United Masters Weightlifting Federation

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁?

One of the best things about masters weightlifting is where it can take you.

You come for the competition, of course. But somewhere along the way there’s a new city to explore, a meal with people you met through lifting, and familiar faces from the last competition turning up halfway around the world.

We’ve already been to Tokyo, Gold Coast, Suva, Singapore, Daytona Beach, and Adelaide.

Next stop is 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗨𝗠𝗪𝗙 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽, 𝟰–𝟲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿.

Then we’re off to 𝗣𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 𝗨𝗠𝗪𝗙 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, 𝟮–𝟱 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿.

Pack the lifting shoes. There are more stamps to collect.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀?

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘: 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗮𝗷𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻, New South Wales, AUS 🇦🇺

There are plenty of reasons to stay in weightlifting. For Andrew Rajeevan, one of the biggest is the people you meet along the way.

In Adelaide, Andrew and fellow lifter Reagan found themselves battling for bronze. First and second looked settled, but third was there for the taking.

So they talked beforehand and decided to have some fun with it.

“𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬.”

Andrew eventually loaded the clean & jerk that could have won him a medal. He missed it, but that almost seems beside the point when you hear him tell the story. He loved being in the fight.

That enthusiasm carries through everything Andrew does in the sport. He competes, coaches, runs a club and even spent time marshaling in Adelaide.

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄’𝙢 90 𝙤𝙧 100. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨.”

Weightlifting has also given Andrew a friendship that’s lasted nearly a decade. 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 “𝗥𝗲𝗱” 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘆 first contacted him in 2017 looking for a coach. Today they run an online club together, still coach each other, and have become close mates.

Andrew summed it up better than we could:

If you see him at a competition, come and say hello. And tell him how much you love weightlifting, and why.

Chances are, you’ll have plenty to talk about.

𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.

The UMWF World Championships are returning to the Caribbean in December 2027, this time in 𝗣𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗼 🇵🇷

Our World Championships are about more than the platform. They’re an opportunity for masters athletes from around the world to compete to international standards, reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and experience somewhere genuinely worth the journey.

From Europe and the Americas to Asia and Oceania, we hope you’ll make Puerto Rico part of your 2027 plans.

𝗨𝗠𝗪𝗙 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 | 𝗣𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗼 | 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳
In partnership with USA Weightlifting.

More details coming soon.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱.

Every athlete who steps onto a UMWF platform deserves the same professional competition environment, regardless of age, experience, or session.

That commitment is reflected in how our competitions are delivered: 𝗜𝗪𝗙 𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝟭 & 𝟮 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀, 𝗜𝗪𝗙 𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝟭 𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗪𝗙 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

We believe excellence shouldn’t be reserved for championship sessions. Every platform, every athlete, and every lift deserves the same professional standard.

𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡

Registration is now open for the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗨𝗠𝗪𝗙 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 in Penang, Malaysia.

The event will bring together masters athletes from around the world for three days of competition at the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre, conducted to UMWF international standards.

📍 Penang Waterfront Convention Centre
🇲🇾 Penang, Malaysia
📅 4–6 December 2026

Registration closes 𝟯𝟬 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲.
Register here: https://www.umwf.net/2026-penang-world-cup

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has introduced new bodyweight categories, effective 𝟬𝟭 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

UMWF will adopt these new weight classes for all future competitions.

𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻
• 49 kg
• 53 kg
• 57 kg
• 61 kg
• 69 kg
• 77 kg
• 86 kg
• +86 kg

𝗠𝗲𝗻
• 60 kg
• 65 kg
• 70 kg
• 75 kg
• 85 kg
• 95 kg
• 110 kg
• +110 kg

The introduction of these categories marks the beginning of a new era for international weightlifting. UMWF is currently establishing 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀, which will be published in the coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing the first athletes write their names into the record books.

Behind every successful lift is a team committed to getting every decision right.

Internationally qualified referees help ensure consistency, confidence, and fairness on every platform.

𝗔 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱-𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱-𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲.

The 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗨𝗠𝗪𝗙 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 will be held at the 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲, Malaysia’s newest premier events venue.

𝟬𝟰–𝟬𝟳 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
Registration is now open. https://www.umwf.net/2026-penang-world-cup

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘: 𝗧𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗴

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗲. 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲.

Last month, Tan Lay Sang travelled to Adelaide not only to compete, but also to officiate as an IWF Category 1 Technical Official. As UMWF Vice President and a driving force within the 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲, she continues to demonstrate that leadership means showing up wherever she's needed.

Whether she's on the competition platform, in the jury chair, or helping shape the future of masters weightlifting behind the scenes, Lay Sang brings professionalism, humility, and an unwavering commitment to high standards.
Our sport is stronger because of leaders like Lay Sang who serve with purpose, mentor others, and continue to raise the standard for masters weightlifting across Southeast Asia and around the world.

𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗨𝗠𝗪𝗙 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁.