{"id":24557,"date":"2026-07-12T00:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T00:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=24557"},"modified":"2026-07-12T00:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T00:16:00","slug":"visa-woes-fail-to-dampen-international-powerlifting-championships-in-potchefstroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=24557","title":{"rendered":"Visa woes fail to dampen international powerlifting championships in Potchefstroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Potchefstroom once again proved its place on the international sporting stage as it hosted the 2026 Asian Pacific African Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships from July 3\u201312.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-37\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/potchefstroom-herald\/news\/2026\/07\/12\/potchefstroom-hosts-international-powerlifting-showdown-despite-visa-setbacks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Potchefstroom Herald<\/em> reports<\/a> the prestigious championship, held at the Elgro Hotel, welcomed some of the strongest athletes from across Asia, the Pacific and Africa to compete in both classic and equipped powerlifting and bench press disciplines.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Visa challenges reduce contender numbers<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-39\">Hosted by the South African Powerlifting Federation (SAPF), the event attracted 141 competitors after visa challenges prevented many athletes from travelling to South Africa<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-40\">According to SAPF president Hannie Smith, around 80 athletes who had intended to compete were unable to attend because they could not obtain visas in time<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-41\">\u201cDespite the visa challenges, the competition has run very smoothly. I would like to thank all the athletes, officials and everyone who contributed to making this championship a success,\u201d said Smith<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-42\">He added that fewer competitors entered this year\u2019s championships than usual due to the visa difficulties, but the standard of competition remained exceptionally high<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" src=\"https:\/\/images.caxton.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2026\/07\/image-3-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1502876\" style=\"width:616px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A competitor takes part in Potchefstroom. Photo: Tania Coetzee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potchefstroom prepares for future world events<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-43\">The championships marked the 13th edition of the event and once again placed Potchefstroom in the international spotlight as a destination capable of hosting major strength sport competitions<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-44\">Smith confirmed that the city\u2019s role on the global powerlifting calendar is far from over.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-45\">\u201cPotchefstroom will host the University World Cup in 2027, followed by the Classic and Equipped World Bench Press Championships in 2028. We are excited to continue welcoming the world\u2019s best powerlifters to our city,\u201d he said<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_662e066722f2983c-46\">Throughout the week, spectators witnessed displays of incredible strength, determination and sportsmanship as athletes battled for top honours, further cementing Potchefstroom\u2019s reputation as a world-class host for international sporting events<sup\/>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n<p><strong>Breaking news at your fingertips\u2026<\/strong> Follow Caxton Network News on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/1LEgt2Xkac\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><\/strong> and join our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VaE5wwVBqbr7YPCp7a0o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WhatsApp channel<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nuus wat saakmaak.<\/strong> Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/1LEgt2Xkac\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><\/strong> en sluit aan by ons <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VaE5wwVBqbr7YPCp7a0o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WhatsApp-kanaal<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/network-news\/network-sport\/2026\/07\/12\/visa-woes-fail-to-dampen-international-powerlifting-championships-in-potchefstroom\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Potchefstroom once again proved its place on the international sporting stage as it hosted the 2026 Asian Pacific African Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships from July 3\u201312. Potchefstroom Herald reports the prestigious championship, held at the Elgro Hotel, welcomed some of the strongest athletes from across Asia, the Pacific and Africa to compete in both [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":985,"featured_media":24558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-powerlifting-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Visa woes fail to dampen international powerlifting championships in Potchefstroom - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=24557\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visa woes fail to dampen international powerlifting championships in Potchefstroom - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Potchefstroom once again proved its place on the international sporting stage as it hosted the 2026 Asian Pacific African Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships from July 3\u201312. 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