IWF chief hints at impending return of Russian weightlifters to int’l competition

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Mohammed Jalood believes that Russia may be permitted to compete internationally very soon, the press office of the Russian Weightlifting Federation (RWF) announced in a statement to TASS on Wednesday.
The Russian Weightlifting Federation gathered for an election conference on November 10, electing Dmitry Vasilenko as the federation’s new president, replacing the RWF’s previous chief Maxim Agapitov.
“During the World Weightlifting Federation Congress in Bahrain on December 4, IWF President Mohammed Jalood extended his congratulations to Dmitry Vasilenko on his RWF presidential election win and announced that Russian weightlifters could soon return to international competition,” the statement reads.
“A road map on the admission of Russian athletes to the European Weightlifting Championship and the World Championship in 2025 will be drafted on December 5,” the statement added.
The IWF Executive Board decided in May 2023 to clear weightlifters from Russia and Belarus to take part in all international tournaments, with the caveat that they participate as neutrals.
The IWF ruled back then that all athletes seeking neutral status must fill out and submit individual declarations (commitments), in which they must confirm that they currently have no contractual or other links with the armed forces, state security agencies or other structures that provide support for the special military operation in Ukraine.
The Russian Weightlifting Federation rejected the proposed conditions for obtaining neutral status, slamming them as unacceptable. Russian weightlifters were barred from Olympic qualifying events, and did not compete at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.