The new coaches challenge system has come into action for the first time – marking a significant shift in weightlifting, where previously referees decisions were only subject to review by a jury of other technical officials.

At the Youth World Championships in Las Vegas, the Men’s 67 kg category was halted after the first clean and jerk, which had received two red lights from the referees, when the Ugandan coach handed the challenge card to the technical controller.

The below video starts with the lift in question (disable adblock or click here if you can’t see it). The lift begins at 59 minutes in.

The jury then used a video replay to review the decision. The replay was also shown to the crowd.

Ultimately, the jury decided to uphold the referees decision, so the competition continued. However, this marks a significant change for elite weightlifting.

The new video replay and challenge rules were introduced in the 2019 IWF Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations (TCRRs). The rules can be used at any IWF competition but the video technology required is only mandatory at Youth, Junior and Senior World Championships.