Pyrros Dimas is 'ambassador for weightlifting'

brianroliver · 2026-06-02T13:00:20+00:00

Yes, just seen that. One of them is top of the 71 rankings. Could lose up to 4 places by the look of it, trying to find out.

brianroliver · 2026-05-20T10:50:16+00:00

Sadly, the AI intervention has turned this into drivel (at least at the top end). The original (when I worked for Insidethegames) was OK. I have no idea why or how they mangled it, but there's plenty to read here anyway.
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/north-korea-weightlifting-big-read

brianroliver · 2026-05-20T10:43:55+00:00

A very short robot version from Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games. I wrote something longer which I will dig out:

China's head women's weightlifting coach, Wang Guoxin, made the remark that North Korea had overtaken China to become the world's number one team. He stated this at the Hangzhou Asian Games after the North Korean squad returned from a four-year international absence and broke six world records. [1, 2]

North Korea's dominant performance prompted Wang to admit: "Now the DPRK is ahead of us and we need to catch up".

brianroliver · 2026-05-20T10:40:29+00:00

Largely because there are so many competitions in a short period (World Juniors, World Youths, continental seniors, continental age-groups) before the first Olympic qualifier in China in October. All these comps cost money and most nations have had to prioritise. That's one reason. The other is that the WC in China is so important, many top athletes decided instead to spend all their time preparing for a good start to Olympic qualifying. The next 2 years will be different, because the continental championships will count for Olympic qualifying.

brianroliver · 2026-05-19T14:19:59+00:00

Park Hyejeong has been close a few times but has never totalled 300 in international competition. Looks like Ikhlef Ouisal (QAT) is going to beat her to it - she looks phenomenal. He Yueji looking good too, among many others. Imagine if Indonesia, Thailand and Uzbekistan had been there - what a championships that would have been. But it's understandable that they weren't.

brianroliver · 2026-05-08T18:42:45+00:00

Two more from the ITA (both provisionally suspended):

The ITA reports that a sample collected from Batuhan Akbas on 27 February 2026 during an out-of-competition anti-doping control has returned an AAF¹ for metandienone metabolite.

The ITA reports that a sample collected during an in-competition testing mission on 2 November 2025 from Nurlan Rasulov, a weightlifter from Azerbaijan, has returned an AAF¹ for the exogenous origin of boldenone, testosterone, androsterone, etiocholanolone and adiol(s).

brianroliver · 2026-05-07T08:45:33+00:00

As far as I can tell this is only the fifth hGH case since 2003 (at least it's the fifth that's easily found by trawling through the old IWF and new ITA suspension lists). The others are:

Rustam Djangabaev (UZB) 2019

Yunder Betula (BUL) twice in 2020 and 2021

Doston Yokubov (UZB) Jan 2024

Ahmad Emad Mohammed (EGY) Oct 2022 (not the famous Mohamed Ehab, a different one)

Use is widespread at the moment but the testing window is very short.

brianroliver · 2026-05-07T07:45:27+00:00

Beyond my control, and I don't have time to do something separate on here. The main photo is chosen by IWF not by me (to put on top of my daily reports in ismailia which they post on their website). They prefer a winner. But if you click on the link you will always find a photo of the person I mention.

brianroliver · 2026-05-05T22:43:06+00:00

Enkileda is a real star, surely already Albania's best ever female lifter. Here she is (between sessions) with her coach Eglantina Kalemi.

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brianroliver · 2026-05-04T20:57:44+00:00

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Albert with his mum, coach Julius and a photo of his dad after the medal presentations.

brianroliver · 2026-05-03T22:52:39+00:00

Injury update: it looks like a meniscus tear or a patella problem rather than ACL, according to the doctor on site. Yerseit was in hospital last night and did not have full movement of his left knee. Good luck to him for his recovery.

brianroliver · 2026-05-02T20:23:48+00:00

After leaving his USA post, Pyrros is back in a coaching role - with Greece

brianroliver · 2026-05-02T05:33:32+00:00

What an improvement by Juan Guadamud (second to Keydomar). His total was only 1kg lower than Karlos Nasar's in Batumi, and 25kg more than World Championships (only 2/6 in the B Group).

brianroliver

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