Olympic Weightlifting Federation Faces IOC Pressure

(ATR) The IOC sends a letter around the globe to clearly state the issues facing the International Weightlifting Federation and the perils of disregarding the advice from Lausanne.

The Feb. 24 letter from IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper to IWF president Michael Irani and secretary general Mohammed Jaloub calls out the federation for "ignoring" a long list of concerns ranging from anti-doping failures to criminal investigations to governance.

IOC President Thomas Bach this week expressed grave concerns about the IWF during a press conference following a meeting of the IOC Executive Board.

The IWF executive will meet this weekend to consider a response.

The IWF has been in a tailspin ever since a TV documentary last year by German network ARD. It revealed a federation financed by cash payments overseen by then president Tamas Ajan and riven with corruption in its anti-doping program. A subsequent report by an independent investigation team led by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren found numerous ethical and financial breaches. Some of the evidence gathered is in the hands of investigators from the World Anti-Doping Agency and criminal investigators in Hungary, where the IWF is headquartered.

The IOC demands in the letter from De Kepper are not new. All have been on the record since the IOC first weighed-in on the controversy. But emphasis on upcoming meetings of the IWF clearly is putting pressure on the federation to make a change in course.

The IOC objects to the federation plans to hold elections to elect new officers March 26 to 27 in Istanbul, followed one month later by another meeting to adopt a new constitution. The IOC wants the sequence reversed so that new officers are elected under a constitution that requires directly elected athlete members of the IWF leadership.

One course of action for the IWF would be to drop plans for the elections next month, but proceed with the adoption of a new constitution. Elections would be postponed to later in the year.

The IOC also expresses dismay over the size of field of 11 candidates for IWF president, most of them affiliated with the past culture of leadership the IOC wants eliminated. An electoral commission had been named to cull the field prior to the vote. If deferred, the election of new officers would be reset to follow the rules in the new constitution.

"Based on these considerations, the IOC Executive Board recognised that there have been no significant changes to the culture and leadership of the IWF and no reason to reduce the strong concerns of the Board," writes De Kepper.

"If the above-mentioned concerns are not addressed in a satisfactory and timely way, the IOC Executive Board confirmed it will have to review the place of weightlifting on the programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and future Olympic Games."

De Kepper says cuts in the number of credentials for IWF officials in Tokyo could be at stake as well.

And he tells the IWF leaders that the letter is not a private communiqué.

"To underline these strong concerns this correspondence will also be distributed to all National Olympic Committees and all IWF National Federations," he advises.

Reported by Ed Hula.