(ATR) The organizers of this week's international weightlifting tournaments in Cali hope to successfully meet the challenges of the current crisis in Colombia.
The stage is set in Cali.Monday was dedicated to technical meetings of the South American and Ibero-American Championships and the Qualifying Open for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The competitions begin tomorrow.
"There will be no inauguration ceremony due to the biosafety protocols," a source from the Organizing Committee told Around the Rings.
The Valle del Cauca department, of which Cali is the capital, is fourth on the list of the most infections in Colombia. The country has been heavily hit by the coronavirus with more than three million cases and about 78,000 deaths.
To a long list of COVID-19 countermeasures, the organizers led by the representatives of the Colombian Federation of Weightlifting have had to add at the last moment security measures in the face of the wave of protests and violence for more than 10 days throughout Colombia and in particular in Cali.
This Monday at dawn precisely the president of the republic Iván Duque traveled to Cali to preside over a security council to deal with road blockades and other protests that have been going on for 13 days as part of a national strike.
The source within the Organizing Committee assured that "there is tranquility" in the environment of the athletes who "are concentrated" on their day of competition.
The delegations are housed in five hotels, all near the El Pueblo Coliseum, the main venue for the competitions, and the other venue exclusively dedicated to training.
Several of the weightlifters arrive in Cali after competing in recent weeks and for the first time in person at the European (Moscow), Asian (Tashkent) and Pan-American (Santo Domingo) Championships organized successfully, with level marks and without Covid-19 cases that received praise from the International Federation.
William Peña, president of the Colombian Weightlifting Federation, told ATR that the continental event in the Dominican Republic served as a learning experience to improve the organizational design on this occasion. The event will be held in the bubble mode, following the health guidelines required by local authorities.
There will be no spectators in the auditorium and at most only about 50 people will be allowed in, including athletes, coaches, judging and awards committee.
Weightlifters from 21 countries will compete in these three tournaments: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Spain, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sweden, Venezuela and Colombia.
The Open tournament will confirm the latest Olympic rankings directly among seniors.
The Pan American Federation (FPLP), which endorses these events, and IWF are closely monitoring the state of preparations for the contests in Cali. according to the source.
Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez
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