Two of the men aiming to unseat the most powerful figure in world weightlifting want the sport’s governing body to give control of its anti-doping programme to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

At a time when the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is planning to introduce tougher sanctions against doping cheats, Russia is appealing for leniency from the sport’s governing body in attempting to have a one-year ban overturned.

The biggest star of the show duly delivered when Lasha Talakhadze easily added the European Under-23 super-heavyweight title to a list of achievements that includes Olympic and World Championship gold, and a world record.

Russia won three European Junior and Under-23 weightlifting titles here in Eilat, taking their tally for the week to eight - but their efforts paled into insignificance alongside the further blackening of Russian weightlifting’s reputation through the latest revelations in the McLaren Report.

Freyja Olafsdotttir, a 20-year-old from Reykjavik, was never going to challenge for a place on the podium on a day when Ukraine won three European junior titles, but she won the popularity contest in Eilat – and recent happenings in Iceland have been one of the big talking points of the week among coaches and officials here. 

Two weightlifters who suffered elbow injuries at the World Championships and Olympic Games took gold on day four of the European Junior and Under-23 Championships here in Eilat.

A lifetime-best performance by the 18-year-old Latvian Rebekah Koha earned her a second European junior title and continued her progression in what should be an illustrious weightlifting career at the European Junior and Under-23 Championships here.

On a glorious day for Italy at the European Junior and Under-23 Championships a policeman from Sicily won his seventh European title since 2011 and strengthened his home town’s claim to be the undisputed champion city of world weightlifting. 

Stilyan Grozdev, a 17-year-old Bulgarian, broke two records as former Soviet Bloc countries won all four overall gold medals on day one of the European Junior Weightlifting Championships here.

Europe’s highest-ranking weightlifting administrator says the sport needs to make fundamental changes to its culture, its rules and the way competitions are presented.

The difference between the highest and lowest totals lifted by the men’s super-heavyweights at the European Under-23 Championships could be 150 kilograms – because the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion will be competing.

Kazakhstan’s weightlifters have overtaken Russia in the Olympic doping league of shame. 

Lasha Talakhadze produced the outstanding performance of the week at the European Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway, when he won gold for Georgia in the final event, the men’s +105kg.

Gaelle Nayo Katchenko had two chances to win gold for France, whose team has had a terrible week at the European Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway.