IOC warns weightlifting its Olympic future in peril

Iran’s gold medallist Kianoush Rostami celebrates after the men’s weightlifting 85kg event during the Rio 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 12, 2016. (Photo by POOL / POOL / AFP)

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday that weightlifting could be removed from the Olympic program by 2024 if the sport’s international federation continues to ignore requested reforms in the fight against doping.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has been repeatedly rocked in recent years by positive drugs tests and accusations of corruption.

The IOC has already previously threatened to remove its status as an Olympic sport.

“The situation is becoming more and more grave, the executive committee expresses its extreme concern by the lack of significant changes with regard to the management and the culture within the IWF,” Bach said.

“Many requested changes have been ignored by the IWF despite all the warnings we issued.

“So the executive committee wants to be very clear by saying if these concerns are not addressed in a satisfactory and timely way, the IOC executive committee will have to review the place of weightlifting on the program of the Paris 2024 and future Olympic Games.”

Despite the departure of its controversial president, Hungarian Tamas Ajan, the IWF has continued to be plagued by doping scandals.

Last October, the World Anti-Doping Agency said 18 weightlifters from six countries were suspected of supplying false urine samples as WADA found evidence of “doppelgangers” being used to impersonate athletes.