Confirmation of North Korea’s presence in the Paris 2024 qualifying
programme was described as "the worst thing that has happened in
weightlifting for 20 or 30 years" by one of the sport’s most
renowned coaches.
Thursday, 18 February 2021
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has done a U-turn on its anti-doping rules after criticism from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
It has also accepted independent advice about the vetting of candidates for next month’s elections, which will be carried out by a panel comprising experts with no links to anybody at the IWF.
Less than four weeks ago Mike Irani, the IWF’s Interim President, said the controversial new anti-doping rules - which effectively made multiple violations less of a problem for offending nations - were a stronger, fairer and more enforceable set of rules than at any point in the IWF’s history .
IWF Executive Board Meets, Makes Key Anti-Doping And Governance Decisions 02/18/21
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Executive Board (EB) today agreed key decisions to restore stronger Anti-Doping Rules and ensure eligibility checks of the candidates for the forthcoming IWF elections are carried out to a high standard.
“Today’s decisions reflect a clear determination to safeguard the progress made by the IWF in recent years to protect clean weightlifters and promote clean weightlifting,” said IWF Interim President Dr Michael Irani. “For the first time ever, the IWF is also carrying out comprehensive eligibility verification of candidates for our elections against clearly-defined criteria.”