Pattaya, Thailand, September 17, 2019: The International Weightlifting Federation Congress took place in Pattaya on Tuesday – the day before the start of the IWF World Championships, which will run from September 18-27.
The agenda included updates from each of the IWF Committees and Commissions as well as progress reports on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and upcoming IWF World Championships at Senior, Junior and Youth level. 100 member federations attended the Congress.
IWF President Tamas Ajan said: “It’s always a great honour to host the IWF Congress and welcome our colleagues from around the world. It is during our Congress and World Championships that you can get a sense of what a global and widely-loved sport weightlifting truly is.
“The last few years have seen significant enhancements across many areas of weightlifting, particularly in the strengthening of our anti-doping programme, which has been recognised by WADA and the IOC. But we know there is always room for improvement.”
The Women’s Commission informed the Congress of the progress that has been made in promoting gender equality but outlined that further steps were required to increase female representation in executive positions. Special praise was reserved for the member federation of Iran which has sent female athletes to this year’s World Championships for the first time.
The IWF Congress followed a two-day meeting of the IWF Executive Board on September 15-16, when the EB selected Chongqing, China as the host of the 2022 IWF World Championships. The President of the Chinese Weightlifting Association, Zhou Jinqiang, presented the city’s bid to the EB which will see China host the World Championships for the first time since 1995.
The IWF President said: “We are delighted to announce Chongqing as the host of the 2022 IWF World Championships. We are sure that they will host a world-class event that will showcase the new era for weightlifting in China.”