Almaty is preparing to host 683 weightlifters from 75 countries for the Weightlifting World Championship Nov. 8-16 which will determine the strongest men and women on earth and also determine six Olympic slots for men and nine for women in at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
“This event is the most important sporting event in the world of weightlifting, as a licensed tournament for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” Executive Director of the Weightlifting Federation of Kazakhstan Omar Mustafin said during an interview with sports.kz.
The Kazakh national team is training at a facility in Tekeli in the Almaty region, where they will remain until Nov. 7. Training in the foothills of the Alatau mountains, where the Tekeli facility is located, is thought to benefit athletes in many sports. Kazakh athletes trained there for the London 2012 Olympics.
Two-time Kazakh Olympic weightlifting champion Ilya Ilyin and former world champions Vladimir Sedov and Rustem Syban are also preparing for the Olympic qualifying event in Almaty.
“Good bonuses will be provided by the federation that is worth the hard athlete’s work,” Mustafin said.
