In brief
At the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones warned that weightlifting must innovate to attract younger audiences or risk becoming a dinosaur. He highlighted new competition formats, such as mixed‑team events, and emphasized the federation’s anti‑doping reforms, including third‑party oversight. The IWF also plans a new international schedule for 2028 to restore confidence and inspire a new generation of athletes.
At the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China, IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones warned that weightlifting could become obsolete unless it modernises, according to a Xinhua interview.
Quinones said the sport’s traditional audience is ageing and new forms of sporting entertainment draw younger fans, and he questioned how weightlifting could stay competitive while remaining clean.
"How can you remain competitive and clean against people who don't have the same values?"
He noted that the IWF is pursuing reforms such as transferring doping control responsibilities to the independent International Testing Authority, so that testing is out of the federation’s hands.
"We don't decide who will be tested; we decide, if it's a positive case, what the sanction will be. Everything is in third hands. In that way, we cannot control, we cannot hide anything,"
Quinones added that the federation has increased testing, particularly outside competition, and earmarked a fixed portion of its budget for anti‑doping measures. He cited that the last two Olympic Games recorded zero doping cases.
"In the last two Olympic Games we have zero doping cases,"
To attract younger spectators, the IWF has trialled a mixed‑team competition featuring two men and two women earlier this year and is exploring public‑space competitions and a new international schedule for 2028.
The federation stresses that restoring confidence in weightlifting requires both stringent anti‑doping controls and role models who can inspire a clean, future‑oriented generation of athletes.
