© EPA/ANTONIO BAT

MOSCOW, September 30. /Offset. TASS albert Starodubtsev/. The international weightlifting Federation (IWF) on Saturday decided to suspend for a year the Federation of weightlifting of Russia (FTAR) and deprive domestic weightlifters the right to compete at the world Cup in the USA. The reason for such harsh sanctions the mistakes of the former leadership FTAR that the international Federation, despite the major reforms in the Russian weightlifting are unable to forget.

Saturday in Bucharest was held the Executive Committee of the IWF, which was issued unanimously to suspend for a year the Federation of those countries where at least three athletes were caught breaking anti-doping rules during the rechecking of doping samples from the Olympic games in 2008 and 2012. In addition to Russia, was also suspended Federation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine . Thus, the Russian team will miss the world championship in weightlifting, which will be held from 28 November to 5 December in the American Anaheim.

“All because of the mistakes of the past leadership”

“The new leadership [FTAR] are not responsible for the mistakes of the past management team, – he said in an interview with TASS, the new head of the FTAR Maxim Agapitov. But with the result of their errors we have to deal and fix them. Already did a lot, and it is praised – not punished us, and our past. We hold the shot and create the future”.

Adviser to the head of FTAR Peter Razumov admits that the decision of the International weightlifting Federation to punish Russia was forced and caused by pressure from the outside.

“We were told that Russia had suffered punishment enough, and missed the Olympics, and we don’t threaten any serious sanctions, he said. – What really lies behind the decision once again to punish us, we do not know. Maybe there is pressure from the outside that it was impossible to ignore. But we were told that all will be well, and came out, as you can see, otherwise.”

See also

The IWF has allowed the Russian lifters to perform at the youth and Junior CHE-2017

Coach: the removal of Russian weightlifters is a complete injustice

Adviser to the head of FTAR did not rule out the possibility of participation of Russian national team in the spring FOUR-2018

Coach: suspension from international competitions will be for the weightlifters of the Russian Federation a big hit

Russia has a mutual understanding with the IWF

“We had to reap the fruits of the work of the former leadership, make every effort to correct the situation, continued the adviser to the head of FTAR. – There was a lot of diplomatic work, the new President FTAR did not get out of the plane, flying around the world. In may in Moscow, we took the leadership of the International Federation, weightlifting Federation USA. We now have with the IWF full, complete understanding, as evidenced by the fact that the President of our Federation in the end of may elected the Executive Committee.”

Evidence of constructive relations between the management of the FTAR and the IWF is quickly reached at the Executive Committee agreed on the possibility of performances by young Russian weightlifters at the championship of Europe among juniors and athletes up to 23 years, which will be held in October in Albania.

Minds, considering it had good contact between the FTAR and the IWF also admits that the punishment to Russia will be subsequently reduced, and domestic athletes will be able next spring to perform at the European championship in Turkey. By decision of the International weightlifting Federation, Agapitov will continue to be a member of the Executive Committee and will make every effort to Russian weightlifting survived the sanctions imposed on Russia with minimal losses.

Team Russia shocked unjust punishment

However, despite the activity of the new leadership FTAR, the strongest weightlifters of Russia forced the second year in a row to miss the main start of the season. In 2016 they are left without the Olympic games, now without the world Cup.

“It’s a complete injustice,’ said TASS head coach of man’s Russian national team Oleg Pisarevsky. Only we were not allowed into the Olympic games among all teams suspended, we have been punished. Don’t understand how to explain to the children that they should continue, when things like this happen. Many can’t give up, because they are ready to fight for the highest places, and there occurs such”.

“I honestly don’t understand why we got punished, confessed TASS coach Nikolai Kolesnikov. – The Olympic games last year we have missed. But these sanctions will make our team even stronger, we all remember someday.”

Blame the IOC?

The international weightlifting Federation, which in recent years has faced numerous doping issues, until December 2017 shall send to the international Olympic Committee (IOC) report on the ways out of the crisis, and has also been done in this area, which is one of conditions of preservation of the sport in the Olympic program.

At a recent meeting of the IOC Executive Board has reduced weightlifting number of quotas for the summer Olympic games 2020 in Tokyo in connection with mass violations by athletes anti-doping rules. According to many experts, it is the precarious position forced the IWF to punish nine national federations that have considerable weight in the weightlifting community.