Meeting with IWF President Tamas Ajan

On 23 March Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Tamas Ajan.

Belarus has good traditions in weightlifting, there are many renowned athletes. There are Olympic, world and European champions. Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the country is doing its best to popularize sport, including weightlifting. These efforts have borne fruit. According to the head of state, there are many promising young athletes, sports facilities for all Olympic sports, including weightlifting, in Belarus.

The participants of the meeting discussed the possibility to organize large international competitions in Belarus, The country has already hosted top-level sports events, the efforts of Belarus were praised by the IWF. “If you can and want to continue it, I mean the organization of high-profile competitions in Belarus, we will do our best to be a good host,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “Today we have everything: a vast network of hotels and sports venues for weightlifting competitions,” the head of state added.

Tamas Ajan informed the President of the Republic of Belarus on the possibility of hosting the championship in 2019. This tournament will be a qualifying event for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. It is expected that four to five will apply for the right to host the 2019 event. The Belarusian side appreciated the offer from the IWF.

Tamas Ajan praised Belarus’ chances of winning the right to host the junior and youth world weightlifting championships to be held in the coming years.

In 2017, the country may host a major conference dedicated to the fight against doping. In discussing this proposal, Aleksandr Lukashenko assured the guest that Belarus is doing everything possible to support all international initiatives to fight doping and will do even more in the future.