The controversy over North Korea’s late arrival into the Paris 2024
qualifying system has taken another turn because its team of champions
and world record holders has not turned up here for the International
Weightlifting Federation Grand Prix.
Wonderful weightlifters have surely won over the IOC - but politics may ruin it insidethegames.biz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insidethegames.biz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Athletes at the African Weightlifting Championships in Nairobi, Kenya
say the organisation and training conditions are the worst they have
seen and that the event has been "shameful" for the sport.
Tuesday, 16 March 2021
The African Weightlifting Championships have been postponed again less than three weeks before they were due to start, adding further confusion to the qualifying programme for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Madagascar will still be the host nation but the Championships will now take place during May - probably in the week between 15 to 22 - rather than April 2 to 7 as planned.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is faced with a further challenge as it attempts to adapt the qualifying system to make it fair for all athletes.
Most weightlifters around the world, of whom about 900 feature in the Olympic rankings, will be able to add crucial qualifying points at their Continental Championships, but some cannot compete.
Tokyo 2020 weightlifting qualifying disrupted again as African Championships off insidethegames.biz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insidethegames.biz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.