GENEVA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- International Weightlifting Federation President Mohammed Jalood welcomed the International Olympic Committee's new financial support for Olympians on Wednesday, saying the IWF will continue to expand its own athlete funding alongside the initiative.
"The IWF wholeheartedly welcomes the International Olympic Committee's announcement of the 'Fit for the Future' Olympian Grant. The athlete's journey to the Olympic Games should never be underestimated," Jalood told Xinhua in an emailed statement.
The IOC announced at its 146th Session on June 24 that every eligible Olympian will receive a one-time grant of 10,000 U.S. dollars as part of its "Fit for the Future" initiative.
"Ultimately, this support, combined with the IWF's own athlete support programmes and funding from our National Federations, will attract more young lifters and provide opportunities for them to achieve success at the highest level. We look forward to working with the IOC and our member National Federations to ensure that eligible athletes are fully aware of how to access this vital financial support," Jalood said.
Jalood also welcomed the IOC's overhaul of the Olympic program review process, which will evaluate individual disciplines rather than sports as a whole in an effort to better assess venue requirements, operational complexity and overall Games costs.
"We welcome the IOC's steps to ensure that future Olympic Games remain appealing, relevant and sustainable. We are confident that weightlifting will score highly across the IOC's evaluation criteria," he said.
"We are a truly global sport with global appeal. As one of the founding Olympic sports, weightlifting is central to the Olympic DNA and is a sport watched by people all over the world from every continent."
Jalood highlighted the sport's recent innovations, including street weightlifting events and a two-platform competition format.
"It is this flexibility that has paved the way for our street weightlifting events, which are becoming incredibly popular. These events create opportunities to take competitions directly to the heart of city centres and engage the next generation of fans. Meanwhile, the testing of our two-platform format is also proving to be a great success, creating faster events and offering spectators and viewers constant action and excitement," he said.
Looking ahead to next year's World Championships, Jalood said he expected China to provide a fitting stage for the first qualifying event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Ningbo, in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, will host the 2026 World Weightlifting Championships from October 27 to November 8.
"We continue to have a very special relationship with China, where weightlifting goes from strength to strength. As the most successful country in the history of the sport, the weightlifting family is incredibly excited to be returning to China after more than 30 years," Jalood said.
"Ningbo will be the perfect stage for the first qualifying competition on the road to LA28." ■
