Welcome to Road to Rio! A place to share the journey of our athletes, coaches and officials as we head along the Road to Rio. We'll bring you new content each month to keep you up to date with what is happening in Australia and abroad related to our journey.

The Australian Weightlifting Federation congratulates Simplice Ribouem on his outstanding Olympic debut in Rio.

Ribouem had to overcome many obstacles on his way to Olympic selection, including battling a debilitating illness throughout 2015 which severely restricted his ability to compete.

“Simplice showed enormous grit and determination to earn his place on the Olympic weightlifting team,” AWF High Performance Manager, Jacquie White, said.

“And having worked so hard to get to the Olympics, Simplice performed incredibly well in Rio. We are all enormously proud of what he was able to achieve.”

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The Australian Weightlifting Federation is confident the performance of Tia-Clair Toomey at the Rio Olympics this week will inspire a new generation of female lifters to the sport, and will sow the seeds for a greater number of athletes to represent Australian at Tokyo 2020.

Within the space of one month, Toomey competed at the World Cross Fit Games and the Rio Olympics, a remarkable achievement and one which bodes well for the future of weightlifting.

Toomey is one of several athletes who have come across to weightlifting from cross fit, and her success and the great thrill the Olympic Games generates is bound to inspire more.

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Australian Weightlifting Federation High Performance Manager, Jacquie White, said Australians need to get more exposure to top level international competitors over the next four years if the sport is to get even better results in Tokyo.

White said Australia should be proud of the efforts of Tia-Clair Toomey and Simplice Ribouem in Rio.

“Overall the performance was in line with expectations,” White said.

“This was the first Olympic Games for both Tia and Simplice, and neither were overawed by the occasion.

“Simplice equalled his personal best snatch and Tia was painfully close to achieving a new personal best clean & jerk, which isn’t an easy feat on the Olympic stage. Their performances bode well for Gold Coast in 2018.”

But White said a key to Australia improving on the world stage is to give top weightlifters more exposure to the best in the world.

“Continuous improvement across all areas is a must,” she said.
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Just one month after what she described as a disappointing performance at the Oceania Championships, teenage weightlifter Kiana Elliott has become Australia’s first medallist at a Junior World Championships for more than two decades.

The Sydney 18-year-old won a bronze medal in the 63kg class at the World Junior Championships in Tblisi, the first Australian on a World Championship podium since Caroline Pileggi in the 1995 junior World Championships.

“It feels incredible,” Elliott said.
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It’s not unusual for athletes to put themselves through a tough final preparation on the eve of an Olympic Games.

But it’s unlikely many athletes competing in Rio next month will have had the lead-up that Australian weightlifter, Tia-Clair Toomey, has had.

Toomey has just competed in the gruelling World Crossfit Games in California, finishing second to earn the unofficial title of “second fittest woman in the world”.

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Being crowned the “second fittest woman on the earth” isn’t enough for Tia-Clair Toomey, who is set to add Olympian to her list of achievements.

The 23-year-old has been selected to compete in weightlifting alongside dual Commonwealth Games medallist Simplice Ribouem at the Rio 2016 Games.

Both will make their Olympic debut at the Riocentro pavilion in Barra, with Australia securing two quotas at the Oceania Championships in Fiji in May.

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• Rio 2016
• 2018 IWF Junior World championships
• New Member Federation
• Quota Reallocation
• Finance
• Good Governance
• 8th Female Bodyweight Category

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The Brazilian government is granting the country's armed forces an extra 78 million reais (US$26m) to ensure security at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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The IWF has revealed that three further samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games have returned adverse analytical findings.

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We've recently had an upgrade to our online store. To celebrate the new store we're offering some massive discounts across all our items including business membership and coach education courses.

We're offering 5% off to the next 10 customers that use GLICS47J as the discount code.

Make sure you visit our store for all your weightlifting needs. We have a wide range of stock to meet your needs.

Australian Weightlifting Federation partner, Sylvia P, is excited to offer custom made weightlifting suits personalised to your club or team. Choose from a number of designs, select your colours and even add your logo to the suit.

Sylvia P is the industry leader in manufacturing custom weightlifting suits and is the AWF preferred supplier. All suits are made in Australia.