IWF President receives prestigious Sport Award prize in UAE

The IWF President Mohammed Jalood received the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award prize in the category “Arab Administrator” of the year. This award, given annually in several categories, is delivered in the United Arab Emirates and distinguishes individuals or organisations that have played a pivotal role in the development of sport, both locally and globally.

IWF President Mohammed Jalood

From Iraqi origin, Mr Jalood was elected IWF President in June 2022 and since then, under his leadership, the International Weightlifting Federations has undergone a structural reform, comprising the important areas of good governance, safeguarding and integrity, anti-doping policy, strategic planning, development and support to National Federations and athletes, and reinforcement of resources at its headquarters in Lausanne.

This positive evolution was recently recognised by the IOC, whose Session in October in Mumbai (IND) decided to reinstate weightlifting in the programme of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. As one of the founding sports in modern Olympics, this outcome was the pinnacle of the IWF transformation under Mr Jalood’s presidency.

Commenting on this fair and well-deserved prize, the IWF President stated: “Despite being given to me, this award is a collective victory for the IWF. With my colleagues in the Executive Board, but also with the entire weightlifting family in the five continents, we have worked very hard to reshape our Federation and restore its reputation. We are definitively in the right direction”. Mr Jalood then concluded by saying that “even if this is a time to celebrate, we should remain always attentive to the fact that this renovation effort must be our driving force in the years to come”.

The IWF family is presently gathered in Guadalajara (MEX) for the 2023 edition of the IWF World Junior Championships (concluding on November 23), and will then travel to Doha (QAT), where the IWF Grand Prix II (a qualification event for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris) is taking place from December 4-14, 2023.

IWF Communications