We come to the end of a very successful year for the weightlifting family. 2024 provided many outstanding opportunities to show the vitality of our beloved Sport, the devotion of our athletes, and the prestige of our competitions around the world. The corollary of these memorable 12 months was the great celebration of weightlifting at the Paris Olympic Games, a privileged occasion to showcase the value of our Sport in the Olympic programme.
After a qualification period where our lifters fought for the 120 available places for the Games, the event in the French capital was spectacular: breathtaking performances, new countries getting medals, a packed venue with thousands of enthusiast spectators cheering for their idols, a great exposure through TV and digital platforms worldwide, and a 100% fair and clean competition, with no positive cases before and during the Games.
In general, the Games were a remarkable success and weightlifting was part of this achievement. We are proud of this outcome and I obviously take this opportunity to warmly thank our National Federations, and respective athletes, coaches, and officials.
The IWF events were also of paramount importance for the prestige of our Sport. From the Youth World Championships, where for the first time a double platform was used, to the significant success of the Junior showcase and the amazing experience provided by the IWF World Championships some weeks ago in Manama, the vibrant capital of Bahrain, everything was put in place to ensure optimal conditions for all participants and to guarantee the maximum possible promotion of these events in the five continents.
With a renovated energy and motivation, we can now envisage a great 2025!
Despite being a post-Olympic year, we will not rest on our laurels. We will continue setting up great competitions for our athletes, we will proceed with our merciless fight for a clean sport (in co-operation with the International Testing Agency), we will reinforce our Development Programme for the benefit of our continental and national federations, we will remain fully determined in guaranteeing good governance, inclusivity, and sustainability in everything we do, we will strengthen our commercial opportunities and we will increase our institutional partnerships with the major stakeholders in the international sports environment.
2025 is also an electoral year for the IWF. Our National Federations, in a democratic and transparent way, will decide on a new Executive Board for the next four years. I am sure their verdict will reinforce the path of success our International Federation is pursuing in recent years.
These achievements and the perspective of future successes can only be achieved in a spirit of unity and solidarity. Despite national and even personal differences, I am happy and proud to say that the weightlifting family is a very united one. We walk together with one common and consensual vision: to make weightlifting a more credible, important, and respected sport on a global scale!
We are on the right track but must continue working hard. The competition is fierce, and the political, social, and economic challenges around us are enormous. But we are strong and resilient people, who know to overcome adversity.
Let’s keep this same spirit in 2025 and write one more brilliant page in the rich and prestigious history of the IWF.
I thank you for your continuous support and hard work and I wish you a healthy, successful, peaceful, and prosperous New Year of 2025!
Mohammed Jalood
IWF President
