Baru earns spot in Paris

PAPUA New Guinea weightlifter Morea Baru has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics next month after earning a spot in the Oceania continental rankings.
Baru who will compete in the 61kg division is among a total of 122 lifters who were confirmed by the International Federation of Weightlifting and will be making his third Olympic appearance following his representation in Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020).
IWF president Mohammed Jalood said 120 athletes completed the qualification process, including two competitors who were part of the International Olympic Committee Refugee Team.
“At the end of this procedure, we now know the start list in each of the 10 Olympic bodyweight categories that are part of the Games’ programme,” Jalood said.
“Athletes from 58 nations will be represented during the five-day competition, from Aug 7-11.”
As per the qualification rules, 100 lifters (10 per category) were chosen through a qualification path that included participation in a minimum of IWF events, with two of them being mandatory on the road to Paris – the 2023 IWF World Championships and the 2024 IWF World Cup. Ten more athletes were chosen through continental representation and four additional places were allocated for the host country (France) and the last six spots were reserved for universality places.
Once all confirmations were received, a small number of places’ reallocations took place.
This makes a total of 12 lifters competing in each category, except the men’s 102kg and women’s 81kg, both with 13 athletes (including one refugee).
The final sport entries’ deadline for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is July 8.
“We are very happy and excited to present this list of excellent athletes for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris,” Jalood said.
“It has been a long but very rewarding road for all those trying to qualify and I sincerely congratulate all those lifters involved in this process. A special tribute is due to all those that finally secured their place in the Games.
“The quality of our lifters, but also the representation of our sport’s universality.
“Weightlifting provides an important added-value to the Olympic programme and we are certain that the fans of our sport will live an outstanding experience this summer in France, both being on-site or watching the performances of on their TV and digital platforms.”