By George Aluo
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Executive Board has announced the United States of America (USA) city of Anaheim as the new host city of the 2017 IWF World Championships.
The event which is the biggest sporting show on the IWF calendar next year is billed to run from November 28 to December 5, 2017.
Anaheim was named as replacement for the Malaysian city of Penang which was initially slated to host the event.
IWF in a release made available to Daily Sunsports disclosed that Penang, Malaysia, encountered difficulties and pulled out from the organization of the event.
The IWF release stated in part: “We are saddened that Penang will not be able to host the 2017 IWF World Championships. The people of Penang and Malaysia are always so welcoming to our athletes…”
The release further quoted the IWF President Tamas Ajan as saying that the world weightlifting governing body is grateful to Anaheim for stepping in to host.
“We are grateful that Anaheim stepped in to host the world’s biggest weightlifting competition of 2017,” IWF President Dr. Tamás Aján said.
The City of Anaheim is located in close proximity to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and is home to Disneylandâ Resort , the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This will be the first time the IWF World Championships will be held in the city, which has hosted major sporting events including the 1984’s Olympic Games wrestling matches, held at the Anaheim Convention Center.
It would be noted that the IWF World Championships was last held in the United States in 2015 when Houston hosted the event.