There seems to be a revitalization of American steel on the world stage.
Late last week, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) held an executive board meeting and congress, in lead-up to the Youth World Championships in Las Vegas. One interesting note is that Rogue Fitness has become an official sponsor of the IWF.
[Check out our rundown of the best Rogue Fitness barbells!]
The IWF had previously conducted business with five equipment suppliers who had licenses to manufacture and distribute IWF certified sporting good products, including barbells, bumper plates and collars. Those five companies consisted of:
- Shanghai Double Happiness Co. Ltd (DHS) of China
- Eleiko Sports AB of Sweden
- Uesaka Barbell of Japan
- Werk-San of Turkey
- Zhangkong Barbell Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (ZKC) of China
As of March 8th, the company from Columbus, Ohio is now on that list. Bill Henniger, the company’s owner, took to social media to comment on the big news:
“We got our Michelin stars, eight years in the making. Very proud and excited for this next venture with International Weightlifting Federation and USA Weightlifting”
The first IWF event where Rogue Barbells were utilized occurred over this past weekend at the Las Vegas International Open. Among the highlights of the event, Mattie Rogers (76KG, USA) lifted 133KG in the clean & jerk while Maude Charron (64KG, Canada) snatched 97KG. On the men’s side, 2017 World Champion Arley Mendez (96KG, Chile) snatched 170KG while Nathan Damron (102KG, USA) lifted 200KG in the clean & jerk.
As of yet, the IWF has not elaborated on exactly what the sponsorship will consist of going forward. Right now it’s unclear which levels of IWF competition Rogue barbells will be used for. World and Continental Championships are coded as Gold level events, where as other international events are only recognized as Silver or Bronze based on the significance of the event. As an example, the recently held Las Vegas open was a Bronze level event, while next month’s Pan-American Championships will be a Gold level event.
At Youth World Championships, currently going on in Las Vegas, UESAKA is the IWF-approved barbell for the competition and training areas. The European Championships that will be held next month in Georgia are utilizing Eleiko equipment for their event. The Asian, Pan-American, and African Championships have not listed which IWF equipment supplier will be utilized for their events.
Rogue has become a brand name to strength athletes in the United States. Since In December 2016, USA Weightlifting named Rogue their official equipment manufacturer. In this role they had been providing equipment for the warm up and competition areas of USA Weightlifting national events. Their role expanded in June 2017 when USA Weightlifting approved the use of Rogue equipment in national events, even without the IWF license.
Outside of Olympic Weightlifting, Rogue has a significant presence in other strength sports as well. Since 2016, they have been an approved supplier of apparel and equipment for the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). They have now joined Eleiko and UESAKA as approved equipment manufacturers by the IWF and IPF. The company also has the distinction of Official Equipment Supplier for the CrossFit Games, the Arnold Strongman Classic, and the World’s Strongest Man competition.
Featured image: @roguefitness on Instagram
