The EWF President, Mr. Antonio Conflitti declared the 100th Edition of the European Weightlifting Championships open in a grand Opening Ceremony in the Tirana Olympic Park “Feti Borova”.
The Ceremony which started with the official playing of the Albanian National Anthem was enriched by speeches of full support by high local public and sports authorities and local cultural and artistic shows that colored the event as it couldn’t be better.
After the very appreciative messages for the most important continental weightlifting competition from the President of the Albanian Weightlifting Federation and the Organizing Committee, Mr. Elez Gjoza, the Mayor of Tirana, Mr. Erion Veliaj and Mrs. Evis Kushi, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Albania followed the traditional parade of the flags of the participating countries.
The Opening Ceremony was also the special moment chosen by the EWF President and General Secretary, Dr. Milan Mihajlovic, for awarding the EWF 2021 Best Weightlifters prizes to the great athletes Lasha Talakhadze, from Georgia and Romanian Loredana Toma.
The surprises continued with the presentation of the EWF Fair Play Award by the EWF Fair Play Commission chairman, Mr. Alexandru Padure for the fantastic Spanish weightlifter Lidia Valentin for the sports career in the spirit of the Olympic and the clean sport values. Ms. Denise Ofermann, the chairwoman of the EWF Anti-Doping and Women Commissions has also attended the ceremony.
President Conflitti took the opportunity to announce some of the important projects that will be undertaken by the working group of the intercontinental leadership, including the organization of the first Intercontinental Cup in the near future.
The IWF General Secretary, Mr. Mohammed Jaloud also addressed a congratulatory speech and reminded of the very important Special Electoral Congress to be held in Tirana on June 25-26, 2022.
The Opening Ceremony ended with the presentation of the EWF anniversary trophies to the President of the Albanian Olympic Committee, Mr. Fidel Ylli, and to the other personalities present.
EWF leadership concluded by thanking to the Albania Weightlifting Federation, Organizing Committee, volunteers and all those involved in the organization and wishing best luck to all the participating teams.
EWF
