Six Days Until IPC Powerlifting World Championships

With less than one week to go until the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Powerlifting World Championships, athletes and coaches are travelling from all around the world to the host city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A total of more than 290 athletes from 49 countries will be at the competition. Of those participants, 115 athletes are women.

Taking place on 25 July, the Opening Ceremony will see many distinguished guests and athletes in attendance. Included in the programme will be a welcoming speech from the Chairperson of the Local Organizing Committee Mr. Kassin Abd. Rahman, as well as from IPC Governing Board Member Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin.

Competitions will take place from 25-30 July at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium Titiwangsa, with athletes using their performances to measure their international standing. Athletes will also be competing to prepare for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were Powerlifting will be part of the Summer Games programme.

Held just after the World Championships on 31 July, many of those participating in the event will be at the 2010 IPC Powerlifting Sport Forum. The forum will be an opportunity for all those involved in the Paralympic Sport to provide feedback and expert information on its future.

Powerlifting for athletes with a disability made its first appearance in 1964 at the second Paralympic Games in Tokyo as ‘Weightlifting’. Only men with spinal injuries participated with slightly different rules than are used today. Later it changed from ‘Weightlifting’ to ‘Powerlifting’ and now the competition is open to all athletes with cerebral palsy, spinal injuries, amputees (lower limb amputees only) and les autres who meet minimal disability criteria. Women competed in this sport for the first time in Sydney in 2000.