IWF120y/4 – 1975: Junior lifters compete at the highest level
Marseille, in France, had the honour to host in 1975 the first edition of the IWF World Junior Championships, from then a competition where many of the brightest stars of weightlifting could already shine at a younger age (Lasha Talakhadze was junior world champion in 2013, before build-up a career that includes now three Olympic gold medals). Since that inaugural event 50 years ago, 31 nations in the five continents have staged the competition: after Europe, the Americas held its first Championships in Montreal (CAN) in 1980, Africa in 1983 in Cairo (EGY), Asia in 1994 in Jakarta (INA) and Oceania in 2019 in Suva (FIJ). On that premiere in France, nine events (only men at the time) were held and the titles went to Bulgaria (4), the Soviet Union (3), and Poland (2). The Polish capital, Warsaw, hosted the competition in 1995, which was for the first time open to women. The 50th edition of the Championships will be held between April 30 and May 5 in Lima (PER) and will also constitute an important milestone: it will be the first-ever joint Junior (lifters aged 15-20) and Youth (13-17 years old) World Championships in the IWF history!