The weightlifters got angry and demanded equal treatment.
Belgian weightlifter Nina Sterckx opened the discussion about the confusing rule section. PDO
Weightlifting’s new weighing rules have caused a stir. Women demand equal treatment, because according to the new rules, they are forced to wear a bra during the weigh-in.
Reported about it Inside the games site. According to it, a weightlifter seen in the Olympics, among other things Nina Sterckx has been one of the athletes who started the conversation.
Recently, Sterckx was allowed to participate in the weigh-in of the Olympic qualifying competition without a bra, but it was forbidden in connection with the next qualifying competition.
– At the World Championships I was able to get on the scale without a bra, but not at the European Championships, Sterckx commented in connection with the competitions organized in Yerevan.
Both prestigious competitions were at the same time qualifying competitions for the Paris Olympics.
Sterckx reminded that the importance of underwear weighing around 200 grams can be big when athletes try to get into the smallest possible weight class.
– It is unfair. The rules have to change. Either we are allowed to be topless at the weigh-in, or men also have to wear bras.
The regulation is confusing
British weightlifter Zoe Smith agreed with Sterckx’s position.
– Here is another example of gender inequality in our sport, Smith said.
According to Inside the Games, the rule change came into effect just before the World Championships held in Bogota. The new rule book says that athletes must wear underwear during the weigh-in. What makes the matter even more confusing is that “underwear” is not more precisely defined in the rules.
The European Championships were held in Yerevan in April, while the World Championships were held in Colombia at the end of last year.
It is possible that a new section would be added to the women’s weighing regulations, which would take into account the extra weight from underwear.
According to Inside the Games, the International Weightlifting Federation IWF is discussing its rules.