IWF bans flags from weightlifting podium
Weightlifters will no longer be able to take their nation’s flag on to the podium, the head of the sport’s governing body said yesterday on the eve of the Asian Championships.
According to a report by insidethegames the embarrassing flag-burning incident at the Opening Ceremony before the European Championships in Yerevan, Armenia last month – and a controversial podium incident last year – prompted the decision, said International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) President Mohamed Jalood.
“We are a sport, we represent peace, not fighting and arguments about who is best,” said Jalood at the Asian Weightlifting Federation Congress at Hotel Dong Bang in Jinju, Korea.
Jalood said he discussed the situation last week with IWF general secretary Antonio Urso and Technical Committee chair Sam Coffa before the committee agreed on a ban.
“What happened in Yerevan was taken into consideration when we talked about this,” said Jalood.
Referring to an incident last year he added: “We don’t want athletes on a small podium trying to push their flags in front of each other – this is not sport.”
From now on flags will still feature in medal ceremonies but as images on a screen, and no longer in the hands of athletes.
