In brief
At the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones said the Olympic sport faces obsolescence unless it modernises. He cited past doping scandals and recent reforms, including independent testing and mixed‑team competitions. The federation plans a new international schedule for 2028 to keep pace with younger audiences.
On the sidelines of the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, Chinese media outlet Xinhua reported that IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones issued a stark warning: weightlifting must innovate or risk becoming a “dinosaur.”
Quinones, speaking to Xinhua on Thursday night, highlighted that the Olympic sport’s appeal is waning as older fans dominate viewership while newer, faster‑paced activities draw younger crowds. "How can you remain competitive and clean against people who don't have the same values?" he said, pointing to the challenge of staying relevant without compromising the sport’s anti‑doping stance.
He recalled that weightlifting has endured intense scrutiny after the retesting of samples from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games, which uncovered numerous violations and led to a significant reduction in Olympic athlete quotas. “In the last two Olympic Games we have zero doping cases,” Quinones said, noting the IWF’s new partnership with the independent International Testing Authority to handle testing and sanctioning separately from the federation.
To rebuild confidence, the IWF has increased random off‑competition testing and dedicated a fixed share of its annual budget to anti‑doping education. Concurrently, the federation is experimenting with fresh competition formats; a mixed‑team event featuring two men and two women was trialed earlier this year. The IWF also announced plans to redesign the international calendar, with a new 2028 schedule aimed at attracting younger spectators and sponsors.
Quinones emphasized the need for clean role models who can inspire the next generation: "We need role models that can bring this youth to a clean society through the sport," he said.
