Olympic Weightlifting
Weightlifting or Olympic weightlifting is a sport in the modern Olympic games. The competitors, called weightlifters, attempt to lift weights mounted on barbells above their heads. The barbells used in competitions are loaded with one-kilogram increments.
Modern weightlifting was developed in Europe in the 19th century. The organization handling the sport is the International Weightlifting Federation.
It is a sport for both wen and women. There men's division is divided into eight classes: 56 kg, 62kg, 69kg, 77kg, 85 kg, 94kg, 105 kg, and over 105kg. The women's division is divided into seven classes, 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 75kg, and over 75kg.
the snatch exerciseThe competitors compete into two lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. On the snatch, the barbell is lifted from the floor up over the head in a single movement. In the clean and jerk, the competitors lift in two stages. In the first stage, the barbell is picked from the floor, and they pause when it reaches the shoulders. In the 2nd stage, the competitor lifts the barbell over the head.
Similar Sports
- Power Lifting — tests of strength on three lifts: dead lift, bench press and squat.
- Kettlebell Lifting — a weight lifting sport performed with kettlebells, which are heavy weights that resemble a cannonball with a handle.
- Weight Throw — a family of heavy weight throwing events, in which the objective is to either throw the weight as far as possible or as high as possible.
- Strongman — a sport that tests competitors' strength in a variety of different ways.
- Bodybuilding — participants show their developed muscular build through poses, and are judged based on muscularity, conditioning, and symmetry.
Related Pages
- More about the sport of weightlifting
- weightlifting at the Olympics
- List of weight lifting sports
- Power Clean Fitness Test
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
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