We’re about a year away from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and this weekend the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Japan Weightlifting Association, and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), have all teamed up for a test run ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.
The test run, or otherwise known as READY STEADY TOKYO, is scheduled from July 6th through July 7th in the Tokyo International Forum.
This is also a real Silver Level Qualification event for weightlifters looking to earn a spot in the 2020 Games.
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Last year, the International Weightlifting Federation announced that athletes were now required to compete six times (during the 18-month Olympic qualification period). READY STEADY TOKYO is another silver-level qualification event that will feature a handful of the world’s best weightlifters. According to the IWF, READY STEADY TOKYO has confirmed that 73 athletes will be competing. From those athletes, ten countries will be represented.
“The IWF is very proud to have weightlifting become the first sport to feature in the READY STEADY TOKYO series,” Tamas Ajan the IWF’s President said in a press release. “The preparations for the Tokyo 2020 weightlifting competitions have given us every reason to expect that this will be an outstanding Olympic Games for our sport and its leading athletes.”
USA Weightlifting’s Wes Kitts (109kg) and Marissa Klingseis (87kg) will both be lifting this weekend, and Team USA has provided their start times and will have a live webcast covering the event.
Expect to see some heated competition all across the men’s and women’s divisions, as top athlete Lu Xiaojun (81kg) of China is one snatching-legend confirmed for the event, among other weightlifting phenoms like Russia’s Tatiana Kashirina (+87kg), and China’s Meng Suping(+87kg).
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We’re getting closer and closer to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and with this event taking place just about a year-out from next year’s Games, we’re expecting some impressive lifts this weekend.
Featured image from @usa_weightlifting Instagram page.
