The German city of Meissen hosted on July 6, 2024, the 33rd International Tournament “Pokal der Blauen Schwerter” (Trophy of the Blue Swords) with the participation of 51 athletes (28 female and 23 male) from 1 countries from Europe and South America (Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Serbia, Venezuela) and the IOC Refugee Team.
This year’s edition of the prestigious competition, which has been taking place since 1971, was even more special due to the fact that among the participants there were also elite athletes who are going to participate in the competition of the Olympic Games in Paris, which debuts on August 7, including Nina Sterckx, Dora Tchakounte, Julio Ruben Mayora Perna and Jamali Yekta, which made the German Tournament a real pre-Olympic test. The competition took place in three sessions organized in one day.
The President of the German Weightlifting Federation and Member of the IWF Executive Board, Florian Sperl, the President of the French Weightlifting Federation and Member of the IWF Executive Board, Michel Raynaud, local politicians, private partners of the event and many supporters and lovers of our sport took part in the event. 2024 Trophy of the Blue Swords Tournament, hosted by Sport Center “Heiliger Grund” is organized annually with passion and dedication by Athletic Club Meissen, whose chairman is Michael Hennig.
The Trophy of the Blue Swords not only offers a unique experience for athletes from Europe and beyond, but also cash prizes and the prestigious vase trophies from Meissen Porcelain Manufacturer for the first and best ranked weightlifters, for women and men, for the absolute winners of female and male categories and for the best athlete of the competition overall.
Rankings are based on the Sinclair Points system. Moreover, the organizers offer a cash bonus prize for the athlete who exceeds 425.37 Points and a cash prize for all participants.
The event enjoyed an opening and closing ceremony, emphasizing once again the special importance that the German host gives to the event. The patron of weightlifting tournament “Pokal der Blauen Schwerter” is the Mayor of Meissen.
“I congratulate my colleagues and friends from Athletic Club Meissen and the local community led by the mayor of the city for the passion they show for our sport and for a new success recorded this year. Every year, they manage to gather in this city athletes, coaches, and guests from Europe and even from other continents, which greatly increases the prestige of this historic tournament. I saw valuable and very well-prepared athletes at this competition, but personally, it was very nice to have in Meissen Yekta Jamali, the representative of the IOC Refugee Team, who will also participate in the supreme competition in Paris together with Ramiro Mora. This is the biggest achievement of the project I am coordinating at the IWF level. Congratulations to all the athletes and the best of luck at the Olympic Games in Paris! See you next year in Meissen!”, said Florian Sperl at the end of the event.
EWF President Conflitti also addressed a best wishes message to the organizers and participants: “I had the opportunity to participate in this tournament in previous editions and it is impressive how much passion the organizers put into making this tournament possible. I am glad that, among many valuable athletes, a representative of the IOC Refugee Team also took part, which makes this event even better. This is an example of the active implementation of what we do at the level of the IWF Executive Board, where I represent our continent and not only. Congratulations to all and good luck to the qualified athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris!”
2024 Blue Swords_Protocol Group 1
2024 Blue Swords_Protocol Group 2
2024 Blue Swords_Protocol Group 3
