Another European championship to be hosted in Croatia’s famous sporting city.
Split will host the European Weightlifting Championship in April 2017. The decision was made in Klaipeda in Lithuania by members of the Executive Board of the European Weightlifting Federation, reports Dalmatinski Portal on October 3, 2015.
Other candidates were Poland and Turkey, but the Executive Board members voted 11-2 in favour of Split. The city has proven itself to be a great host when it organized the first European Cup for young weightlifters a little more than a year ago in the Gripe Sports Hall. It is believed that this fact was crucial for the final decision.
Damijan Krklec, president of the Croatian Weightlifting Federation, described how much effort was needed for Split to get the honour. “I am very happy and proud! Our preparations for this candidacy lasted for three and a half years. It was a long and arduous process, but I did not doubt it for a moment. Yes, we had a successful event last year, many members of the European Weightlifting Federation were present and they took the best possible impressions from Split. You should know that our opponents Poland and Turkey are much larger countries with a greater number of weightlifters. However, the European Federation has given us the opportunity, even though we do not have much experience in organizing such big events, because they want to promote new weightlifting nations. The Split presentation was done very professionally, members of the Executive Board were impressed by promotional video about our city. We are already forming the organizing committee and we have the support of the city and county authorities, the Ministry of Sports and the Croatian Olympic Committee. We should not forget that weightlifting is a medal-winning Olympic sport for Croatia. We have a lot of work to do, and we are starting today. The competition will be broadcast live by Croatian Television and Eurosport, which will be an opportunity for promotion of Split and Croatia on the international level”, said Krklec.
The three-member Croatian delegation, composed of Damijan Krklec, Croatian Weightlifting Federation vice-president Jakša Ivanišević and promoter Joško Elezović, will return from Lithuania on Monday night, after the Congress of the European Weightlifting Federation. On Tuesday, they will organize a press conference where more details about the event will be announced.
