IWF to reduce number of weight categories from June 2025 after proposal from Innovation Commission
IWF to reduce number of weight categories from June 2025 after proposal from Innovation Commission
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will reduce the number of weight categories in the men’s and women’s sections from 10 to 8 from June next year after its Innovation Commission put forward a proposal.
The 55kg category in the men’s section will be done away with, and competitions will start from 60kg, with categories in the 70s, 80s and 90s also undergoing change.
The new proposed categories in the men’s section are 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, 110kg, +110kg as compared to 55kg, 61kg, 67kg, 73kg, 81kg, 89kg, 96kg, 102kg, 109kg, and +109kg earlier.
In the women’s section, the 45kg category will be removed, and a new 48kg category will be introduced along with 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, and +86kg as compared to 45kg, 49kg, 55kg, 59kg, 64kg, 71kg, 76kg, 81kg, 87kg, and +87kg.
The 49kg category, in which India’s Mirabai Chanu had won a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, has also been scrapped.
“Approval of the IWF Innovation Commission proposal to introduce new bodyweight categories from June 2025.
In the men’s competition, there will be 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, 110kg, +110kg. Among women, the new categories are: 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, +86kg,” said the IWF Executive Board, which met here on December 2-3, in a statement.
Keeping these changes into consideration, it is yet to be decided what will be the Olympic and Non-Olympic weight classes in the men’s and women’s sections for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, only five weight classes were chosen — 61kg, 73kg, 89kg, 102kg and over 102kg in men and 49kg, 59kg, 71kg, 81kg and over81 kg in women.
