International Olympic Committee : News

Weightlifting sees records tumble - London 2012 - Weightlifting

8/9/2012 3:03:00 PM

Men's Super Heavyweight Behdad Salimikordasiabi, from Iran, claimed the final gold of 15 medals awarded at ExCeL over 11 days.

The positive reception given to Weightlifting by the crowd, as well as the smooth management and execution of the events, has left an impression on the sport's controlling body.

The International Weightlifting Federation said in a statement: 'We are entirely happy and satisfied with these Olympic Games at all levels and in all respects.

'The organisation overall, in particular within ExCeL and Weightlifting, was really impeccable. The technical facilities, everything was to perfection.'

Salimikordasiabi's triumph in the men's +105kg confirmed his status as 'the strongest lifter in the world' as he added the Olympic Games crown to his reigning world and Asian titles.

In the heaviest women's category, the +75kg, China's Zhou Lulu took gold in a dramatic tussle with Russia's Tatiana Kashirina that saw almost all the relevant Olympic and world records smashed.

DPR Korea's Om Yun Chol, competing in the men's 56kg, became the first person to claim gold from the B group and only the fifth man in history to lift triple his own body weight, while Ilya Ilyin (men's 94kg) was the only lifter at London 2012 able to retain his Olympic title.

It proved to be one of four golds for Kazakhstan, who, along with DPR Korea (three) challenged China's dominance as the leading Weightlifting superpower.

China's tally of five golds did not match the eight they managed at Beijing 2008, but their women shone across a range of weight categories, alongside some memorable victories for other nations.

Poland's Adrian Edward Zielinski claimed the narrowest of victories at the Games after he emerged triumphant ahead of Russia's Apti Aukhadov in the men's 85kg by the virtue of just 130g in bodyweight after both tied on a total of 385kg.

And it became evident afterwards by comparing the pair's food intake that gold and silver may have been separated by as little as a chocolate bar ahead of the pre-competition weigh-in.

Rim boosts DPR Korea gold haul - London 2012 - Weightlifting

8/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

She triumphed after a nailbiting competition to take DPR Korea's Weightlifting gold medal count to three at the 2012 Olympic Games and continue the nation's remarkable surprise performance.

Rim's gold was confirmed on the penultimate lift while bodyweight alone separated second, third and fourth place.

Roxana Daniela Cocos of Romania claimed silver, with Maryna Shkermankova of Belarus taking bronze ahead of unfortunate compatriot Dzina Sazanavets after all three tied on 256kg.

The weight category was wide open after Russia's gold medal favourite Oksana Slivenko, world and European champion, was forced to withdraw last week due to injury.

Golden day for Maneza - London 2012 - Weightlifting

7/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

All the talk going into the competition was of a duel between Maneza and Russia's Svetlana Tsarukaeva, with the two lifters going head-to-head for the previous three world championships.

Tsarukaeva led at the interval after a snatch of 112kg compared to Maneza's 110kg, but the Russian's clean and jerk predictably let her down and 125kg (total 237kg) was only enough for silver.

Maneza clinched gold with her first clean and jerk attempt at 135kg - equalling the Olympic record - before she set about trying to take her own world record of 143kg.

Two failed lifts at 144kg meant it was not to be, but a 245kg total was enough for another Olympic record.

Canada's Christine Girard (236kg) edged bronze ahead of Turkey's Sibel Simsek, making up for her agonising fourth place at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Lin lifts his way to title - London 2012 - Weightlifting

7/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

China dominated proceedings on home soil four years ago, winning eight of the 15 golds on offer at Beijing 2008.

But their position has been firmly challenged at London 2012, with China, DPR Korea and Kazakhstan each taking two golds from the first six on offer at ExCeL while the men's team were yet to stand on top of the winners' podium before today.

But all that changed after Lin comprehensively took the field apart with a total of 344kg, with silver going to Indonesia's Triyatno (333kg) and Romania's 20-year-old Razvan Constantin Martin clinching bronze (332kg).

Records fall as Chinshanlo takes gold - London 2012 - Weightlifting

7/30/2012 12:00:00 AM

Chinshanlo lifted 131kg in the clean and jerk - a new Olympic and world best - to set a total 226kg - another Olympic record.

The reigning world champion, who turned 19 this week, had earlier produced a snatch of 95kg.

Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe, was watching and said afterwards: 'You don't see world records every week. It was a fantastic piece of sport.'

Hsu Shu-Ching, from Chinese Taipei, edged silver ahead of Republic of Moldova's Cristina Iovu by the slimmest of margins.

Having tied with a total of 219kg, Hsu's marginally lighter bodyweight saw her push Iovu into the bronze-medal position.

In the morning's 53kg Group B, Vietnam's Thi Thuy Nguyen edged Yu Weili, from Hong Kong, also by the virtue of a lighter bodyweight after they both tied on a total of 195kg.

They sealed eighth and ninth place respectively following the Group A competition.

Chinshanlo was congratulated by Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev at the ExCeL after being presented with the gold medal.

'He came and said congratulations, but I won't tell you how much money he will give me. I am afraid I will be robbed,' laughed Chinshanlo.

Hsu was also overjoyed to be heading home with a silver medal. She said: 'I am so happy I don't have the words to describe it.'

Third-placed Iovu claimed Moldova's first-ever Weightlifting medal.

'I am very, very happy, I couldn't be happier,' she said. 'Of course it would have been brilliant to come second but it was difficult and the weights were heavy.'

Records tumble as Kim takes gold - London 2012 - Weightlifting

7/30/2012 12:00:00 AM

The pre-competition build-up was dominated by talk of a duel between Kim and Chinese rival Zhang Jie, with the duo sparring for world titles over the last two years.

But Zhang was pushed into fourth place as in-form Oscar Albeiro Figueroa Mosquera, from Columbia, took silver ahead of Indonesia's Irawan Eko Yuli on a lighter bodyweight after tying with their final totals.

Kim followed up a snatch of 153kg, which broke the Olympic record and equalled the world best, with a clean and jerk of 174kg, providing him with a stunning personal best total of 327, which also eclipsed both records.

The Olympic record for clean and jerk also fell at ExCeL as Figueroa Mosquera lifted 177kg to help rack up a total of 317kg, level with Eko Yuli, who had to settle for bronze again after doing so four years ago.

Fourth-placed Zhang also saw his total world record sent crashing by rival Kim.

New Olympic record for Om - London 2012 - Weightlifting

7/29/2012 4:30:00 PM

Competing in the B group, DPR Korea's Om - only the fifth man in history to lift triple his own body weight - is now firmly in contention for a medal. He raised 168kg - one kg more than triple gold medallist Halil Mutlu did to win the 2000 Games in Sydney and equalled the Turkish lifter's attempt at the European Championships of 2001. Om had followed up a best snatch attempt of 125kg, providing him with a total of 293kg. His nearest rival was Indonesia's Jadi Setiadi (277kg).

Medals up for grabs in seven sports this week-end at London 2012

7/27/2012 10:54:00 AM

Athletes will be chasing gold in archery, cycling, fencing, judo, shooting, swimming and weightlifting on Saturday, with a total of 12 Olympic titles up for grabs.

The men’s team archery competition will take place at Lord’s Cricket Ground, with Korea’s Im Dong Hyun aiming to become the first archer to win three gold medals in the event, following his successes at the 2004 and 2008 Games.

Kim Bubmin and Oh Jin Hyek will join him in the Korean team, but they will face stiff competition from the USA, whose team features individual men's No.1 Brady Ellison, Jake Kaminski and Jacob Wukie.

In cycling, the men’s road race will see competitors tackle a 250km out-and-back course that is the longest in Olympic history and features nine laps of a 15.5km section, the highlight being the short but steep Box Hill climb. Up to one million spectators are expected to line the route, which will start and finish on The Mall in central London.

Reigning world champion Mark Cavendish from Great Britain and Germany’s Andre Greipel will be among the top sprinters while attackers such as the Belgian Philippe Gilbert and Peter Sagan of Slovakia will be hunting for a breakaway.

In the ExCeL centre, which is hosting the fencing competition, Italy’s Valentina Vezzali will be chasing a record fourth consecutive individual Olympic gold medal in the women’s foil. With three individual and two team Olympic gold medals, as well as six individual and seven team world titles, Vezzali is already the most successful single-weapon fencer in history and will also be trying to become the first woman to win four consecutive individual gold medals in any sport at the Olympic Games.

The judo events also get underway on Saturday at ExCeL, with medals up for grabs in the men’s -60kg and women’s -48kg events. Uzbekistan’s world no.1 Rishod Sobirov will be aiming to add an Olympic gold medal to his men's -60kg world title and the bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008, while Romania’s Alina Dumitru will be hoping to defend her women’s -48kg title, after winning gold four years ago.

The Excel centre will also play host to the weightlifting events during London 2012, with the women’s 48kg gold medal due to be contested on Saturday. China’s four-time world champion Wang Mingjuan will be among the favourites to strike gold.

Saturday will also see the Olympic medals awarded in both the women’s 10m air rifle and men’s 10m air pistol events, which will take place at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

Defending champion Katerina Emmons from the Czech Republic could become the first athlete to win consecutive gold medals in women's 10m air rifle, but she will have to beat Olympic debutant Yi Siling of China, who is the world-ranking leader and 2010 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) world champion.

In the pool, fans will be treated to four finals on the opening night, with the USA’s Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps set to go head-to-head in the men’s 400m individual medley, and medals also up for grabs in the men’s 400m freestyle, the women’s 400m individual medley and the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

Singapore 2010 adopts new sport formats

8/12/2010 3:39:00 PM

The first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore will feature all 26 sports currently on the programme of the London 2012 Olympic Games. What will differ in some cases are the disciplines and format, such as 3 on 3 street basketball, a mixed gender relay in the swimming pool, a medley relay on the track or events in which athletes from different National Olympic Committees compete on the same team. Read on to see what your favourite sports will consist of in Singapore...

Aquatics (diving and swimming)

Aquatics comprises diving and swimming. There will be two diving events for both men and women, 3m springboard and 10m platform. Swimming events include freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and medley, both individual and relay. As a first, a mixed gender event for 4 x 100m freestyle relay and 4 x 100m medley relay is included.

Archery

Archery will feature individual men, women and mixed team competitions. The distance that athletes will be shooting is 70m.

Athletics

Athletics comprises a total 36 events for both men and women. The track events will include 1000m and 3000m races as well as a 2000m steeplechase and a medley relay. There will be eight field events (four jumps and four throws).

Badminton

Badminton will feature men’s and women’s singles events in Singapore.

Basketball

Basketball 3 on 3 will be played at the YOG. There will be two teams of three players on court at any one time. This fast-paced game is played on a half court, with one basketball hoop. It includes two periods of five minutes each. The winner is the first team to score 33 points, or the team that is leading the game at the end of the fifteen minutes of play.

Boxing

Boxing will feature men’s events. There will be 11 different weight categories, ranging from 48kg to the 91kg+ division.

Canoe-Kayak

Canoe-Kayak will feature four events for men and two for women. Both will race
in head-to-head sprints and obstacle slaloms in the kayak category. The men will also compete in the same events in canoes.

Cycling

The Cycling competition will involve teams. Each team consists of three men and one woman. The three men are required to compete in one discipline each (BMX, MTB and Time Trial), while the woman has to compete in all three disciplines. All male riders also have to compete in the Road Race.

Equestrian

In Equestrian, only the jumping events will take place (team and individual). The Organising Committee will provide the horses, which will be assigned to riders by draw. For the team event, there will be six teams representing each FEI regional zone.

Fencing

Fencing will feature individual competitions in the foil, epée and sabre for men and women, and a mixed team competition.

Football

Football will consist of a six-team competition, representing all continents, for both men and women.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is split into artistic and rhythmic, as in the Olympic Games. The artistic competition will feature eight individual men’s events and six individual women’s events. The rhythmic competition consists of two events – individual and team – for women.

Handball

Handball is a six-team tournament, representing all continents, for men and for women.

Hockey

Hockey is the same as football and handball – a six-team competition, representing all continents for both men and women.

Judo

There are a total of eight weight categories for both men and women in the Judo competition. There is also a mixed team event.

Modern Pentathlon

The Modern Pentathlon competition consists of four of the five modern pentathlon disciplines: fencing, swimming, running and shooting. The fifth discipline, riding, will not be competed at Singapore 2010. The run-shoot format will be competed. In the Combined event, laser shooting is being used for the first time.

Rowing

Both the men and women will compete in two events in Rowing – single sculls and pairs.

Sailing

The Sailing competition comprises four events, with men and women sailing in either the one person dinghy or the windsurfing.

Shooting

In Shooting, the men and women will compete in both air rifle and air pistol.

Table Tennis

Table tennis will consist of men’s singles, women’s singles and a mixed team competition.

Taekwondo

Taekwondo will see athletes competing in five weight categories per gender.

Tennis

There will be both men’s singles and doubles and women’s singles and doubles in the Tennis tournament.

Triathlon

The Triathlon competition format for individual competitions includes a 750m swim in open water, a 20km cycle ride and a 5km run. The 4 x mixed team relay competition includes a 250m swim in open water, a 7km cycle ride and a 1.7km run.

Volleyball

Volleyball is a six-team men’s and women’s competition.

Weightlifting

Weightlifting sees men competing in six weight categories, while women will compete in five weight categories. The combined results of the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk will produce the champion of each weight category.

Wrestling

The Wrestling competition will see men compete in Greco-Roman (five weight categories) and freestyle (five weight categories) and women in freestyle (four weight categories).