Historical news for EWF comes from Germany, where the 54th EOC Assembly Session was held in Frankfurt from February 28 to March 1, 2025, with the goal of setting new successful pathways for the continental Olympic organization.
During presentation of the Provisional Sport Program, weightlifting was announced as a priority sport at the Games, along with 18 other sports (Shooting, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Gymnastics, Fencing, Wrestling, Modern Pentathlon, Archery, Swimming/Open Water Swimming, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Volleyball, Judo, Karate, 3X3 Basketball, Canoe Sprint, and Table Tennis), as well as two alternative sports (Coastal Rowing -Beach Sprint and Sailing). The “Yenikapi Eurasia Exhibition and Art Center” on Yenikapi Beach in Fatih, Istanbul, would serve as the sport facility for the weightlifting event.
The EOC, LOC, and EWF will sign the agreement during a meeting on March 18, 2025.
Continental games are multi-sport events held every four years, featuring competitions across various sports disciplines, under the continental Olympic Rings. The inaugural Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from February 25 to March 9, 1951. Weightlifting has been included in the sports program of all editions since its inception.
The Asian Games also commenced in 1951, taking place in New Delhi, India, from March 4 to March 11 of that year. Weightlifting was featured from the very first edition and has remained a consistent presence in all subsequent games, with the exception of the 1962 edition. The Asian Games are regarded as the second-largest multi-sport event globally, following the Olympic Games. The African Games were launched in 1965. However, weightlifting was not included in the program until 1978, during the games held in Algiers, Algeria. Of the 13 editions conducted, weightlifting has been featured in 9. The inaugural Pacific Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji. Since 1966, weightlifting has been part of the games’ program, being included in 16 out of 17 editions. The first European Games were held in 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and it was officially annnounced on 28th March that weightlifting will be included in the program starting in 2027.
Europe was the last continent to integrate weightlifting in its continental games, and the recognition of weightlifting by the Continental Olympic authority, in the continent where the sport started, is an important step for weightlifting in general, according to EWF President Antonio Conflitti. “I cannot describe in words the joy for the fact that we managed to cross this finish line together for our sport to be included in the EOC program for the 2027 European Games. Even though we have not yet signed the contract with the EOC and the Organizing Committee, there is no doubt now that this dream is becoming a reality. There have been intense years of meetings, discussions and numerous attempts to promote our intentions on all levels. Our involvement as EWF Executive, but also the contribution of partners at the level of Member Federations and National Olympic Committees, were very important. Together we succeeded and I thank everyone for their efforts. Weightlifting is now part of the EOC Family!”, declared EWF President Conflitti.
Mohammed Jalood, President of the IWF, also stated on the IWF website that the result of the 54th EOC Assembly Session was excellent, adding that it is a very important step forward for the development and exposure of our Sport in Europe. Weightlifting has been part of other continental games for many years now, and the integration of the European Games programme demonstrates the growing respect and added-value our sport brings to major international events.
The meeting of the European National Olympic Committees began on February 28, 2025, and the European Weightlifting Federation was represented by its President Kt. Antonio Conflitti.
The first working day in the German city was a full agenda one, which included the elections of the new EOC Executive Committee, with the presence of 49 EOC Members and the unanimous reconfirmation of President Spyros Capralos (GRE), for a second four-year term, having successfully led the organisation since 2021. At the top of the organisation, Vice-President Daina Gudzinevičiūtė (LTU) and Treasurer Peter Mennel (AUT) were also confirmed. Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) Secretary General Carlo Mornati was also the sole candidate to replace Raffaele Pagnozzi, who is stepping down after 19 years as EOC Secretary General.
The newly elected EOC Executive Committee is as follows:
- Mihai Covaliu (ROU)
- Liney Rut Halldórsdóttir (ISL)
- Danka Hrbekova (Bartekova) (SVK)
- Victoria Cabezas (ESP)
- Annamarie Phelps (GBR)
- Jean Michel Saive (BEL)
- Franjo Bobinac (SLO)
- Tomas Weikert (GER)
- Emma Terho (FIN)
- Zlatko Matesa (CRO)
- Jose Manuel Araujo (POR)
- Anneke Van Zanen-Nieberg (NED)
Ex-Officio Members:
- Alistair Brownlee (GBR – EOC Athletes’ Commission Chair)
- Gunilla Lindberg (SWE – ANOC Secretary General)
- Hasan Arat (TUR – Istanbul 2027)
The European Olympic Committees (EOC), Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), and Turkish National Olympic Committee (NOC) signed the Host City Contract for the Istanbul 2027 European Games, with all stakeholders, including the Turkish government, committing to holding a world-class event that takes the European Games to the next level.
According to tradition, the Gala Dinner and the awarding ceremony of the XIII Summer Piotr Nurowski “Best European Young Athlete” award took place at the end of the first working day of the 54th General Assembly of the EOC. Hungarian taekwondo athlete Viviana Márton was declared as the winner of the 13th Summer Piotr Nurowski Prize, followed by the following young talented athletes:
2nd Place – Mr Félix Lebrun (FRA) Table Tennis and Ms Manila Esposito (ITA) Artistic Gymnastics
3rd Place – Ms Dominika Banevič (LTU) Breaking
4th Place – Ms Helen Kevric (GER) Artistic Gymnastics
Each of the five finalists of this prestigious prize will win training scholarships to support their development.
During the General Assembly, the EOC Order of Merit award was given to Honorary International Tennis Federation President, former IOC Member and former ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti for his services to the Olympic Movement in Italy, Europe and the world.
IOC President Thomas Bach addressed his final EOC General Assembly in his role, ahead of his mandate ending in June.
Following the EOC Director and Executive Committee elections, and the signing of the Istanbul 2027 European Games Host City Contract on the first day, delegates were given several important reports on the second day, Saturday, 1st of March.
These reports included details on the work of the EOC EU Office, the implementation of the EOC Strategic Agenda 2030 and updates from the future hosts of the European Youth Olympic Festivals (EYOF). In addition to updates on the preparations for the Summer EYOF 2025 in Skopje, and the Winter and Summer 2027 EYOFs in Brașov, Romania, and Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, while Flanders, Belgium, and Liepāja, Latvia was confirmed as the hosts for the summer editions in 2029 and 2031, respectively.
The 54th EOC Assembly Session will be remembered as an important moment in European weightlifting history.
In the past, multiple attempts have been made to secure a place for weightlifting in the European Games, however, the last two years have been particularly crucial in this effort. In February 2023, the EWF President and General Secretary visited the headquarters of the EOC, in Rome, thereby initiating a robust campaign to advocate for the inclusion of weightlifting within the EOC framework. By April of the same year, the EWF received official confirmation that weightlifting would be prominently featured in the central square of the host city of Maribor, Slovenia, during the 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF). Following the grand opening of the EYOF, Maribor hosted an exceptional weightlifting demonstration event on July 25, marking the first occurrence of such an event at a Summer EYOF. It is noteworthy that weightlifting had previously been featured at the winter edition of the 2022 EYOF, held in Italy. In November 2023, a delegation from the EWF visited Skopje, North Macedonia, to discuss the potential inclusion of weightlifting in the 2025 Summer EYOF. Subsequently, on March 15, 2024, EWF leadership, accompanied by Pyrros Dimas, engaged with Spyros Capralos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the European Olympic Committees, in Athens. They deliberated on further steps to incorporate weightlifting into the European Games program, continuing joint lobbying efforts during the work sessions of the 53rd EOC General Assembly, which took place in Bucharest, Romania, on July 6 and 7, 2024, with the first official participation of our Federation, as guest.
Ultimately, the decision to include weightlifting in the program of the European Games was made on February 28, 2025, in Frankfurt, following two years of intensive efforts by the EWF.
President Conflitti had the opportunity in Frankfurt to congratulate President Capralos on his new mandate and to thank him for all the support he has provided, and it was also an opportunity to network with the leaderships of the invited European Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees.
