IWF120y/9 – 1920: FIH (IWF in French) becomes the official name
The name “International Weightlifting Federation” – and the corresponding acronym (IWF) – was not the one that was originally defined on the foundation date, in 1905. By then, its first designation was “Amateur Athletes World Union”, combining the sport of weightlifting and wrestling. In 1912, it became the “International World Federation for Strength Athletics”, and one year later, the word “Amateur” was added to the name. The advent of World War I in 1914 provoked a disruption in the Olympic movement (the 1916 Olympics were cancelled) and the international federations were not an exception. After a period of turbulence and almost no sport activity, the 1920 Games were held in Antwerp (BEL), and with no real functional organisation in charge of running the weightlifting events, the Belgian national body took that responsibility. Moreover, there was a spirit of great animosity against the losers of the conflict, namely Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Amidst this turmoil of circumstances, Jules Rosset (photo), initially a wrestler and president of the French Federation (of weightlifting and wrestling), proposes (some historians prefer “imposes”) the split of the former body and the creation of the “Fédération Internationale d’Haltérophilie” (FIH, literally IWF), only responsible for weightlifting. The reaction of the “International Amateur World Federation for Strength Athletics” (led by Hungary’s Peter Tactics) was immediate but soon the majority of the members adhered to the renovated entity, whose Board is controlled by French representatives (besides Rosset, the General Secretary and Treasurer also come from France). One of the first main milestones in Rosset’s presidency (which will last until 1937, and then again from 1946 to 1952) is the announcement in June 1921 that weightlifting will remain in the programme of the Olympic Games. In 1972, the English versions of “International Weightlifting Federation” and IWF are definitively adopted.
Photo credit: Quentin Lutte Olympique website