Thursday, 22 April 2021
Kianoush Rostami won an Asian Championships gold medal but he could not have looked unhappier on the platform and the podium in Tashkent.
Rostami, one of the world’s most popular weightlifters who has won gold and silver at the past two Olympic Games, is clearly still seething about his failure to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
The 29-year-old Iranian has the third highest total at 96kg in Olympic qualifying but sits 32
nd in the rankings because he scored zero points in the second phase.
For that he blamed a mix-up by officials at the 2019 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships and his own federation for an administrative delay in entering him for a qualifier in Switzerland 18 months ago.
Sunday, 18 April 2021
The women s 64 kilograms contest at the Pan American Weightlifting Championships, which start in the Dominican Republic tomorrow, highlights the improved performance of the United States and Canada throughout Olympic qualifying.
It also emphasises that the biggest losers at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are likely to be Colombia.
When qualifying was team-based for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the US sent a team of four and Canada two, while Colombia had nine, the second largest contingent behind China.
This time around the US is hoping for a maximum eight, while Canada is looking solid for four places according to Craig Walker, President of the Canadian Weightlifting Federation - and maybe more.
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
North Korea’s decision not to compete at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will have a bigger effect in weightlifting than in any other sport, judged by past performance and the current qualifying rankings.
Weightlifting is by some distance North Korea’s strongest sport at the Olympic Games.
In the past three Games in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro, North Korean weightlifters have won five gold medals, four silvers and a bronze - one of the best records in the world.
In the current Olympic rankings North Korea features prominently in six of women’s categories and three men’s.
Weightlifting has lost one of its most important Olympic qualifying events because of yet another coronavirus-related postponement.
It means the sport’s governing body, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will ask for a further extension to Olympic qualifying, which is due to end on April 30.
Approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would appear to be a formality as qualifying in some other sports - most notably athletics - runs until late June.
The IWF Junior World Championships is a gold event that offers maximum Tokyo 2020 ranking points.
It was to have been hosted by Saudi Arabia from March 10 to 17 but has been put back to May because of the pandemic, with precise dates yet to be fixed.