European Weightlifting Championships facts for kids

The European Weightlifting Championships is a big sports event held every year. It's organized by the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF). This competition has been happening for a very long time, since 1896!

At first, only men competed. But from 1988 to 1997, women had their own separate championships. After 1997, the men's and women's championships joined together into one big event.

How the Competition Works

Weightlifting has changed over the years. When the championships first started, from 1896 to 1907, there were no different weight groups for athletes. Everyone competed together, no matter how much they weighed.

From 1929 to 1972, athletes competed in something called a "triathlon." This meant they had to do three different lifts: the press, the snatch, and the clean & jerk. There was one special year, 1933, where they also included lifts with just one hand.

After 1972, the "press" lift was removed. So, from 1973 onwards, the competition became a "duathlon," meaning athletes only performed two lifts: the snatch and the clean & jerk. Since 1969, medals have also been given out for individual lifts, not just for the total weight lifted.

In 1993, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) introduced new bodyweight categories. This means athletes compete against others who are similar in weight, making the competition fairer.

Past Competitions

The European Weightlifting Championships have been held in many different cities across Europe since 1896. For example, some early events were in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Vienna, Austria. Over the years, the number of events (different weight categories and lifts) has grown a lot, from just one event in the beginning to many more today.

Team Rankings

In weightlifting, countries also compete as teams. A team ranking system helps to see which country's athletes performed best overall. This system gives points to countries based on how well their athletes place in different events. The rules for how these points are given have changed many times over the years.

Here are some of the top countries in the team rankings from recent years:

Year	Host		Men				Women
			1st	2nd	3rd		1st	2nd	3rd
1998	Riesa, Germany		Bulgaria 549	Russia 530	Germany 458		Hungary 514	Russia 471	Bulgaria 467
1999	Seville, Spain		Turkey 682	Spain 608	Russia 524		Turkey 647	Greece 586	Spain 584
2000	Sofia, Bulgaria		Bulgaria 610	Turkey 525	Russia 464		Bulgaria 522	Russia 438	Ukraine 343
2001	Trenčín, Slovakia		Russia 538	Turkey 504	Poland 498		Russia 492	Hungary 483	Spain 400
2002	Antalya, Turkey		Bulgaria 599	Turkey 486	Russia 368		Turkey 522	Russia 496	Poland 466
2003	Loutraki, Greece		Turkey 598	Russia 553	Bulgaria 544		Turkey 521	Russia 501	Bulgaria 441
2004	Kyiv, Ukraine		Turkey 591	Bulgaria 442	Russia 416		Turkey 478	Poland 438	Bulgaria 436
2005	Sofia, Bulgaria		Bulgaria 519	Turkey 488	Russia 473		Russia 567	Poland 456	Bulgaria 451
2006	Władysławowo, Poland		Belarus 486	Poland 485	Bulgaria 435		Russia 483	Ukraine 434	Poland 386
2007	Strasbourg, France		Russia 546	Belarus 523	Turkey 506		Russia 486	Ukraine 459	Turkey 448
2008	Lignano, Italy		Russia 598	France 457	Azerbaijan 427		Ukraine 471	Russia 454	Turkey 449
2009	Bucharest, Romania		Russia	Turkey	Azerbaijan		Russia	Turkey	Ukraine
2010	Minsk, Belarus		Turkey 538	Armenia 496	Poland 460		Russia 498	Turkey 497	Poland 416
2011	Kazan, Russia		Turkey 470	Poland 467	Moldova 431		Russia 559	Turkey 517	Poland 413
2012	Antalya, Turkey		Moldova 500	Russia 482	Turkey 473		Russia 530	Turkey 441	Poland 417
2013	Tirana, Albania		Russia 638	Bulgaria 507	Albania 355		Poland 469	France 311	Italy 310
2014	Tel Aviv, Israel		Russia 524	Bulgaria 535	Poland 491		Russia 539	Ukraine 443	Poland 443
2015	Tbilisi, Georgia		Russia 478	Armenia 421	Turkey 416		Ukraine 478	Russia 421	Turkey 416
2016	Førde, Norway		Russia 524	Armenia 503	Turkey 501		Armenia 449	Ukraine 435	Turkey 399
2017	Split, Croatia		Russia 501	Turkey 462	Poland 399		Russia 588	Ukraine 492	Spain 464
2018	Bucharest, Romania		Georgia 575	Romania 528	Poland 451		Romania 512	Poland 429	Italy 412
2019	Batumi, Georgia		Georgia 636	Belarus 634	Armenia 596		Russia 736	Turkey 575	Romania 480
2021	Moscow, Russia		Bulgaria 685	Armenia 620	Georgia 612		Russia 699	Turkey 616	Ukraine 600
2022	Tirana, Albania		Bulgaria 746	Armenia 667	Georgia 647		Turkey 690	Ukraine 686	Great Britain 381
2023	Yerevan, Armenia		Armenia 762	Georgia 695	Turkey 587		Turkey 650	Ukraine 647	Armenia 554
2024	Sofia, Bulgaria		Bulgaria 696	Armenia 669	Turkey 628		Ukraine 654	Turkey 535	Romania 485

Medals Won Over Time

Many countries have won medals at the European Weightlifting Championships. The table below shows which countries have won the most gold, silver, and bronze medals for the "Big" (Total result) category over the years.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	202	89	34	325
2	Bulgaria	185	142	101	428
3	Russia	90	86	51	227
4	Turkey	73	48	58	179
5	Poland	50	78	99	227
6	Ukraine	43	42	38	123
7	Armenia	40	43	39	122
8	Romania	35	46	46	127
9	Germany	34	53	39	126
10	Hungary	30	61	64	155
11	Belarus	25	19	29	73
12	Italy	21	37	35	93
13	France	21	26	46	93
14	Georgia	20	29	10	59
15	Great Britain	20	23	22	65
16	Greece	18	24	27	69
17	Austria	13	16	31	60
18	Latvia	13	5	11	29
19	Spain	11	27	34	72
20	Albania	9	13	12	34
21	East Germany	7	24	52	83
22	Moldova	7	11	21	39
23	Azerbaijan	7	4	7	18
24	Finland	6	14	25	45
25	Sweden	6	9	15	30
26	Unified Team	6	3	3	12
27	West Germany	4	8	8	20
28	Denmark	4	4	1	9
29	Norway	4	3	3	10
30	Egypt	4	0	2	6
31	Belgium	3	4	9	16
32	Czechoslovakia	2	15	32	49
33	Croatia	2	1	1	4
34	Netherlands	2	0	0	2
35	Lithuania	1	4	4	9
36	Portugal	1	3	2	6
37	Slovakia	1	2	4	7
38	Czech Republic	1	2	2	5
39	Luxembourg	1	1	0	2
40	Switzerland	1	0	5	6
41	Israel	0	2	3	5
42	Cyprus	0	1	2	3
43	Estonia	0	1	1	2
44	Serbia	0	0	2	2
45	Ireland	0	0	1	1
Totals (45 entries)		1,023	1,023	1,031	3,077

See also

In Spanish: Campeonato Europeo de Halterofilia para niños

• List of European Weightlifting Championships medalists
• European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships