In another update from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Executive Board meetings in Tblisi, Georgia, the Olympic spots rescinded from countries with multiple doping violations have been redistributed (pending IOC approval).
In the wake of doping violations, spots for weightlifters in Rio have been removed from Azerbaijan (2), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (2), Moldova (2), North Korea (2), Russia (2), Romania (1), and Uzbekistan (1).
The full list of countries receiving new Olympic spots is below. Notably for our American readers, no country from North America — including the U.S. — received additional spots for athletes. The IWF concentrated their efforts on awarding spots to countries that were previously underrepresented or did not have existing athlete/gender spots awarded.
Also discussed at the meeting was the location of the 2018 Junior World Championships, which ultimately were awarded the to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Pyongyang beat out other candidate host cities including Anaheim, California and Tashkent, Uzbekistan (the site of the 2016 Asian Weightlifting Championships).
Argentina — 1 woman
Chile — 1 man
Finland — 1 woman
Greece — 1 man
Guatamala — 1 man
Iraq — 1 woman
Israel — 1 man
Kenya — 1 man
Latvia — 1 woman
Morocco — 1 woman
Mauritius — 1 woman
Nauru — 1 man
Peru — 1 woman
Qatar — 1 man
Solomon Islands — 1 woman
Sri Lanka — 1 man
Sweden — 1 woman
United Arab Emirates — 1 woman
Uruguay — 1 woman
There had been some speculation among fans that one or more redistributed spots could go to USA Weightlifting; as of now, that appears very unlikely, though the IWF has not officially ruled out the possibility.
In addition, the IWF officially announced their intention to introduce an 8th women’s weight class to establish further gender parity in the sport of weightlifting.
