More chaos as weightlifting body selects 3rd leader in 3 days
LONDON: The struggling International Weight-lifting Federation (IWF) has actually designated its 3rd interim president in as lots of days, with Michael Irani taking over from Maj Gen Intarat Yodbangtoey of Thailand.
Intarat had actually changed American Ursula Papandrea in the function after an emergency situation conference of the executive board on Tuesday.
The future of weight-lifting as an Olympic sport is at danger, alerted Irani, chairman of the medical committee and previous chair of the anti-doping commission.
” I do not plan to stand as a prospect for the IWF president position in the future, so I will have the ability to focus totally on the reforms leading up to a clear and transparent IWF Congress,” stated Irani, 71.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated on Wednesday it was “really concerned” by the replacement of Papandrea, the method the choice had actually been taken and the individual selected to complete the position.
The referral was to Intarat, a long time prominent figure in Chiang Mai who commanded a scandal-tainted Thai weight-lifting program.
9 Thais consisting of 2 ruling Olympic champs– Sukanya Srisurat and Sopita Tanasan– were suspended after favorable drug tests last November, triggering the nation to willingly prohibit itself from world champions in Pattaya along with the Tokyo Olympics.
Thailand is among the 3 countries prohibited from the Tokyo Games since of its doping record.
Intarat, a previous president of the Thai Amateur Weight-lifting Association (Tawa), had actually called the IWF restriction as “too extreme and unjust” in a declaration in April this year.
U.S.A. Weight-lifting and BWL, the British governing body, likewise released strong declarations after Intarat’s visit, implicating the IWF board of obstructing reform.
The Americans required a remarkable congress to be assembled by the end of November while the BWL stated the executive board must stand down instantly.
Antonio Urso, president of the European Weight-lifting Federation (EWF), resigned from the board in demonstration after Irani’s visit.
” I no longer share the political line of this Board, which appears to me insane and damaging of the future of world weight-lifting,” the site Insidethegames estimated him as stating.
The sport, rocked by discoveries of doping cover-ups and years of corruption, was alerted by the IOC in June that it runs the risk of being cut from the Paris 2024 Olympics and subsequent Games.
The IWF board chose Papandrea in January after 81-year-old president Tamas Ajan, a Hungarian, stepped aside throughout a corruption probe.
Ajan, who ultimately resigned in April, had actually been at the IWF given that 1976, serving 24 years as basic secretary and 20 as president.
Richard McLaren, the Canadian law teacher whose findings in July 2016 caused Russia being prohibited from all worldwide athletic competitors, consisting of the Rio Olympics, informed press reporters in June that the IWF was swarming with corruption.
This consisted of vote purchasing, doping cover-ups and $10.4 million in money that can not be represented. Ajan rejected any misbehavior.
