IWF120y/42 – 1992: Hall of Fame honours the ‘best of the best’

The ‘Hall of Fame’ concept first appeared in 1936, when the US Baseball League created its Pantheon to honour and celebrate the feats of its biggest stars. Other sports quickly adopted the idea (both on a national and international level), but weightlifting waited until 1992 to implement its Hall of Fame. The project was launched by renowned French sports journalist Alain Lunzenfichter, who was for many years the President of the AIPS (International Sport Press Association) weightlifting commission and deputy editor-in-chief of L’Équipe newspaper. Since then, a Board of Trustees (formed by IWF top officials) may nominate a maximum of 10 new members each year. Nominees may be athletes, coaches, officials, journalists, or sponsors. However, certain conditions must be fulfilled: Athletes must have retired for at least 5 years; Coaches and Officials must have worked for weightlifting for at least 25 years; other individuals are eligible provided they “have significantly assisted the sport of weightlifting”. Since the first induction in 1992, many Olympic and world champions have been on the list and are accompanied by several other protagonists in the life of our International Federation. The most recent inductees in the IWF Hall of Fame are Karl Rimböck (GER) and David Montero (BRA – left in the photo, holding his certificate), distinguished IWF official, honoured at the 2024 IWF Congress, held last December in Manama (BRN).