Athletes Call for IWF President to Stand Down and Submit to Full Investigation
We call on all weightlifters to join us in demanding reform.
31 January 2020: Weightlifting athletes have stood silent for too long, and we now demand change. Certain members of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) leadership continue to play games and attempt to interfere with executive decisions, jeopardizing our sport's reputation and Olympic standing. And we will stand for it no longer.
Athletes are the number one stakeholders in this sport, as without us, there would be no sport. We demand that President Tamás Aján fully step aside--as he previously agreed to do but has not been carrying out--or face forced suspension until a complete and completely transparent independent investigation into allegations reported by the ARD documentary Secret Doping--The Lord of the Lifters is completed. Additionally, we call for the suspension of any other member of the IWF leadership who tries to interfere with or impede the investigative process in any way.
As leaders of the sport, you owe it to your athletes to listen to our demands. Weightlifting is on life support in the international sporting community, and the only way to bring it back into good standing is to allow these allegations to be addressed with a well-funded and fully-transparent independent investigation. Simply put, we do not trust the IWF leadership to investigate itself.
Any investigation and reforms that are recommended by an independent investigator must include an exhaustive, confidential interview process with the athletes, many of whom have experienced first-hand the types of behaviors alleged in the documentary. Furthermore, we will continually advocate for equal and collective athlete representation, and our voices can no longer be silenced.
Too many athletes do not trust the IWF as we stand today. Earning the trust of those who step on the platform starts with the above actions and can only be continued with an accountable and transparent organization that puts athletes, athlete representation at all levels, and fair play at its core going forward.
We ask all weightlifting athletes to join our call for change by filling out and submitting your information at https://form.jotform.com/StrengthSports/IWFAthletePetition. Names will be updated every evening.
For questions, comments, or concerns, please e-mail hello@globalathlete.org.
Signed,
Travis COOPER, Pan American Games & World Championships, USA
Rachel CRASS, World Championships, USA
Christine GIRARD, Olympic Games, Canada
Cheryl HAWORTH, Olympic Games, USA
Fred LOWE, Olympic Games, USA
Fernando REIS, Olympic Games, Brazil
Jürgen SPIEß, Olympic Games, Germany
Csaba VERES (in memoriam: Győző VERES, Olympic Games, Hungary)
[anonymous], Olympic Games, Mexico