IWF: Mexico and Peru Lead Online World Cup

(ATR) The only World Cup sponsored by the International Weightlifting Federation in 2020 was online and has just concluded.

After eight days and organized by the Peruvian Federation of Weightlifting with the support of the National Sports Institute, Mexico led the classification by points for both men and women.

The point system is the one established by the IWF to determine the winners of the event.

Peru, with a delegation of numerous athletes making their international debut, starred in a brilliant job by leading the medal table with eight gold, three silver and three bronze. Mexico was second with seven gold, three silver and 10 bronze.

The gold medal that marked the difference with Mexico was achieved by Peruvians on the final day thanks to Estrella Belen Saldarriaga with her three first places in the 81 kg.

More than 400 weightlifters between the ages of 13 and 17 from more than 60 countries on the five continents competed at a distance, many of them from the confinement of their homes or from modest gyms in their countries, as seen in the broadcasts on the IWF's YouTube channel.

The first six countries by points in the women's competition were Mexico with 620 followed by Poland 594, Peru 555, Colombia 478, Taipei 462, USA 365. For the men, it was Mexico 579, Taipei 553, Poland, 550, Ukraine 443, Peru 430, Colombia 365.

The Kazakh Aisamal Sansybayeva was proclaimed Best Athlete for her world-class records in snatch, clean and jerk and total in + 81 kg while the Indonesian Rizki Juniansyah of the 73 kg received the distinction of Best Athlete among men.

The president of the Mexican Olympic Committee and first vice president of Panam Sports, Carlos Padilla Becerra congratulated the members of the youth delegation of his country for their triumph, in a video sent to the Organizing Committee.

Padilla also praised the development of these online competitions, originally promoted from the Pan-American area, which have managed to motivate young weightlifters in the midst of the impact they have suffered in their physical and mental preparation by the pandemic

The president of the Organizing Committee of the Virtual World Cup, the Peruvian Iván Dibós, honorary member of the IOC, and the secretary of the IWF, Mohammed Jalood, gave the closing remarks.

This online world contest, inaugurated on November 11, replaced the face-to-face competition that should have been held around the same time in Lima, canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several coaches consulted by Around the Rings considered that together with face-to-face competitions, this online format of tournaments and knowledge exchange seminars will remain in sporting activities in the post-pandemic world.

Starting on November 20 and for eight days, a new online offer will become a reality with the Junior Pan American Cup organized by the Colombian Weightlifting Federation.

General Table of Medals (according to the site of the Pan American Federation, www.panampesas.org):

Peru 8-3-3; Mexico 7-3-10; Kazakhstan 7-3-4; Uzbekistan 7-3-2; Indonesia 5-1-0; Philippines 4-3-1; Czech Republic 4-1-1; Russia 3-2-1; Ecuador 3-1-0; Bulgaria 3-0-2; Poland 2-7-6; Colombia 2-6-6; Turkey 2-5-1; United States 1-6-2; Azerbaijan 1-4-0; Ukraine 1-1-6; Taipei 0-5-1;Latvia 0-3-0; Romania 0-2-1; ; Malta 0-1-1; Nauru 0-0-3; Austria 0-0-3; Saudi Arabia 0-0-1; Cuba 0-0-1; Moldova 0-0-1; Canada 0-0-1, Venezuela 0-0-1.

Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez

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