Latvian-born weightlifter Rebeka Koha is set to appear at the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships (EWC) this spring after a six-year hiatus from the sport.
- Remind Me: Koha, a promising Youth and Junior competitor, was among Latvia’s strongest prospects for World and Olympic medals in the 2010s. She placed fourth in the 53-kilogram event at the 2016 Olympics.
Koha, who married and now bears the surname Ibrahima, retired from the sport in 2020. According to the preliminary entry list for the 2025 EWC in Chișinău, Moldova, Ibrahima is one of five Latvian athletes pursuing the podium.
After years away from the game, the question is — can she get there?
Rebeka Ibrahima: Catching Up
At 27 years old, Ibrahima already boasts an impressive competitive history. Her first performance within the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) dates back to 2011 with an eighth-place finish at the European Youth Weightlifting Championships.
Between 2011 and 2019 when she made her final bid for the podium, Ibrahima competed an astonishing 37 times internationally; she averaged more than four battles with the barbell per year.
- In Context: While Youth and Junior athletes of all stripes tend to handle high-frequency competition better than older athletes, most elite weightlifters opt for one to three international events per year. 2016 53-kilogram Olympic Champion, Hsu Su-Ching, logged 1.8 yearly international appearances across her career.
Beyond placing fourth at the 2016 Olympics, Ibrahima has 12 international event wins to her name plus back-to-back European Weightlifting Championships golds (2018, 2019). Her best total of 227 kilograms at 59 earned her a bronze medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in 2018.
Rebeka Ibrahim, Instagram
According to reporting from weightlifting correspondent Brian Oliver, Ibrahima had dealt with mounting knee injuries which contributed to her stepping away from the platform to focus on building a family in Qatar alongside her husband, an accomplished discus thrower.
Ibrahima briefly attempted a comeback at the West Asian Championships & 7th Qatar Cup in 2022, winning gold in the 59-kilogram division, but retreated again to give birth to her second child.
Rebeka Ibrahima at the European Weightlifting Championships
The 2025 EWC runs from 13 to 21 April. Ibrahima has declared a preliminary entry total of 205 kilograms in the 64-kilogram category. Per Oliver, Team Latvia’s head coach Eduards Andruskevics expects Ibrahima to return — and perhaps exceed — her previous best numbers in time.
Still, weightlifting’s climate has changed drastically during her six-year hiatus. Ibrahima, who has reportedly trained for this event for roughly eight months, faces an uphill climb to the podium.
- By the Numbers: The 53 women entered in the 64-kilogram class at this year’s EWC have an average entry total of 194.96 kilograms. Entry totals are subject to change, but as of this article’s publication Ibrahima is ranked tenth.
The 64-kilogram class was last held at the Olympic Games in 2021. Had Ibrahima logged a 205-kilogram total in Tokyo, she’d have finished 12th.
Ibrahima may not have her eye on the gold, but we’re certainly keeping a close eye on her return to competitive weightlifting. Stay tuned to Weightlifting House for comprehensive coverage of the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships.
