IPC to live stream Powerlifting Euros

Russia will have the largest delegation in Aleksin with 31 athletes, with Poland and Turkey each sending 13 and Iraq sending 10.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Thursday (16 May) that it will live stream next week’s 2013 IPC Powerlifting Open European Championships in Aleksin, Russia.

The Championships will run from 22-26 May, drawing 137 athletes from 27 countries and will be viewable to worldwide audiences live on the IPC’s YouTube channel.

A complete schedule of the events you can watch live from the Championships can be found here.

Jorge Moreno, IPC Powerlifting Sport Manager, said: “This is a great chance to showcase the strength of our sport post-London 2012 and let fans around the globe watch some of the best powerlifters in the world begin their journeys to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”

Organised by the Russian Sport Federation for Physically Disabled Athletes, the event will include the new weight categories, which took effect on 1 January, changing the structure of weight classes. This follows an extensive review of all bodyweight category trends across major competitions.

The decision was made at the 2010 Sport Forum to alter the IPC Powerlifting Rules and Regulations after the London 2012 Paralympic Games. In November 2012, it was endorsed by National Paralympic Committees and then approved by the IPC Governing Board in January 2013.

Russia will have the largest delegation in Aleksin with 31 athletes, with Poland and Turkey each sending 13 and Iraq sending 10.

In the men’s competition, Paralympic silver medallist Vladimir Balynetc, known as “Ironman” by his Russian colleagues, will look to star for the host nation in the -49kg category.

Great Britain’s Ali Jawad will return to competition in the -59kg category for the first time since London 2012 after suffering another relapse of Crohn’s disease and hopes to make the podium, while Greece’s Pavlos Mamalos will receive stiff competition from Iraq’s Faris Al-Ajeeli in the -107kg category.

On the women’s side, reigning Paralympic champion Nazmiye Muslu of Turkey is expected to steal the show in the -41kg category. Russia’s Tamara Podpalnaya would love to impress her home country in the -55kg class and France’s top lifter Souhad Ghazouani will be one to keep tabs on in the -73kg class.

For more information on the IPC Powerlifting Open European Championships, please visit the event webpage.

You can also follow the action from the Championships on Twitter and on Facebook.