IPC reveals Ones to Watch athletes for powerlifting

Six of the world’s best powerlifters have been identified as Ones to Watch for the upcoming season. 02 Apr 2013

A picture of a powerlifter on a bench competing

Iran's Siamand Rahman won gold in the men's +100kg category at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

ⒸGetty Images

By IPC

“With several major IPC Powerlifting events taking place in 2013, it is the perfect time for people to familiarise themselves with the sport’s top names on the road to Rio.”

With exactly 50 days to go until the largest powerlifting competition of the year – the 2013 IPC Powerlifting Open European Championships – the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) revealed its six Ones to Watch athletes in the sport for the upcoming season.

The IPC’s Ones to Watch initiative will showcase the top powerlifters around the world, all of whom were gold medallists at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and are looking to further their careers over the next four years in the lead-up to Rio 2016.

The IPC Powerlifting Ones to Watch list includes Iran’s Siamand Rahman, the strongest man in Paralympic history, who lifted 290kg to win gold in the +100kg category at London 2012.

Nigeria’s Grace Anozie, arguably the top female powerlifter from one of the strongest countries in the sport, is on the list, as well as Turkey’s Nazmiye Muslu, who had a record-breaking lift of 106kg in the -40kg category to win gold at London 2012 after failing to medal at Beijing 2008.

Also on the list is Egypt’s Paralympic hero Sherif Othman, a former shot putter who has won gold in the men’s -56kg powerlifting category at the last two Paralympic Games and the last World Championships.

China’s Lei Liu, current world-record holder and reigning Paralympic champion in the -67.5kg men’s class, and Mexico’s Amalia Perez, a two-time Paralympic gold medallist at age 35, round out the list.

Full details of the Ones to Watch athletes in powerlifting can be found at http://www.paralympic.org/Powerlifting/Athletes/Ones.

Jorge Moreno, IPC Powerlifting Sport Manager, said: “The Ones to Watch initiative is a great way to help build up the profiles of the world’s best powerlifters and showcase their stories and achievements to the media and fans alike.

“With several major IPC Powerlifting events taking place in 2013, it is the perfect time for people to familiarise themselves with the sport’s top names on the road to Rio.”

Coming up in the sport this year, the IPC Powerlifting Open European Championships will take place from 22-28 May in Alexin, Russia, and are expected to draw around 150 athletes from 25 countries.

The European event is open to all countries practicing the sport, as two parallel medal events will be conducted, and it is a great opportunity for athletes to establish regional and world records.

Then, later this year, the IPC Powerlifting Asian Championships will run from 11-15 July in Gwangju, Korea.

Ones to watch athlete profiles on Paralympic.org will make up an information hub that includes athletes’ achievements, biographies, latest news, images and video footage, and will serve as a platform in the lead-up to these major events.

A number of other activities will also be implemented across social media in a concerted effort to boost the profiles of these athletes and make them household names for years to come.

The IPC’s Ones to Watch campaign launched in the lead-up to London 2012, when a new section was included within Paralympic.org, entitled Ones to Watch. This series of pages was designed to raise the profiles of leading medal contenders in Paralympic sports and act as an essential media resource.