Another great sporting comeback was confirmed on Monday (October 16), this time off the field of play.

Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, India, to approve weightlifting's place on the programme of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

You need to go back three years this week to appreciate just how remarkable this achievement is for one of the oldest Olympic sports.

Two senior members of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Executive Board resigned in October 2020 and let loose with a barrage of criticism of their former colleagues.

Antonio Urso, who at the time was President of the European Weightlifting Federation, cited the "crazy and destructive" behaviour of the IWF Board for his decision.

After a corruption scandal earlier that year, the Board tried to block reforms as the "old guard" from the discredited regime of Tamás Aján tried to hang on to control.

The IWF had three different leaders in as many days before Urso, from Italy, resigned in disgust.

The American Ursula Papandrea, who had been removed as Interim President a few days earlier, also quit the "misguided and self-serving Board who will not even acknowledge their role in weightlifting’s problems… a bunch of cowards who were too scared to stand up to Aján".

After Urso and Papandrea left, the IWF was left with 18 Board members, seven of whom were from nations that were either banned outright from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games or had lost athlete quotas because of multiple doping offences.

As if the sport’s image was not bad enough already, the situation got "more and more grave" in the words of Thomas Bach, the IOC President who wanted a culture change at the IWF.

His main complaint in February 2021 was that the IWF continued to ignore advice from the IOC, the International Testing Agency (ITA), and external experts.

By the end of the year, after more stalling and blocking by the "old guard", weightlifting was off the programme for Los Angeles 2028.

And yet, in the past few days, Bach has lavished praise on the IWF's new leadership, which includes Urso and Papandrea.

There is plenty more work to be done but, as IWF President Mohammed Jalood said, this is a time for celebration.

The pivotal moment in the comeback came in June last year, when a new Board was elected.

It featured athletes' representatives for the first time, and a far better gender balance than before. 

The top three positions went to Jalood as President, Urso as general secretary and Papandrea as first vice-president.

Two of the old regime's biggest critics were in positions of power. 

Within weeks, Urso was talking of a bright new future, Papandrea was working on governance reforms, and Jalood was travelling the world trying to bring unity to a fractured sport.

Given the disruption caused by COVID-19, the mountain of work to be done, and the desperately low esteem in which the IWF was held by the IOC, the results to date are remarkable.

Board members from all continents have played their part in a wide range of changes: giving athletes a meaningful voice, creating a "roadmap for the future" for the IWF, and setting up a refugee team, athlete support scholarships, and "street weightlifting" competitions.

In anti-doping, all procedures were put into the hands of the ITA. New ideas include holding coaches more responsible for doping violations through a licensing project, forcing all National Federations to allow independent out-of-competition testers free access, and targeting those nations deemed to be the biggest risk to clean sport.

Bach highlighted these changes before the IOC Session in Mumbai.

After the Los Angeles 2028 vote, Urso said, "We made a massive improvement in two of the domains that needed most attention: good governance and anti-doping policy."

Papandrea said there had been "the biggest reform movement in weightlifting history" since the elections in June 2022.

"Concepts such as integrity, good governance, safeguarding, transparency, gender equity, athlete representation and human rights are now part of the IWF language and practice.

"This is a fundamental change in the way we operate and govern the sport.

"There are really too many things to list… but there is no doubt in my mind that the number one reason any of this is happening is President Mohammed Jalood."

In the 16 months since he was elected, Jalood has overseen the reforms at a time when he has also travelled hundreds of thousands of miles, going above and beyond the call of duty to visit as many members of the weightlifting family as he can.

His presence at IWF competitions, Board meetings and IOC gatherings is taken for granted, as it should be.

But beyond the official family gatherings, Jalood has visited new IWF academies in Cuba, Bulgaria and China, has been to the Netherlands to try to resolve a dispute, and has attended all continental championships as well as the South East Asian Games, Mediterranean Games, Arab Championships and other competitions.

He will be in Chile, Solomon Islands, Mexico and Qatar in the next few weeks doing what he does best, spreading the word that reform is essential, everybody can play their part, and the sport cannot prosper without unity.

"Today is a moment for weightlifting to celebrate, but it should not be seen as an end," Jalood said on Monday after the IOC vote.

"We must - and will - continue, in line with our strategic priorities, towards a new future for weightlifting as a healthy, modern, and athlete-centred sport."

That means more hard work for those who have led the revival in weightlifting, and there are sure to be plenty of challenges along the way.

But the picture is so much better than it was three years ago.

Jalood is the right leader and he has the right team in place to make it happen.