Author: ewfAdmin
By Brian OliverKarlos Nasar did not disappoint a European Championships sell-out crowd of 3,000 at Arena Sofia. “I love you all, you lifted the weights with me!” he told the noisy Bulgarian fans after winning the European 89kg title for a second time at the age of 19. Nasar broke his own junior world record in snatch and was within sight of his senior world record in clean and jerk with one attempt to come. The crowd roared when the number 224 went up on the board, but Nasar declined the attempt.“I had cramp,” he said. “But what a great…
By Brian OliverEurope’s “weightlifting family” heard about new projects focused on athletes, spectators and competition formats during the EWF Congress in Sofia, where IWF president Mohammed Jalood said there was evidence of “a new culture” in the sport.Hosting arrangements for next year’s senior, junior and youth championships were announced. The senior European Championships will be in Moldova in April, the Youth/U15 event in Poland in August, and the Junior/U23 Championships in Albania in October.Precise dates and details will be announced soon. EWF President Antonio Conflitti and IWF President Mohammed Jalood both spoke optimistically about the future. IWF General Secretary Antonio…
By Brian OliverLoredana Toma from Romania won her sixth European title despite missing her last two attempts in the women’s 71kg at the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.The American Olivia Reeves, lifting as a guest and unable to win medals, made 14kg more than Toma. After three straight six-from-six performances Reeves missed three attempts and was 7kg down on her best total in Olympic qualifying.Siuzanna Valodzka had a chance to overtake Toma on her final attempt at 137kg but barely got the bar above her knees. Toma and Valodzka, the individual neutral athlete from Belarus, were both well down on…
By Brian OliverThe Bulgarian Bozhidar Andreev had a large home crowd on their feet as he broke the continental clean and jerk record on his way to victory in an exciting men’s 73kg at the European Championships in Sofia.Andreev earned a huge cheer when he broke the record on 193kg with his final attempt, and the crowd roared again when he performed his trademark celebratory somersault. After missing his first snatch, Andreev made five good lifts for a sweep of golds on 155-193-348.That left him 12kg clear of Furkan Ozbek from Turkey, with last year’s winner Ritvars Suharevs from Latvia…
By Brian OliverKamila Konotop from Ukraine won her third senior continental title in a dramatic women’s 59kg contest at the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. The drama did not involve Konotop, who finished 15kg clear, but featured a cast of seven lifters aiming to make ground in the Olympic rankings This was a crucial day for those hoping to go to Paris 2024. While Konotop is assured of finishing near the top of the rankings, there is a desperately close contest further down.Athletes who started the day in 10th, 11th, 12th , 13th and 15th place all failed to make…
By Brian OliverHost nation Bulgaria had four men on the podium in two contests, an Armenian teenager claimed the women’s 55kg, and American Hampton Morris made a big gain in the Olympic rankings on the second day of the European Championships in Sofia.Morris moved up from 10th place to seventh after outperforming all the Europeans in the 61kg session. Team USA cannot win medals here but their totals count in the Paris 2024 rankings.They were given permission to compete in Bulgaria rather than the Pan American Championships later this month in Venezuela, a country with which USA has no diplomatic…
By Brian OliverMihaela Cambei returned to the platform an hour after winning the first medal event of the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, to receive the award as EWF top female lifter of 2023. Lasha Talakhadze was the men’s winner.“Thankyou!” Cambei said. “Come on people, let’s go to Paris!”The Romanian set a senior European record on her way to victory at 49kg, and is the continent’s highest-placed athlete in the rankings for Paris 2024. Cambei is fifth on 199kg, only 1kg behind three athletes on 200kg, and the Chinese leader Jiang Huihua on 216kg.That carried on the good work of…
By Brian OliverMihaela Cambei wore her national colours with pride once more as she won her second senior continental title on the opening day of the 2024 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Cambei broke her own 49kg European record in total as she made five good lifts for 90-109-199. That was 1kg more than her best in Olympic qualifying and leaves her in a strong position in fifth place, only 1kg behind three of the four above her.She has now won three European titles taped up in the colours of Romania’s flag, blue, yellow and red. It has helped her…
The President of the European Weightlifting Federation, Antonio Conflitti recently conducted an important visit to the France Weightlifting Federation (FWF) offices, showcasing his continued efforts to learn about NF activities and to update them on the EWF ongoing work.This visit not only provided an opportunity to discuss weightlifting in France and Europe, but it also focused on weightlifters’ preparation and participation in the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.During the visit, the EWF President got the opportunity to meet the President of the FWF, Michel RAYNAUD, and his team. The agenda for the day included detailed discussions about the FWF’s present…
The EWF EB informs you of the recent developments in forming the Temporary EWF Athletes Commission under the new EWF Constitution in force. The Working Group for the Selection of candidates is composed of Mr. Caruana Jesmond (Chair), Mr. Shai Oren (Legal Adviser), Mr. Osei Forrester (IWF AC Chair), Dr Mihajlovic Milan (EWF General Secretary), Kt. Conflitti Antonio (EWF President), successfully established a process for EWF Member Federations to nominate athletes for this commission and present the proposal to the EWF EB and the EWF Congress.The EWF has received a total of seven applications. Each applicant has gone through a…