Author: ewfAdmin

The Georgian Weightlifting Federation has recently been recognized nationally for its outstanding achievements and contributions to the realm of sports in 2023 in Georgia.These accolades underscore the federation’s commitment to excellence and the remarkable talent of its weightlifters.Lasha Talakhadze, a prominent figure in weightlifting, was honored with the title of the best athlete of 2023 by the National Olympic Committee of Georgia. This prestigious recognition is a testament to his extraordinary abilities, devotion, and hard work in the sport.The Association of Sports Journalists of Georgia honored Talakhadze as the best athlete of the last 20 years, a noteworthy distinction that…

On 27 February 2024, the EWF Athlete Commission convened its inaugural meeting, during which David Litvinov (ISR) was elected as the first EWF AC Chairman. At the Congress in Sofia on 17th February 2024, European NFs delegates approved the appointment of 6 members to the Athletes Commission: Anaas Michel-Cozzela (FRA), Despina Polaktsidou (GRE), Jenny Tong (GBR), David Litvinov (ISR), Arturs Plesnieks (LAT), and Sean Kevin Brown (IRL). This development paved the way for Athletes Commission representatives to join and become members of the EWF Executive Board, aligning with the approach previously applied by the IWF.This milestone establishes the EWF as the…

We would like to inform you about THE NEW DATE for the webinar on the new categorization rule, which will be held on the 5th March 2024 at 1:00 PM CET.(The webinar initially scheduled for 20th February has therefore been postponed!)Date: 5th March 2024Time: 1:00 PM CETSAVE THE DATE!This webinar aims to clarify the functioning of the newly implemented categorization rule. It will outline the specific obligations and requirements applicable to the Member Federations as set out in Articles 18.9 and 18.10 of the 2024 IWF Anti-doping Rules. The webinar will be hosted by the International Testing Agency (ITA). While we understand there may be questions regarding the categorization of Member Federations into different groups (A, B, or C), we would like to specify that this session will primarily focus…

By Brian OliverLasha Talakhadze’s long run of European titles came to end in Sofia when he withdrew from the men’s super-heavyweights. Varazdat Lalayan from Armenia is the new champion after winning the final session of the 2024 European Championships on 205-250-455. In the women’s super-heavyweights Emily Campbell overcame another injury scare to win her fourth title for Britain. It was her first competition in 10 months.Giorgi Asanidze, Georgia’s head coach, said, “Lasha has a minor trauma in one of his knees and we made this decision to mitigate the risk as much as possible. “Our objective in Paris qualification. An…

By Brian OliverThe 102kg Olympic rankings tightened up after four men from Armenia and Belarus put on a show at the European Championships in Sofia. Six lifters ranked behind the Chinese leader Liu Huanhua are now separated by only 4kg.Solfrid Koanda from Norway also showed her class in the evening session, the women’s 87kg. She won by 50kg in making career-high numbers to take her third straight European title.In the 102kg, champion Yauheni Tsikhantsou went for the biggest lift in qualifying at this weight, a 225kg clean and jerk. He failed but is confident of success next time.“I have made…

By Brian OliverPoland had its first winner at the 2024 European Championships when Weronika Zielinska made her final attempt to take the women’s 81kg.It was a first senior victory for 26-year-old Zielinska, one of two former track and field athletes on the podium. She competed in heptathlon as a teenager, while the Belgian snatch bronze medallist Ilke Lagrou was a hammer thrower.Neither of the two Americans going head to head for a place at Paris 2024 made any progress in the rankings. Mattie Rogers withdrew because of a quad injury and Tokyo silver medallist Kate Vibert missed five straight attempts…

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…