●The championship was to be held in Chongqing in November.
●The number of events moved, postponed, or canceled continues to grow.
●IWF is looking for a suitable replacement host and it has given National Federations 15 days to express an interest.
With more than seven months to the official dates of the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships, China has withdrawn as the host due to the rapid rise of COVID-19 infections within its borders.
The Chinese Weightlifting Association (CWA) has already written a letter to the IWF to say it cannot go ahead with plans for what would have been a landmark occasion.
The championship was to be held in Chongqing in November.
Chongqing was set to host the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in November
Meanwhile, the IWF is looking for a suitable replacement host and it has given National Federations 15 days to express an interest.
Since the Tokyo Olympic Games last year, events on the IWF competition calendar have been canceled or postponed in Singapore, Chile, and Korea, while forthcoming championships in Puerto Rico, Japan, Hungary, and now China have already been postponed.
The IWF interim President, Mike Irani, said: “The Chinese Weightlifting Association has been a great partner.
“Together we have been working hard for over two years to deliver the World Championships in China this year.
“However, unfortunately, the pandemic is still with us and we must do what is best for our sport and our athletes.
“We thank the Chinese Weightlifting Association for all their efforts and look forward to returning to China another time.”
CWA was planning several innovations including prize money for athletes, the concurrent hosting of the Chinese National Championships, an expo for equipment, and sportswear, a forum on international development, and other events in what is likely to be the first qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This will see Weightlifting become a commercial success that “taps into its full market value”, making it more exciting, more athlete-focused, and easier to follow for spectators, television viewers and social media users were among suggestions put forward by Zhou Jinqiang, President of the CWA.
A CWA statement they after a thoughtful consideration they might not be able to meet all the IWF requirements to organize the IWF World Championships this year.
“We are committed to our sport and would like to assure the IWF family that as soon as the situation permits, we are more than happy to host a future World Championships and IWF events as we have done in the past.”
China’s Current Situation
With the current situation in China, strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures are in place and this will mean all teams and officials would have to carry out a 21-day quarantine.
Lockdowns have been imposed across China, affecting millions of people, after a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The number of events moved, postponed, or canceled continues to grow.
China is the most successful nation in weightlifting, having won at least five gold medals at every Olympic Games this century and a record seven in Tokyo.
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