China Dominates Weightlifting Championships -- Federation Focus

(ATR) The 2018 Weightlifting World Championships are currently being held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The competition began on November 1 and will end this Saturday, November 10.

At last check on Wednesday, China was the runaway leader in the medal count with 42, with Thailand a distant second on 15. China is one of nine countries that missed out on last year’s World Championships in Anaheim, California due to a year-long ban for repeated doping infractions.

Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine are also back in the fold. But none of these countries has managed more than Kazakhstan’s six medals to this point. Russia has only two medals, though both are gold.

In Ashgabat on Tuesday, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) signed a partnership agreement with the International Testing Agency. The ITA will take responsibility for key areas of the IWF’s anti-doping program. It is the latest anti-doping change by the federation in its ongoing effort to show the IOC that it has done enough to warrant being removed from the provisional banned list for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Sailing Adds Paris Mixed Event

A mixed two person keelboat competition is now on program for sailing at the Paris Olympics. The new offshore event was approved by the World Sailing at the annual meeting for the federation Nov. 4 in Sarasota, Florida.

A representative from Paris 2024 presented a report to the conference on preparations of the venue for sailing on the Mediterranean Sea offshore from Marseille.

In his report World Sailing President Kim Andersen expressed disappointment over the failure to win approval for Paralympic sailing in 2024. He says the Federation will continue to pursue the addition of sailing to the Paralympic program.

In his report, CEO Andy Hunt detailed progress that has been made with the strategic plan for the federation.

Reports were also presented by events director Alastair Fox covering the sailing test event two months ago in Tokyo, as well as the Youth Olympic Games in October. The YOG sailing produced first-time podium finishes for Philippines and Dominican Republic.

The 2018 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark were called a success, especially with a record amount of broadcast coverage.

The 2020 federation conference will be held in Abu Dhabi.

Olympic Implications for World Karate Championships

The 24th World Karate Championships are taking place in Madrid through November 11.

About 1,200 karatekas from 139 countries will be competing in the event, which began on Tuesday. This year’s championships will also provide the highest number of points for athletes to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games, the first to include karate.

On the eve of the championships, the World Karate Federation held its congress in Madrid. In his report to the WKF Congress, federation president Antonio Espinos said "Today, we are in the best possible conditions to make our Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020."

"We have concluded the first participation in the Youth Olympic Games with great success. We showed the universality and sporting spirit of Karate; our first Olympic medalists are a milestone for our sport and they are already part of our history," added Espinós.

ITTF Opens Bidding for 2020 World Tour

The International Table Tennis Federation is now accepting bids from National Associations to host a tournament during the 2020 ITTF World Tour.

The ITTF says doing so would provide "unprecedented commercial value, immense TV and social media exposure, higher prize money and a first-rate professional sports experience" for the successful bidders.

The deadline is December 7, 2018. Click here to submit a bid.

Written by Gerard Farekand Ed Hula

For general comments or questions,click here.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.