IWF120y/93 – 1958: Asian Federation is founded in Tokyo (JPN)

After the foundation of the first continental federation – Pan-American – in 1951, a coordinated effort in Asia allowed the establishment in 1958 of the second continental body in the history of the IWF, the Asian Weightlifting Federation (AWF). Tokyo, in Japan, was the birthplace of the organisation, six years before the staging of the Olympic Games. In 2025, the AWF is uniting 45 affiliated National Federations spanning across all Asian regions. Like its counterpart in the Americas, the AWF took the responsibility of organising continental championships (from 1969 for men, and 1988 for women), events that worked on many occasions as a platform for the successful staging of the IWF World Championships. Two recent examples include the Asian showcase in 2019 in Ningbo (CHN), the host of the 2026 IWF Worlds, and the organisation in 2022 of the Asian Championships in Manama (BRN), the 2024 location of the IWF showcase. The first edition of a World Championships in Asia occurred in 1957 in Tehran (IRI) – the foundation of the AWF in 1958 is therefore a natural development of this milestone -, while subsequent editions visited the Philippines (Manila, 1974), China (Guangzhou, 1995), Thailand (Chiang Mai, 1997 and 2007; Pattaya, 2019), Qatar (Doha, 2005), Republic of Korea (Goyang, 2009), Kazakhstan (Almaty, 2014), Turkmenistan (Ashgabat, 2018), Uzbekistan (Tashkent, 2021), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, 2023), and Bahrain (Manama, 2024). After the inaugural edition in 1987, Jakarta (INA) hosted the second edition of the Women’s World Championships in 1988. Asia hosts the most prolific nation in terms of medals at the Olympic Games and the IWF World Championships – China.