ceremony featuring Fijian dancers in their typical grass skirts warmed up the atmosphere for the first competition. In the women’s 45kg bodyweight category all competitors received medals: it was a short session with only 3 lifters participating. It seems this category still needs some time to fill up. Anyway, being in a short line-up was none of these lifters’ fault and each of them deserved the medals received. Vietnamese KHONG My Phuong picked up the overall (158kg), and the snatch (74kg) gold medals, while her teammate, second finisher PHAM Dinh Thi, who was Asian Youth Champion last year, managed to take away the clean and jerk gold from her, lifting 1kg more than KHONG (85kg). The Turkish lifter, DOGAN Ayse received 3 bronze medals (68, 83, 151kg). DOGAN Ayse, TUR

45kg Medal Winners

49 KG - ZHAO WON, 3 YOUTH WORLD RECORDS BY AISAH

he women’s 49kg bodyweight category competition was more populous with 12 entries. Chinese lifter, ZHAO Jinhong pocketed all three gold medals. In the snatch, she produced the same result as silver medallist AISAH Windy Cantika (INA), 81kg, but as hers was the first successful lift, she got the gold.

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IMPERIO Giulia, IT

REICHARDT Hayley Marie, USA

For the one year younger AISAH, this result meant a new youth world record, just like her clean and jerk (98kg) and total (179kg) results. At this point, we did not yet know that the Indonesian’s three youth world records would remain the only new entries in the record books – for the women – at Suva. Italian IMPERIO Giulia won the snatch bronze medal with a 75kg lift. In the clean and jerk, USA athlete REICHARD Hayley worked her way up to the third place in this lift and overall with a 98kg lift, rounding up her total result to 172kg.

55KG CHINESE GAN WINS WITH CLEAN AND JERK

O AISAH Windy Cantika, INA set Youth world records

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n the third competition day of the 2019 JWC in Suva, the audience witnessed an exciting competition between Chinese and Colombian lifters GAN Hongyan and SINISTERRA TORRES Yenny, respectively, in the women’s 55kg category. In the Snatch, SINISTERRA had the upper hand over GAN, with 92kg, she clinched the gold medal from the Chinese (91kg) but the latter quickly turned around the odds in the second lift, reaching 114kg which proved to be too much for her rivals. The Columbian who was third at last year’s JWC, went for a 115kg clean and jerk, which was a World Record attempt but could not successfully finish the lift. Having a 112kg final result, she slipped back to the third place, behind Russian NOVITSKAIA Kristina (113kg). GAN totalled 205kg, SINISTERRA 204kg, while 2018 Junior European champion, NOVITSKAIA stepped on the third step of the podium (197kg). Ukranian KONOTOP Kamila took home a snatch bronze medal for her 91kg performance.

55kg Medal Winners

SINISTERRA TORRES Yenny, COL

GAN Hongyan, CHN

59KG - LUO WINS HANDS DOWN

he womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 59kg field had no chance to come anywhere near to take the gold medal from Chinese LUO Xiaomin. She put an enormous 13kg margin in the snatch, and 10kg in the clean and jerk (declining her third attempt) between herself and silver medallists, rounding up her final score to 221kg. 2018 European Junior Champion CAKIN Aysegul (TUR) was second in the ranking, 25kg behind LUO, while with 195kg, Tunesian RAHMOUNI Chaima finished in the third place. USA won a bronze medal in the snatch; Buenos Aires YOG bronze medallist BROWN Payton Taylor lifted 87kg. CINTRA LAGOS Nicole took home a bronze medal to Brazil for her 107kg clean and jerk result.

CAKIN Aysegul, TUR

LUO Xiaomin, CHN

59kg Medallists

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› 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI - WOMEN

64KG – CHINESE WIN AGAIN

PALACIOS DAJOMES Angie, ECU

he Chinese team pocketed the fourth gold medal in a row: thanks to LIAO Guifang who came out of the blue with insignificant Asian history but easily winning the women’s 64kg bodyweight category. Three athletes took all the medals, with steady performances of the top three athletes producing the same start-to-finish pattern. Actually, the silver and bronze medal winners had to work hard with their challengers for their respective positions, after giving up hopes to catch up with LIAO. In the Snatch, PALACIO DAJOMES Angie Paola (ECU), who is following her older sister’s footsteps (DAJOMES BARRERA Neisi Patricia) on the path to a successful weightlifting career, took the silver medal, lifting only one kilogram less than LIAO (101kg). With a larger margin, Turkish LEVENT Nuray took the bronze (95kg). LIAO dominated the clean and jerk (128kg) significantly more, adding another 9kg advantage over PALACIOS to her final result (230, 220kg respectively). With a 118kg performance, LEVENT rounded up her final score to 213kg.

LIAO Guifang, CHN LEVENT Nuray, TUR

71KG - USA’S NYE SWEEPS THE 71KG “LIKE A CHINESE”

YE Katherine Elizabeth in the women’s 71kg must have envied the Chinese for their sweeping victories as she performed in the same manner scoring a brilliant victory with a final 34kg advantage on the second best. Just one month before, she had won the Pan-American Championships and set several records, so there were none left to be broken this time. In both lifts she only came out when everyone else finished their attempts and secured the gold medals at the starting weights.

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In the snatch she lifted 109kg and 137kg in the clean and jerk, rounding up her final score to 246kg against silver medallist, GUSEVA Evgeniia’s (RUS) total, 212kg. GUSEVA was 12kg behind NYE in the snatch, picking up the silver medal and finished third in the clean and jerk. ALTUN Berfin from Turkey was took silver in clean and jerk, 19kg behind the American, and reached the third place overall (206kg).

NYE KATHERINE ELIZABETH “It was a quick turnaround after the Pan-American Championships, but we tried very hard to do as much as we could. I think it went well, I’m really happy!”

ALTUN Berfin, TUR

71kg Medal Winners

76KG – ANDREWS-NAHU WON THE FIRST EVER JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD MEDAL FOR NEW ZEALAND!

he ultimate victory of Egyptian MAHMOUD Rania Mohamed Ezzat was no surprise – thanks to her 97kg snatch and 122kg clean and jerk. MAHMOUD has a history of winning every single international competition she participated in so far, most recently the African Championships in the 71kg category. In contrast, when ANDREWS-NAHU Kanah Shenelle pinched the snatch gold with her 98kg, it marked an epic moment for New Zealand, this being the first ever at Junior World Championships. She also earned the overall bronze medal, with a result of 212kg.

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ANDREWS-NAHU KANAH, NZL “I feel amazing!”

“First I was very happy, then I got really emotional and started to cry. (…) I felt under less pressure because I trusted my coaches, I was able to absorb everything in the moment,” said ANDREWS-NAHU with a big smile on her face. NARIN Dilara (TUR) finished second (217kg), which is the second success for her within a couple of months; she won the gold medal at the IWF Youth World Championships in Las Vegas and had previously placed second in 2018 the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games.

MAHMOUD Rania, EGY

76kg Medal Winners

81KG - KUZGANBAYEVA WON

n the sixth day of the IWF Junior World Championships in Suva, Fiji, KUZGANBAYEVA Karina (KAZ) took all three golds in the women’s 81kg competition with six good lifts. In the snatch, she scored 98kg, a weight that second finisher, Korean JANG Hyeonju tried to match but could not lift, leaving her with a 97kg score in this lift. Russian VIZGINA Ekaterina received a bronze medal for her 93kg lift. The Kazakh lifter added another kilogram to her advantage over JANG in the clean and jerk (126kg), rounding up their total results to 224kg and 221kg, respectively. FEDICHKINA Tatiana (RUS) cut ahead in the clean and jerk and placed third with 3 good lifts finishing at 115kg and 206kg in total (4th).

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KUZGANBAYEVA Karina, KAZ

81kg Medallists

JANG Hyeonju, KOR

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 17

87KG – ANOTHER KAZAKH VICTORY

he women’s 87kg, the ranking was persistent, Kazakh AKHMEROVA Darya took the gold medals, Russian RIAZANOVA Daria clinched the silvers and YU Ssu-Han (TPE) came in third. AKHMEROVA lifted 103kg in the snatch with three good attempts, and RIAZANOVA, 2018 European Junior champion, was left only one kilogram behind her. Slightly behind the two, YU finished at 84kg. In the clean and jerk, the Kazakh lifter widened the gap, lifting 133kg , 8kg more than her Russian counterpart and arrived at a total of 236kg, while the ones behind her totaled 227kg and 192kg, respectively. In the field of four athletes, the youngest member of the DETENAMO Dinasty from Nauru, ROVIEL came in fourth, but it should be noted that she is less than 16 years old.

YU Ssu-Han, TPE

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AKHMEROVA Darya, KAZ

RIAZANOVA Daria, RUS

+87KG - KOREA FINALLY EARNED GOLD

n the last competition day of the 2019 Junior World Championships in Suva, in the much broader lineup (12) of the women’s +87kg, LEE Seon Mi (KOR) was expected to win three gold medals but she found a surprising challenger in the snatch. Last year’s Junior World Champion, LEE came out at a relatively high starting weight, 120kg and was too nervous to lift it. Seeing as the only chance to come ahead of one of her opponents who had meanwhile completed 121kg, she asked for 123 – but missed that one, too. She had to concentrate and finally managed to perform a 123kg good lift, jumping to the second place. The one who was beating the Korean was Samoan STOWERS Feagaiga, a champion of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, who excelled in the snatch with three good lifts, finishing at 124kg, and taking the gold medal. BENITEZ RIVERA Ashamarie (USA) clinched the snatch bronze medal for lifting 108kg. In clean and jerk, after the rest of 10 lifters had finished their act with Armenian DALALAYAN Arpine being the best with her 140kg, the two ladies from Korea and Samoa (both aged 19) continued their duel. On this lift, the difference in standard became more visible – to the advantage of LEE Seon Mi. LEE cut ahead of the Samoan in the clean and jerk lifting two kilograms more (153kg) than her rival, but missing an ambitious 160kg in the end. She finished with a total result of 276kg, marking a minimum plus of one kilo against the Samoan’s 275kg. Their rivalry brought the most exciting moments in the women’s competitions. Overall, BENITEZ booked 245kg, which was enough for the bronze medal.

â&#x20AC;º 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI - WOMEN WOMEN 45 KG 1 KHONG MY PHUONG

05.07.1999

VIE

44.65

158

2 PHAM DINH THI 3 DOGAN AYSE

05.10.2001

VIE

44.35

154

12.02.2000

TUR

44.85

151

1 ZHAO JINHONG

26.05.2001

CHN

48.55

81 110

191

2 AISAH WINDY CANTIKA

11.06.2002

INA

48.20

179

3 REICHARDT HAYLEY MARIE

27.04.1999

USA

48.75

172

1 GAN HONGYAN

27.01.2001

CHN

54.70

91 114

205

2 SINISTERRA TORRES YENNY

04.05.2000

COL

54.95

92 112

204

3 NOVITSKAIA KRISTINA

22.09.1999

RUS

54.70

84 113

197

49 KG

55 KG

59 KG

LEE Seon Mi, KOR

1 LUO XIAOMIN

14.11.1999

CHN

58.80 101 120

221

2 CAKIN AYSEGUL

24.06.1999

TUR

58.85

86 110

196

3 RAHMOUNI CHAIMA

25.03.2001

TUN

58.10

88 107

195

1 LIAO GUIFANG

05.10.2001

CHN

63.85 102 128

230

2 PALACIOS D. ANGIE PAOLA

12.09.2000

ECU

63.45 101 119

220

3 LEVENT NURAY

08.05.2000

TUR

63.90

95 118

213

1 NYE KATHERINE ELIZABETH

05.01.1999

USA

70.70 109 137

246

2 GUSEVA EVGENIIA

13.08.2001

RUS

69.30

97 115

212

3 ALTUN BERFIN

01.11.1999

TUR

66.55

88 118

206

1 MAHMOUD RANIA M. EZZAT

10.09.2001

EGY

72.85

97 122

219

2 NARIN DILARA

17.03.2002

TUR

75.70

95 122

217

3 ANDREWS-NAHU KANAH S.

18.01.2001

NZL

75.90

98 114

212

64 KG

71 KG

76 KG

81 KG 1 KUZGANBAYEVA KARINA

13.11.2000

KAZ

80.85

98 126

224

2 JANG HYEONJU

26.11.1999

KOR

76.40

97 124

221

3 VIZGINA EKATERINA

24.10.2001

RUS

76.35

93 113

206

1 AKHMEROVA DARYA

14.04.1999

KAZ

86.40 103 133

236

2 RIAZANOVA DARIA

24.08.2000

RUS

86.90 102 125

227

3 YU SSU-HAN

22.09.1999

TPE

84.75

84 108

192

1 LEE SEON MI

01.08.2000

KOR 121.30 123 153

276

2 STOWERS FEAGAIGA

17.11.2000

SAM 116.20 124 151

275

3 BENITEZ R. ASHAMARIE

02.06.2000

USA 128.95 108 137

245

STOWERS Feagaiga, SAM

87 KG

+87 KG

BENITEZ RIVERA Ashamarie, USA WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 19

› 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI - MEN

MEN 55KG – YOUTH-AGED MASSIDDA ADDS JUNIOR TITLE

he first day featured the men’s 55kg session, where, in a lineup of five, MASSIDDA Sergio (ITA) excelled for the second time this year. After winning this year’s Youth World Championships in Las Vegas, he took the junior world title, too. With a 102kg snatch result he ended up second in this lift. Clean and jerk clearly being his strong suit, he came out at 125kg then continued the successful lifts at 128kg and 131kg. His total result of 233kg secured him a 9kg advantage over Japanese KUBO Kaito (224kg). Another Japanese lifter, YAMAGUCHI Yuto finished in the third place, only one kilogram behind KUBO. His strong performance in the snatch (103kg) was worthy of a gold medal, but being able to produce only one good lift in the clean and jerk at 120kg, he could not cut ahead of KUBO in total.

KUBO Kaito, JPN

61KG – GOLD FOR TURKEY

The 55kg podium

MASSIDA Sergio, ITA

20 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

much longer competition with 15 lifters brought an ultimate victory for Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist TOPTAS Caner from Turkey. First, he dominated the snatch with 125kg, 4 kilos ahead of compatriot DONEN Dogan, then fell back into fourth place in the clean and jerk. This, however, did not prevent him from becoming the total winner thanks to the aggregate result of 273kg. In his first international competition, Korean BAE Moonsu helped himself to a clean and jerk gold medal with a 155kg result and picked up the overall silver medal (270kg). Third in the total was the other Turkish lifter, DONEN Dogan with 269kg. DONEN and FAATHIR Muhammad from Indonesia were among the three athletes in this category who are still under 17 years of age, i.e. in the youth age group. Both of them were busy rewriting all the Youth World Standards in this bodyweight category, turning them into world records. DONEN registered four, FAATHIR set one record: 149kg in the clean and jerk, placing him second on this lift.

TOPTAS Caner, TUR

BAE Moonsu, KOR

67KG - ERGASHEV DOMINATED

D DONEN Dogan, TUR

espite his tender age of 20 years, ERGASHEV Adkhamjon (UZB) has a relatively long list of events on his scorecard beginning with a bronze medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Last year he won all 3 gold medals in the new 61kg bodyweight category. As expected, at Suva, having moved up into the 67kg, he dominated the field both in the snatch (141kg) and the clean and jerk (173kg), rounding up his final result to 314kg, and marking an improvement of 21kg since the last JWC in 2018. This time, however, he could not top his own world record which he set at 316kg at the Asian Championships in April this year. “I am very excited to compete in this new bodyweight category and I always try to improve myself. It feels wonderful to be Junior World Champion for the second time in a row and hold world records both in my old and new category!” – said ERGASHEV. 2018 Youth Olympic Champion, Turkish OZBEK Muhammed Furkan followed him on the ranking table, with a large margin in the snatch. He started at 135kg but only succeeded in lifting it for the third attempt, picking up the bronze. With a slightly closer result to ERGASHEV’s in the clean and jerk, 172kg , he won the overall silver medal (307kg). Russian GARAEV Zulfat clinched the total bronze medal (300kg) and a silver in the snatch (137kg), while WEI Yunbar (CHN) overtook him in the clean and jerk by two kilograms (163 and 165kg, respectively).

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 21

67kg Medal podium

› 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI - MEN

GARAEV Zulfat, RUS

ERGASHEV ADKHAMJON, UZB “I am very excited to compete in this new bodyweight category and I always try to improve myself. It feels wonderful to be Junior World Champion for the second time in a row and hold world records both in my old and new category!”

73KG - CUMMINGS IS FOUR-TIME JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPION!

he USA won its first gold medal at the IWF Junior World Championships, thanks to their well-known prodigy, CUMMINGS JR Clarence. In the snatch, ROBU Marin (MDA) grasped the gold medal from him, and those not knowing CUMMINGS well might have been worried, as he only managed to complete his first lift at 145kg. Georgian MALAKMADZE Archil was third here with a 142kg result. But to those in the know it was no surprise that CUMMINGS only came out to lift when everyone else finished all their attempts, clean and jerk being widely known as his strong suit. He secured the jerk and overall gold medals with a first lift at 180kg, already 5kg more than silver medallist, DUMITRASCU Paul (ROU) booked. He continued his walk of glory with a 192kg lift, just not to leave Suva without a new junior world record. In this lift, ROBU Marin (MDA) took the bronze medal (173kg). In total, CUMMINGS lifted 17kg more than ROBU (337 and 320kg). This win made him four-time Junior World Champion in a row (2016-2019), which is a uniquely high achievement for Team USA and universally.

CUMMINGS JR Clarence, USA

22 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

“I am extremely happy and excited for this year’s gold medal as never anyone from the USA had four Junior World Champion titles before. My next competition will be the Junior Pan-American Championships, which I would also like to win and build up my ROBI points to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.” Turkmen MEREDOV Maksad managed to rise to the third place after being fourth in the snatch and sixth in the clean and jerk (139,173, 312). In this field of 18 lifters only two reached the maximum age of the group (20 years), all the rest were 19 or younger – leaving some potential for next year.

73kg Podium

81KG - SUHAREVS CLINCHED THE GOLD MEDAL FROM SOLIS

T ROBU Marin, MDA

81kg Medallists

hird at this year’s European Championship, Litvanian SUHAREVS Ritvars and Colombian SOLIS ARBOLEDA Juan Felipe battled for the gold medal of the men’s 81kg category at the first A session of day 4 of the Junior World Championships in Suva. Their duel made the competition very exciting. SUHAREVS lifted 1kg more in the snatch (156kg) and they had the same result in the clean and jerk (195kg), but SOLIS being the first to clean and SUHAREVS failing his last attempt at 198kg, this gold medal went to the Colombian. All the way, they went head-to-head and in the end, SUHAREVS totalled 351kg, while SOLIS 350kg. “I am disappointed in the snatch because I am better than that; my best result is 162kg. I don’t know what happened today but could not lift 161kg. (…) My coach is happy with my result anyway, and if my coach is happy, I am happy too.” – said SUHAREVS after the competition. All three bronze medals were collected by 2018 Junior World Championships silver medallist SOLTANI Hossein (IRI).

SUHAREVS Ritvars, LAT

SOLIS Arboleda J.F., COL

89KG - THE AUDIENCE EXPLODED WITH CHEER WHEN OPELOGE WON

he venue filled with loud cheering when OPELOGE Don (SAM), niece of the Samoan legend Ele Opeloge, the only Olympic silver medallist of the country, successfully finished his last lift and won the men’s 89kg category. The OPELOGE family is truly bound to the sport; there are seven OPELOGEs with international results. Perhaps slightly nervous lifting almost “on home ground” facing an overwhelmingly Pacific audience, OPELOGE failed his first two lifts in the snatch and ended up in the sixth place. However, he showed a completely different picture in the second part of the competition with 3 successful clean and jerks, finishing at 198kg, and – amidst the loud cheering of the audience - cutting ahead to the first place also in total (349kg). 20-year-old Don was second in 85kg at the Commonwealth Games last year but now has been rewarded for years of hard work under coach Jerry WALLWORK. HOSSEINI Mohammad (IRI) missed the clean and jerk first place with one kilogram only behind OPELOGE, while Polish ADAMUS Bartlomiej Stefan finished second overall with a 346kg result. The Korean team celebrated YEOM Dahoon’s silver in snatch which he saved only on the third attempt before he had to leave without a valid result in clean and jerk and total, missing 180kg, then 185kg twice.

OPELOGE Don, SAM

5 medallists in 24 89kg / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

ADAMUS Brtlomiej Stefan, POL

ANTROPOV Artyom, KAZ

96KG - EGYPT SCORES GOLD

his year’s African Champion, ALI Ahmed Sayed Ashour (EGY) took all three golds in the men’s 96kg bodyweight category. With three good lifts in the snatch, finishing at 165kg, ALI was the best, just like in the clean and jerk with 200kg and merely missing his last attempt at 206kg. Interestingly, all the 11 participants of the session missed the last attempts in the clean and jerk. Receiving the silver medal, Kazakh ANTROPOV Artyom totaled 352kg, while the youngest in the field, 16 years old BABAYAN Artur (RUS) finished in the third place with a 346kg total result. BABAYAN, aged 17, set a new youth world record in snatch with his 160kg result.

BABAYAN Artur, RUS

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 25

ALI AHMED SAYED ASHOUR, EGY: “I am very happy, it is my second Junior World Championships [2018 – silver medal], and now I won. I worked very hard for a whole year to get here and this is the second major competition I won within a month, after the African Championships.”

ARLIONAK Andrei, BLR

26 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

102KG GEORGIA PICKED UP ITS FIRST GOLD OF THE 2019 JWC

RLIONAK Andrei (BLR) became the champion in snatch with 169kg, two kilos more than his Georgian counterpart’s. However, CHKHEIDZE Irakli was not to be intimidated and eventually the men’s 102kg competition ended with his victory. CHKHEIDZE managed to turn the odds in the clean and jerk outlifting the Belarussian by 3kg; by the minimum 1kg margin in total. After securing his double first place at the second lift of 204kg, CHKHEIDZE came out for a Junior world record attempt in clean and jerk, but the 213kg weight proved to be too much for him. AZIZI Amir (IRI) three bronze medals (165, 195, 360kg).

CHKHEIDZE Irakli, GEO

The victory ceremony in 102kg was performed by H.E. the President of Fiji, Major-General Jioji Konusi Konrote, Mr. Robin Mitchell, ANOC Acting President and Mr. Atma Maharaj, President of Weightlifting Fiji

109KG -DJURAEV SUPREME

zbekistan’s DJURAEV Akbar took home three gold medals in the men’s 109kg bodyweight category competition in Fiji’s capital. The 19-year-old Uzbek did not miss a lift, five in all, because he did not come out for his third clean and jerk attempt when he had already won the junior world champion title. This way, with 182kg in the snatch, 216kg in the clean and jerk and 398kg in total he still marked a 14kg lead on the silver medal winner, HWANG Sangun (KOR). DJURAEV also recently clinched a silver medal at these years Asian Championships – at that he needed 410kg for the position. The Korean lifter was fourth in the snatch but worked his way up to the second place in the clean and jerk with a 210kg lift, missing his last attempt at 215kg. Russian VAGAITSEV Daniil was third overall, making up his final score of 381kg of a 175kg snatch, picking up a silver medal in this lift, and a 206kg Clean and jerk (bronze).

DJURAEV Akbar, UZB

HWANG Sangun, KOR

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 27

VAGAITSEV Daniil, RUS

โ บ 2019 IWF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUVA, FIJI - MEN

+109KG - THE JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS CLOSED WITH SEVERAL YOUTH WORLD RECORDS

rmenia and Iran (the latter with two entries) fought fiercely for the top positions, while Iranian 15-year old boy, YOUSEFI Alireza decorated the competition with no less than 6 youth world records. In the end, LALAYAN Varazdat won the overall gold and became the tenth Armenian in the superheavyweight category to win the World Champion title (419kg). In the snatch, DAVOUDI Ali (IRI) cut ahead of LALAYAN and stole the gold medal from him with a 193kg lift. YOUSEFI was fourth in this lift, but set new Youth World Records twice, first at 163kg, which he immediately bettered to 171kg. The Armenian lifter excelled in the clean and jerk (227kg), jumping on the top of the total scoreboard, having a final result of 419kg, one kilogram more than DAVOUDI, who won the gold medal last year and was desperately fighting to defend his title. The younger Iranian giant, YOUSEFI, who is already a Youth Olympic champion, was even better than DAVOUDI and pinched the clean and jerk silver medal, while setting further 4 new youth world records along the way. Going from 212kg to 225kg, he finally settled the YWR at 396kg.

Medal presenters in +109kg: H.E. Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji, Dr. Tamรกs Ajรกn, IWF President, Mr. Robin Mitchell, President Fiji Olympic Committee

28 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

LALAYAN Varazdat, ARM

MEN

89 KG

55 KG 1 MASSIDDA SERGIO

26.01.2002

ITA

54.95 102 131

233

2 KUBO KAITO

24.01.1999

JPN

54.90

224

3 YAMAGUCHI YUTO

15.06.2000

JPN

96 128

54.35 103 120

223

14.08.2001

TUR

60.95 125 148

273

2 BAE MOONSU

07.03.1999

KOR

61.00 115 155

270

3 DONEN DOGAN

10.12.2002

TUR

60.80 121 148

269

SAM

88.20 151 198

349

2 HOSSEINI MOHAMMAD 3 ADAMUS B. STEFAN

26.04.2000

IRI

87.25 157 191

348

12.05.2000

POL

88.90 154 192

346

1 ALI AHMED SAYED ASHOUR

10.01.1999

EGY

94.00 165 200

365

2 ANTROPOV ARTYOM

23.01.2000

KAZ

95.70 155 197

352

3 BABAYAN ARTUR

09.07.2002

RUS

95.45 160 186

346

102 KG

67 KG 1 ERGASHEV ADKHAMJON

13.05.1999

96 KG

61 KG 1 TOPTAS CANER

1 OPELOGE DON

12.03.1999

UZB

66.55 141 173

314

1 CHKHEIDZE IRAKLI

05.01.1999

GEO 101.50 167 204

371

17.01.1999

BLR 101.85 169 201

370

09.01.1999

2 OZBEK M. FURKAN

24.01.2001

TUR

66.75 135 172

307

2 ARLIONAK ANDREI

3 GARAEV ZULFAT

12.01.2000

RUS

66.70 137 163

300

3 AZIZI AMIR

IRI

101.90 165 195

360

109 KG

73 KG 1 CUMMINGS JR CLARENCE

06.06.2000

USA

72.85 145 192

337

1 DJURAEV AKBAR

08.10.1999

UZB 108.55 182 216

398

2 ROBU MARIN

19.03.2000

MDA

72.80 147 173

320

2 HWANG SANGUN

10.09.2000

KOR 108.00 174 210

384

312

3 VAGAITSEV DANIIL

13.11.2001

RUS 108.65 175 206

381

ARM 142.75 192 227

419

3 MEREDOV MAKSAD

23.06.2000

TKM

71.95 139 173

+109 KG

81 KG 1 SUHAREVS RITVARS

11.01.1999

LAT

80.45 156 195

351

1 LALAYAN VARAZDAT

01.05.1999

2 SOLIS A. JUAN FELIPE

05.03.1999

COL

80.40 155 195

350

2 DAVOUDI ALI

22.03.1999

IRI

150.00 193 225

418

3 SOLTANI HOSSEIN

02.12.1999

IRI

79.15 154 191

345

3 YOUSEFI ALIREZA

27.08.2003

IRI

150.00 171 225

396

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 29

Fiji Momen

30 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

nts

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 31

› READY STEADY TOKYO

OLYMPIC TEST EVENT

TEXT: KEVIN FARLEY PHOTO: NAT AREM, HOOKGRIP

TOKYO IS READY!

HOU Zhihui, CHN

eightlifting was the first test event to involve the Tokyo Organising Committee (Tokyo 2020) of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which organised the event alongside the Japan Weightlifting Association, together with the support of IWF. The competition – also serving as a Silver Level Qualification event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place in the very Olympic venue, the iconic Tokyo International Forum.

The READY STEADY TOKYO! test event was actually a combination of the 2019 edition of the traditional JAPAN – CHINA – KOREA FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT and the International Open test event. Although the many floors and levels of the Forum do present certain challenges, the unique atmosphere and aura the building can add to the sport will certainly counterweigh eventual technical difficulties. The training hall, situated in the basement of the building, features an elevated glass walkway for fans to watch their favourite athletes train prior to their moment on the Olympic stage.

TIAN Tao, CHN

Olympic and World Champions, medallists and world record holders were among a star-studded field, which including Hiromi MIYAKE (JPN) and Xiaojun LYU (CHN). A particularly gripping contest was expected in the women’s +87kg category, featuring World Champion and World Record holder Tatiana KASHIRINA (RUS), Snatch World Record holder LI Wenwen (CHN) and Rio 2016 Olympic Champion MENG Suping (CHN). The first day of competition of READY STEADY TOKYO 2020 Olympic Games Test Event produced high drama and new world records. HOU Zhihui (CHN) set a new world record in snatch in the women’s 49kg bodyweight category, with a 95kg lift. HOU, the silver medalist at the 2018 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Ashgabat, TKM previously held the record of 94kg with a lift she made at the IWF World Cup in Fuzhou, CHN in February. HOU won the event with a 205kg total. LIAO Quiyun (CHN) took the crown in the women’s 55kg category with a 218kg total. HAM Eunji (KOR) won her nation’s first medal of the test event with a 183kg total, for silver, while YAGI Kanae (JPN) took home bronze with a 193kg total. In the men’s 61kg session, QIN Fulin (CHN) won gold with a 305kg total with teammate LI Fabin (CHN) 4kg behind for silver with 301kg. HUANG Minhao (CHN) set a new world record in the men’s 67kg snatch with a 155kg lift. Combined with a 173kg clean & jerk, he won gold with a 328kg total. LEE Chango (KOR) took home silver with 295kg and ITOKAZU Yoichi (JPN) won bronze with a 294kg total. 2018 World Champion CHEN Lijun (CHN) did not record a snatch, but did post a 180kg clean & jerk. In the afternoon’s first session, CHEN Guiming (CHN) won the women’s 59kg session posting a 229kg total. In the women’s 64kg bodyweight category, 2018 World Champion DENG Wei (CHN) continued her dominance, posting a 248kg total for gold. Both the silver medallist, HAN Sojin (KOR) and her teammate KIM Yera for the bronze finished 31kg behind the winner with 217kg totals, respectively.

The unique training venue at the Forum will be visible for fans 32 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

Japan claimed its first gold medal of the event in the women’s 71kg bodyweight category. ISHII Miku (JPN) swept gold with a 96kg snatch, 115kg clean & jerk and 211kg total.

› READY STEADY TOKYO

OLYMPIC TEST EVENT

2018 World Champion ZHANG Wangli (CHN) picked up gold in the women’s 76kg bodyweight category with a 270kg total. Korea swept the podium in the women’s 81kg bodyweight category, as only their two athletes battled for gold. KANG Yonhee (KOR) came out on top with a 220kg total with teammate LEE Jieun taking silver with a 207kg total. In the men’s 73kg bodyweight category, 2018 World Champion SHI Zhiyong (CHN) won gold with a 345kg total. MIYAMOTO Masanori (JPN) took home silver with 341kg while YUAN Chengfei (CHN) took bronze with a 337kg total. A spirited 81kg competition ended with 2018 World Championships bronze medallist LI Dayin (CHN) taking gold with a 365kg total. Team China claimed more world records as the event concluded. In the men’s 96kg category, TIAN Tao (CHN), the silver medallist at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships, took home gold and set a new world record in clean & jerk with a 231kg lift. JIN Yunseong (KOR) was crowned champion with a 386kg total, the only competitor in the men’s 102kg bodyweight category. The men’s 109kg category featured the first athletes from countries beyond the Japan-China-Korea Friendship cup. But it was 2018 World Weightlifting Championships silver medallist YANG Zhe (CHN) who took gold, with a 406kg total. YANG attempted, but just missed setting the world record in the snatch, missing his 197kg final attempt. Chinese Taipei claimed its first gold of the competition in the men’s +109kg bodyweight category with CHEN ShihChieh (TPE) taking the top spot with a 415kg total. A hometown crowd filled the Tokyo International Forum with loud cheers as MURAKAMI Eishiro (JPN) took silver with a 412kg total. ALBEGOV Ruslan (RUS) ended with a 343kg total, good enough for bronze. In the women’s 87kg category, WANG Zhouyu (CHN) dominated the field, winning gold with 278kg, 48kg over silver medallist’s KLINGSEIS Marissa Eileen (USA) performance of 236kg.

CHEN Shih-Chieh, TPE

The final session of the day produced the most drama of the competition as +87kg 2018 World Champion KASHIRINA Tatiana (RUS) and LI Wenwen (CHN) battled for the top of the podium. In a game that was clearly not only about power but about shrewd tactics, the Chinese seemed to outwit KASHIRINA, by forcing her to take higher weights to outmaster MENG Suping, her old rival and 2016 Olympic Champion, and suddenly withdrawing MENG from the contest on account of an injury, which upset the Russian’s warm-up calculations. Finally, LI took a 1kg lead over KASHIRINA in the snatch with a 141kg at the break. LI came out on top with a 326kg total and a new junior world record 185kg clean & jerk. KASHIRINA finished in second with a 322kg total. KIM Jihyeon (KOR) took bronze with a 258kg total.

“The IWF is very proud to have weightlifting become the first sport to feature in the READY STEADY TOKYO series,” said IWF President Dr. Tamás AJÁN. “The preparations for the Tokyo 2020 weightlifting competitions have given us every reason to expect that this will be an outstanding Olympic Games for our sport and its leading athletes.” The event was visited by H.E. Yuriko KOIKE, Governor of Tokyo, H.E. Yoshiro MORI, President of Tokyo 2020 and successfully conducted by Reiko CHINEN, Tokyo 2020 Weightlifting Sports Manager with the effective help of the Japan Weightlifting Federation.

LI Wenwen, CHN

Tokyo is ready! – Let’s go! WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 33

› PATTAYA 2019 IWF WWC PREVIEW

PATTAYA 2019 IWF WWC PREVIEW

THAILAND WELCOMES THE WORLD AGAIN – MAIN STOP ON THE ROAD TO TOKYO

rom 14th to 27th September 2019, once again Thailand will welcome the world’s weightlifting community. This time, the country’s most famous vacation destination, the “Riviera of Thailand”, Pattaya will host the next edition of the IWF World Championships. A Gold Level Olympic Qualification Event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2019 IWF WWC can expect nearly 700 entries from about 90 countries. The IWF meetings and the Congress will be held 14th-17th, the competitions will run in the two times ten bodyweight categories through 10 days, 18th to 27th September. The competition and training venue is the SAT Indoor Athletics Stadium, while the meetings will take place at the place of accommodation, the Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel. With a large number of global weightlifting events organised in Thailand, including 5 World Championships and several Continental and Regional Games, the Thais have gathered an extraordinary knowhow and expertise in playing host to such events. Their history comprises the WWC 1997 and 2007 both in ChiangMai; the Youth World Championships 2009 in ChiangMai and 2017 in Bangkok and the World University Championships 2014 in ChiangMai. No doubt, expectations will be set high against the TAWA chaired by Ms Boossaba Yodbangtoey and her perfect staff, aided by IWF 1st Vice President Mr. Intarat Yodbangtoey; and they will surely meet those as usual, flavoured by traditional Thai hospitality in The Land of Smiles.

34 / WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING

As for the chances, we have to remind ourselves of the Medal Tables of the last 3 World Championships: 2015 HOUSTON

2017 ANAHEIM

2018 ASHGABAT

1 – CHN 18-12-2

1 – THA 5-7-3

1 – CHN 20-23-10

2 – RUS 11-6-7

2 – IRI 5-3-6

2 – THA 9-2-6

3 – PRK 4-9-5

3 – GEO 5-1-1

3 – PRK 5-4-3

4 – KAZ 3-7-5

4 – VIE 4-2-1

4 – IRI 5-1-2

5 – AZE 3-2-3

5 – EGY 4-1-1

5 – RUS 5-0-1

6 – TPE 2-1-3

6 – CHI 4-1-0

6 – GEO 3-0-2

This is quite a colourful picture, but we should remember that certain countries were under suspension while others grabbed their chances and some of them remained in prominence further on. Furthermore, as it is known, Thailand itself will have no chances to add medals to its collection due to its self-imposed absence in this, and further, Olympic Qualification events. Looking at the potential medal candidates, you should look for the following athletes to win in Pattaya – provided they will be there: WOMEN 49kg: MIRABAI Chanu (IND), 55kg: DIAZ Hidilyn (PHI), CHINSHANLO Zulfiya (KAZ), LANDOULSI Nouha (TUN), 59kg: KUO HsingChun (TPE), KOHA Rebeka (LAT), 64KG: chen Guiming (HN), RIM Un sim (PRK), TOMA Loredana-Elena (ROU), 71kg: KIM Hyo Sim (PRK), 76kg: DENG Wei (CHN), RIM Jong Sim (RPK), DAJOMES BARRERA Neisi Patricia (ECU), AHMED Sara (EGY), 81kg: VALENTIN PEREZ Lidia (ESP), +87 kg: KASHIRINA Tatiana (RUS), LI Wenwen (CHN), MENG Suping (CHN) MEN 49kg: TIAN Tao (CHN), 55kg: OM Yun Chol (PRK), 61kg: Li Fabin (CHN), IRAWAN Eko Yuli (INA), 73kg: CUMMINGS JR Clarence (USA), BEN HNIA Karem (TUN), 81kg: MAHMOUD Mohamed (EGY), SHI Zhiyong (CHN), FIGUEROA MOSQUERA Oscar Albeiro (COL), 87kg: MENDEZ PEREZ Arley (CHI), 96kg: LYU Xiaojun (CHN), ROSTAMI Kianoush (IRI), MORADI Sohrab (IRI), 109kg: MARTIROSYAN Simon (ARM), +109 kg: TALAKHADZE Lasha (GEO)

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 35

› 2019 PACIFIC GAMES TEXT: ATTILA ÁDÁMFI, TECHNICAL DELEGATE

WEIGHTLIFTING IS NO.1 IN SAMOA

eightlifting has been a constant feature on the menu of the Pacific Games since 1966(!) and the region’s strongmen and strong women were not missing from the latest – 16th – edition, either. The 2019 Pacific Games were carried out in Apia, the capital of Samoa. The hosts excelled on home turf and won a host of gold medals: no wonder, Samoa is the powerhouse of weightlifting, and Jerry WALLWORK’s team finished in first place preceding Australia and Papua New Guinea. Altogether 12 Pacific nations were present.

Having previously organised World Cup, Oceania Championships, etc. Samoa is well off in terms of facilities: the Faleata Sports Complex served as the venue for weightlifting at the Games. Benefiting from the premises, simultaneously with the Games, Oceania and Commonwealth Championships in various age groups were also carried out. Now, focusing only on the Games: The local audience could applaud to altogether 33 medals collected by the Samoan team, men and women combined. Of this 16 gold, 7 silver and 10 bronze. Australia won just one medal less and the medal crop of PNG included 26 pieces. A fair share of the success of Team Samoa may be attributed to a teenager, Leotina PETELO, winner of 3 gold medals in 81kg. She said with tears in her eyes: “I am crying, because I have experienced for the first time what it is like to represent my country for the first time in my life and win a gold medal at the age of 17…” Not only feelings but power was also present at the Pacific Games, especially with those winning. In the ten men’s categories the total winners also obtained the two other gold medals in snatch and in clean and jerk. The power of champions was even more palpable among the women: only in 71kg and +87kg did the overall winner cede her snatch or jerk gold to another candidate. One Pacific champion who towered above the field was Dika TOUA from Papua New Guinea. In 49kg she made 175kg in total, 58kg more than the next best lifter. PETELO, mentioned before, also won by a 35kg margin; while 87kg winner Australian Kaitlyn FASSINA lifted 28 kilos more than the silver medallist. The closes was the battle in 59kg women: Australian Erika YAMASAKI lifted 2kg more than runner-up Jenly TEGU WINI from the Solomon Islands (183181).

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› 2019 PACIFIC GAMES

In the men’s ranks the largest advantage of 58kg was recorded for the Champion in 61kg: Morea BARU (PNG) won with 284kg. Pacific Games winner in 89kg, 20-year old Don OPELOGE – another outstanding member of the Samoan Opeloge Family – amassed 338kg in total, round 30 kilos more than the result by the silver medallist. The same difference was noted for 109kg winner, Sanele MAO, also representing Samoa (366kg). Known and loved worldwide, Kiribati’s hero David KATOATAU performed in 102kg and of course won his category. A gigantic advantage was scored by Tongan Aisake TUITUPOU in the 109kg. He totalled 330kg, which is 49kg more than the output by the runner-up. It should be noted, however, that both of his major rivals, favourites of the category, were eliminated on the clean and jerk; i.e. Lauititi LUI from Samoa who beat the Tongan by 38kg in snatch, just like David LITI from New Zealand, who outsnatched TUITUPOU by 37kg… Among the men the keenest battle was fought in 96kg. Here, Steven KARI (PNG) became the winner with 354kg, winning on Israel KAIKILEKOFE representing Wallis and Futuna by a single kilogram, only. Outside the frames of the Pacific Games but on the same platform a youth world record was also born thanks to Lalrinnunga JEREMY from India in the 67kg category. Weightlifting is important in Samoa. VVIPs were swarming constantly around the stage: the President, the Prime Minister, Ministers, the President of the Pacific Games Council Vijaya Lakhan, Dr. Robin Mitchell, ANOC President, Ricardo Blas, ANOC General Secretary, etc. kept sitting in the venue and enjoying this sport. The IWF was also represented at the highest level: Dr. Tamás Aján, President and Mohammed Jalood, General Secretary were present.

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 37

› 2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEXT: ATTILA ÁDÁMFI, KORNÉL JANCSÓ

2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES

COLOMBIA STILL DOMINANT – USA CATCHING UP

he latest edition of the American continent’s sporting summit was hosted late July in Lima. Interestingly, in the history of the Pan American Games that started in 1951, this was the first time that the Peruvian capital welcomed the sporting community of the vast continent. Nearly 6,700 athletes from 41 countries vied for honours in 39 sports. The weightlifting events comprised 126 competitors representing 21 nations who were lifting in the 7-7 Olympic bodyweight categories at the Coliseo Mariscal Caceres. The Weightlifting Federation of Peru was heavily involved in the organisation. “The Federation, led by Mr. Renzo Manyari, President, was able to rely on the skills obtained in hosting a series of world events in recent years and, indeed, the organisation was excellent.” - said IWF President Dr. Tamás Aján, who attended the Games upon invitation by fellow IOC Member and Panam Sports President Mr. Neven Ilic, IOC Member from Peru, Mr. Ivan Dibos and, of course, IWF Vice President Mr. José Quinones. As IWF Technical Delegate, I can only confirm the President’s comments about the weightlifting competitions – also thanks to the outstanding efforts of Competition Manager, Mr. David Palacios. As expected, spectacular duels and outstanding performances marked most of the categories. Although none of the multiple world record attempts were successful, a lot of Pan American and Games records were registered in the five days of weightlifting. In the women’s events ten, in the men’s competitions eight new Pan American Games records were born.

n the combined ranking of countries – to no surprise – Colombia topped the poll, obtaining five of the 14 available Continental champion titles. They also collected four silver medals. In second place Team USA and Venezuela tied with 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals to each country. The medal table further included: DOM 1-3-2, ECU 1-1-4, MEX 1-1-3, BRA 1-0-0, CHI 1-0-0, CAN 0-1-0, CUB 0-1-0, GUA 0-1-0, PER 0-0-1. Looking at the medals won by gender, the men’s best was COL with 3-2-0, VEN (1-1-1) and MEX (1-0-2) being next in the ranking. In the women, the top three positions were taken by Colombia (2-2-0), Dominican Republic (1-2-1) and Ecuador (1-1-3).

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s far as the ladies are concerned: 49kg Dominican PIRON Beatriz towered above the field: she improved the Panam Games records four times, two in snatch and two in total, finishing at 87kg and 193kg, respectively. PEREZ Mercedes (COL) was excellent in 64kg and set new records. The new mark in clean and jerk is 130kg and in total 235kg – rewriting her own Continental records. Behind her SASSER Mattie finished in second place with 232kg. In the 55kg RODRIGUEZ Génesis from Venezuela made a record snatch with 96kg, and in the 59kg ESCOBAR Maria Alexandra from Ecuador marked a new Pan American record of 97kg. Although she was defeated (by one kilo) by LOBON Maria (COL) who totalled 221kg, ESCOBAR deserves our deepest respect: at 40(!) years of age, the “Lady of Weightlifting” is still around and winning! According to expectations, the 76kg resulted in the triumph of DAJOMES Neisi (ECU), this time falling by 4 kilos under her own Pan American record of 259kg. The 87kg was dominated by VALDÉS Maria Fernanda of Chile, who defeated Dominican SANTANA Crismery, record maker in snatch with 117kg. From a handicap of 5kg, VALDÉS in clean and jerk was able to lift 6kg more than the Dominican and finish first in total. The smallest difference of one kilo decided in +87kg as well: silver medallist SALADIN Veronica (DOM) produced a Games record in snatch (130kg), deleting the previous record (128kg) by ROBLES Sarah, USA. America’s big lady, however, had the right answer to SALADIN’s 153kg clean and jerk, i.e. lifted 159kg, giving her the Games gold medal for a 284kg total.

n the men’s competitions 73kg MAYORA Julio (VEN) proved to be the most prolific in terms of records: booking one in snatch (155kg), one in clean and jerk (194kg) and one in total (349kg). Two new records each were made by the best in the 81kg and 109kg categories. In 81kg RODALLEGAS Brayan from Colombia set a new mark in snatch with 167kg, and in total he won matching his own 363kg Games record. In the 109kg KITTS Wesley from USA won a miraculous gold medal so that in snatch he was lagging the winner, ARROYO Jorge (ECU) by no less than 18(!) kilograms! After winning the snatch with a PG record of 190kg, ARROYO got stuck at 195kg in clean and jerk and his total was just 385kg. Second in snatch, GONZALEZ Jesus (VEN) jerked 210kg for a good total result, but KITTS managed to clean and jerk 217kg and overcame all his rivals with his 398kg total. In 61kg Colombian MOSQUERA Francisco received gold for his 302kg total result, including a 170kg new Pan American record in clean and jerk. The 67kg was won by Mexican MUNOZ Jonathan for his 306kg output, while in 96kg Colombian RIVAS Jhonatan proved to be best with his 385kg, defeating SANTAVY Boady (CAN) by one kilogram. The easiest win seemed to be in the superheavyweight: Brazil’s star REIS Fernando triumphed with 420kg, overtaking the silver medallist Cuban, LAURET Luis by 21kg.

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 39

› 2019 IWF MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEXT: DENISE OFFERMANN, IWF MASTERS CHAIRWOMAN PHOTOS: MÁTYÁS LENCSÉR

OLYMPIC HISTORY COMES ALIVE IN MONTREAL, CANADA

his year’s edition of the IWF Masters World Championships ran in Montreal, Canada, through full 9 days with 689 Masters athletes from 54 nations. The championship was honored to receive the original 1976 Olympic Games competition platform of Montreal. 385 men and 304 women enjoyed their performance. The organization was superb. Two platforms were provided by the Canadian Masters organizer Yves Carignan who must be thanked and praised for this immense effort. Many new World Masters records were broken by Masters women and men.

The IWF Masters introduced a new modernized competition system to be able to run the sessions on 2 platforms parallel using tablets for the attempt calls, etc. Since 2018 the IWF Masters have been in a trial period to try out a new format of Masters competitions, one that goes into a similar direction as the IWF 20 kg rule. The trial period is still going on.

IWF Masters Chair Denise Offermann and General Secretary Bill Barton

Women’s medal ceremony

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IWF Masters were in fact happy to note enormous interest in participation in his year’s Championships – about 1,500 athletes wished to come (!) – so we were forced to maximize the turnout. Therefore, a Preliminary Entry System was introduced to calculate the best 700 athletes per verified entry total. Yves Carignan, the 2019 Montreal organizer on the 1976 Olympic platform again!

› 2019 IWF MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP We thank the IWF for sending Mátyás Lencsér, IWF Competition Manager to Montreal to support the event. The IWF Masters had a fruitful meeting with the Japanese delegation to discuss and prepare for the 2021 World Masters Games in Kansai – Japan.

An iconic but still usable item: the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games platform

In 2020 the IWF Masters World Championships will be in Obrigheim – Germany from the 28 August to 6 September. For more information please contact: iwfmasterssecretariat@gmail.com

Beautiful trophies

Competitions were running on two platforms simultaneously

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› WHAT’S NEWS ON THE ANTI-DOPING FRONT? TEXT: DR. LILLA SÁGI

TRANSITION PERIOD AND THE “WANDERING BARBELL”

fter a turbulent year of 2018 the IWF can close an eventful year again in the field of anti-doping. In 2019 there were several milestones in the IWF’s Anti-Doping Program. The first milestone of the year started with the IWF-ITA cooperation for which the Partnership Agreement was signed on 6 November 2018 and the implementation started on 1st January 2019.

In the first Agreement the IWF transferred the management of key areas of the IWF’s Anti-Doping Program, such as: risk assessment, test distribution planning, out-of-competition testing, as well as TUE management. Furthermore, the contract included support in the IWF’s Anti-Doping Education activities. In March 2019, the second significant milestone came for the IWF when the International Olympic Committee evaluated the comprehensive work done by the IWF and decided to lift the status of conditional inclusion of weightlifting in the Olympic Games for 2024 Paris, subject to the final agreement between the IWF and ITA. For this reason, the third milestone as an achievement of a great progress happened when the second partnership Agreement was signed by both parties on 7 May 2019. The second IWF-ITA Agreement was built on the base of the one signed in 2018. With this step, the remaining elements of the IWF’s very complex and extensive Anti-Doping Program, i.e. in-competition testing, the management of the IWF’s already running Athlete Biological Passport Program, the result management and long term storage project have been transferred to the ITA. The two organizations have to face a challenging transition period by transferring the “robust monster” weightlifting Anti-Doping Program. However, this was a clear commitment of the IWF proving that the Federation is ready to protect clean athletes and its beloved sport, weightlifting, as always before.

Education is key in the fight on doping: Dr. Lilla Sági, IWF Legal Counsel and Tímea Horváth, IWF Development and Education Manager

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In June 2019 at the 2nd European Games in Minsk, weightlifting was not present on the program, yet the spirit of the sport walked around the air at the WADA Athlete Outreach, where Dr. Lilla Sági was invited by WADA as a member of the WADA Outreach Team. Furthermore the famous #playtrue barbell was ready for athletes from all other sports to pose with and to promote Clean Sport.

The “Wondering Barbell” is always popular at the Athlete Outreach spots

The invitation to represent weightlifting and the IWF was a great compliment from the Anti-Doping Community for the IWF AntiDoping Education developments achieved in the last two years. The iLiftCLEAN barbell design was born in the framework of the WADA Legacy Outreach Program for the 2017 IWF World Championships held in Anaheim, and the IWF was delighted to see that clean weightlifting never gets old, even for athletes from different sports. And then the #playtrue barbell moved to another continent, PanAmerica. In August, in Lima at the 2019 Pan-American Games, where weightlifting was not only present at the outreach but in the competition hall as well. As in Las Vegas and in Fiji at the Youth and Junior Worlds, respectively, the iLiftCLEAN barbell will travel to the 2019 IWF World Championships in September to Pattaya, Thailand. The Outreach area will be set up in the framework of the WADA Legacy Outreach Program again but this time with a different cooperation setup including ITA and the Thai Anti-Doping Organization, where all athletes will have the chance to show their commitment to clean weightlifting and to meet the “Wandering Barbell”. The IWF Outreach Team is looking forward to meeting all athletes there! Don’t miss it! Come and join them!

IWF-ITA Agreement signed. IWF Director General Attila Ádámfi and ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen

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WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 45

› TECHNICAL CORNER TEXT: ATTILA ÁDÁMFI

VIDEO PLAYBACK TECHNOLOGY SUCCESSFULLY INTRODUCED

echnology is not only improving quickly but has truly become indispensable in our everyday lives. Likewise in sports, state-of-the-art technologies are more and more involved and weightlifting is no exception. Our task is to find the way how they can serve the athletes and our sport in general.

The IWF considered the introduction of modern Video Playback Technology (VPT) already back in 2014. A principle decision was made in 2015, and the major milestones were identified as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

define the requirements / expectations consider the possible options TCRR modifications test / implementation, application official VPT application at IWF events

IWF Technical Committee dealt with this issue as a priority to evaluate and define the process, rules changes entailed and the necessary requirement. It was also agreed that beside its primary goal, i.e. the evaluation of the referees’ decisions, the VPT offers an array of additional possibilities for educational, analytical, etc. purposes. After careful and comprehensive studies and the creation of a set of requirements by IWF experts and staff, different companies were invited to present their solutions at the 2016 IWF YWC in Penang, Malaysia.

Dartfish has been identified as a company offering all the required services and they indeed delivered this service at the 2017 IWF Youth World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand – at the time in a shadow mode – affording further experience necessary to fine tune the final procedures. In 2018, the necessary rule changes were finalised, to ensure the official introduction of the VPT in 2019. It took not too much time to realize that the application of VPT had the potential and offered the tool to the introduction of “Challenge” in weightlifting. The Challenge procedure along with the supporting Technology, the VPT was officially put to use first at the 2019 IWF Youth World Championships in Las Vegas, USA. Following a presentation and due education at the Verification of Final Entries and Technical Officials’ meeting, the application was smooth and successful. Teams and Jury welcomed and embraced the possibility to ensure the correct decision for the athletes.

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› TECHNICAL CORNER

At the 2019 IWF Junior World Championships in Suva, Fiji the VPT was applied again – now vested with even more conclusion – and we could experience the first case where the Challenge was confirmed and the decision was changed favouring the athlete. The next application will be at the 2019 IWF World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand where every attempt and its adjudication might be critical in the qualification for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In addition to its in-competition application, VPT has opened a new multi-functional platform for the sport, its practitioners, coaches or fans. Each attempt is recorded with the system and we have started to upload the lifts to the IWF website from the events where VPT has been used. Please go to: https://www.iwf.net/new_bw/ results_by_events and search by athlete/ event/weight, etc. Or look for the Dartfish platform: www.iwf.net/vpt Thanks to the linking of IWF TIS and Dartfish VPT and a special tagging function, videos from all attempts can be searched by filtering any data (i.e. name, country, weight, good/bad attempt, etc.). We believe that we have created not only an instrument helping fair refereeing in our competitions but also an invaluable assistant for the Weightlifting Family.

WORLD WEIGHTLIFTING / 47

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