Olympic weightlifting

right|200px|thumb|Pictogram for [[Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics]]

Weightlifting (often known as Olympic weightlifting) is a competitive strength sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead. The snatch is a wide-grip lift, in which the weighted barbell is lifted overhead in one motion. The clean and jerk is a combination lift, in which the weight is first taken from the ground to the front of the shoulders (the clean), and then from the shoulders to over the head (the jerk). The sport formerly included a third lift/event known as clean and press.

Each weightlifter gets three attempts at both the snatch and the clean and jerk, with the snatch attempted first. An athlete's score is the combined total of the highest successfully-lifted weight in kilograms for each lift. Athletes compete in various weight classes, which are different for each sex and have changed over time.

Weightlifting is an Olympic sport, and has been contested in every Summer Olympic Games since 1920. While the sport is officially named "weightlifting", the terms "Olympic weightlifting" and "Olympic-style weightlifting" are often used to distinguish it from the other sports and events that involve the lifting of weights, such as powerlifting, weight training, and strongman events. Similarly, the snatch and the clean and jerk are known as the "Olympic lifts".

While other strength sports test limit of strength, Olympic-style weightlifting also tests limits of human power (explosive strength): the Olympic lifts are executed faster, and require more mobility and a greater range of motion during their execution, than other barbell lifts. The Olympic lifts, and their variations (e.g., power snatch, power clean) as well as components of the Olympic lifts (e.g., cleans, squats) are used by elite athletes in other sports to train for both explosive strength (power) and functional strength.

Competition

The sport is competed at local, national, and international levels. The sport is governed internationally by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), which runs the World Weightlifting Championships each year.

Component lifts

thumb|280px|[[Mohammad Reza Barari, an Iranian lifter, snatching at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil]]

The snatch is a lift wherein an athlete sweeps the barbell up and overhead in one fluid action: the lifter takes a wide-grip on the bar and pulls the barbell off the floor before rapidly re-bending their knees to get themself under the barbell (usually bringing themself into a deep overhead squat position), so that the barbell is supported over their head with arms outstretched. The snatch is then completed by the lifter rising to a standing position while holding the barbell overhead. The snatch demands precise balance.

thumb|[[Lidia Valentín of Spain performing a clean at the 2012 Olympic Games in London]]The clean and jerk is a combination lift, in which the athlete gets the barbell overhead in two stages: first by lifting the barbell into support on the front of the shoulders, a position known as the front rack (the clean), and then lifting it from shoulders to overhead (the jerk). To perform the clean, the lifter takes a shoulder-width grip on the bar and pulls it off the floor, and then rapidly re-bends their knees (and bends their arms) to get their body under the barbell and "catch" the bar on the front of the shoulders (usually in a deep front squat position). The lifter finishes the clean by rising to a standing position while holding the barbell on the front of their shoulders. The lifter then uses the jerk to jump into a bent knees position (most commonly with one foot forward and the other back, a technique known as the split jerk) while pumping the barbell overhead. The jerk is completed when the lifter re-straightens the legs (bringing them together after a split jerk) so they come to a straight standing position with the barbell held overhead.

A third lift, the clean and press, was also a competition lift from 1924 through 1972. It entails a clean followed by an overhead press. The overhead press is distinguished from the jerk, in that jerking movements, bending of the legs, and displacement of the feet are prohibited. It was discontinued after 1972 due to difficulties in judging proper form.

Weight classes

Athletes compete in a division determined by their body mass. These are the new International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) weight classes, which go into effect on August 1, 2026:

IWF upcoming Men's weight classes (from August 1, 2026)

60 kg
65 kg *
70 kg
75 kg *
85 kg *
95 kg *
110 kg *
+110 kg *

<nowiki>*</nowiki> indicates weight classes that will be contested at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles:

IWF upcoming Women's weight classes (from August 1, 2026)

49 kg
53 kg *
57 kg
61 kg *
69 kg *
77 kg *
86 kg *
+86 kg *

<nowiki>*</nowiki> indicates weight classes that will be contested at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles:

IWF current Men's weight classes (2025-2026):

60 kg
65 kg
71 kg
79 kg
88 kg
94 kg
110 kg
+110 kg

IWF current Women's weight classes (2025-2026):

48 kg
53 kg
58 kg
63 kg
69 kg
77 kg
86 kg
+86 kg

Former Weight Classes:

From 2018 - 2025 the IWF had 10 weight classes, 7 of which were contested at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

IWF Former Men's weight classes (2018-2025):

Official procedure

In each weight division, lifters compete in both the snatch and the clean and jerk. Prizes are usually given for the heaviest weights lifted in each and in the overall—the maximum lifts of both added. The order of the competition is up to the lifters—the competitor who chooses to attempt the lowest weight goes first. If they are unsuccessful at that weight, they have the option of reattempting at that weight or trying a heavier weight after any other competitors have made attempts at the previous weight or any other intermediate weights. The barbell is loaded incrementally and progresses to a heavier weight throughout the course of competition. Weights are set in 1-kilogram increments. If two athletes lift the same weight, they are both credited with it, but in terms of placing, the one who lifted the weight first gets the highest placing. And while, usually, the winner of the heaviest weight class will have lifted the most overall weight during the course of a competition, a lifter in a lighter weight class may still have lifted more weight both relative to their own bodyweight, and to the Sinclair coefficient formula, thereby garnering the "Best Lifter" award.

History

Competitions to establish who can lift the heaviest weight have been recorded throughout civilization, with the earliest known recordings including those found in Egypt, China, India, and Ancient Greece.

Early international competitions

The international sport of weightlifting began with the First World Weightlifting Championships in 1891, in London, with Edward Lawrence Levy becoming the first world champion.

In 1896, the inaugural Olympic Games in Athens included weightlifting in the field event (the predecessor to today's track and field or athletics event). In the early Olympic Games, a distinction was drawn between lifting with 'one hand' only and lifting with 'two hands', and all competitors competed together regardless of their size and weight. The winner of the 'one hand' competition in 1896 was Launceston Elliot of Scotland, while the winner of the 'two hands' event was Viggo Jensen of Denmark.

Further World Weightlifting Championships followed in 1898 in Austria, 1899 in Milan, and 1903 in Paris, with the International Weightlifting Federation being founded in 1905. Yet it was not until the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, that women's weightlifting was incorporated into the Olympics. China's Chen Yanqing became an early star of women's weightlifting at the Olympics—as she won Olympic gold two games in a row, in 2004 and 2008.

In 2011, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) ruled that athletes could wear a full body "unitard" under the customary weightlifting uniform. Kulsoom Abdullah became the first woman to do so at the U.S. National Championships that year, and athletes are allowed to do so at the Olympics.

A men's Olympic barbell weighs 20 kg (44 lbs) with a shaft diameter of 28 mm and a length of 2200 mm, whereas a women's Olympic barbell weighs 15 kg (33 lbs) and has a shaft diameter of 25 mm with a length of 2010 mm. The distance between the sleeves, however, is the same for the men's and the women's bars at 1310 mm. The grip texture of the bar is called the knurling, and is distributed differently between the men's and women's bars: the men's has knurling in the center but the women's does not. The Olympic barbells used in competition are certified by the IWF.

Knee sleeves

Some weightlifters may use knee sleeves to provide joint support and assist in standing from the deep squatting position.

Wrist wraps

Wrist wraps are commonly used to provide support to the joint.

References

External links

International Weightlifting Federation
Swiss Amateur Weightlifting Federation (SAGV/FSHA)

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