Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics |
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| Governing body | IWF |
| Events | 14 (men: 7; women: 7) |
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Weightlifting is a sport where athletes lift heavy weights. It has been part of almost every Summer Olympic Games since the very first modern Olympics in 1896 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. It was also featured in the 1904 Games. After a short break, it returned permanently at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, and has been a part of every Summer Olympics since then.
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Weightlifting at the Olympics: A Quick Look
Weightlifting has been a key sport in many Olympic Games. Countries compete to see who can win the most medals.
- In the early Olympics, like 1896 and 1904, there were only two weightlifting events.
- When weightlifting returned in 1920, the number of events grew to five.
- Over the years, the number of events kept changing, reaching 15 events in the 2000s.
- The United States was a strong nation in early weightlifting, especially in the 1940s and 1950s.
- Later, the Soviet Union (URS) became very dominant, winning many events.
- More recently, China has been the top country in Olympic weightlifting, winning the most events in recent Games.
Understanding Weightlifting Events
Weightlifting competitions at the Olympics involve different types of lifts and weight categories.
Men's Weightlifting Events
In the first few Olympic Games, weightlifters competed without being grouped by their body weight. Everyone lifted in the same events.
- At the 1896 Olympics, there was a "One hand lift" and a "Two hand lift."
- At the 1904 Olympics, lifters competed in a "Two hand lift" and an "All-around dumbbell" event.
When weightlifting became a regular Olympic sport in 1920, athletes started competing in different weight classes. This means lifters compete against others who are about the same body weight as them. The number of weight classes and their specific weight limits have changed many times over the years to keep the sport fair and exciting.
The main lifts in modern Olympic weightlifting are:
- Snatch: This is a quick lift where the weight is lifted from the floor to above the head in one continuous motion.
- Clean and jerk: This lift has two parts. First, the weight is lifted from the floor to the shoulders (the "clean"). Then, it's lifted from the shoulders to above the head (the "jerk").
These two lifts, the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk, are the core of modern Olympic weightlifting. Medals are awarded for the total weight lifted in both events combined.
Women's Weightlifting Events
Women's weightlifting was added to the Olympic Games much later. It made its first appearance at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
- In 2000, women competed in seven different weight classes.
- Like the men's events, women compete in both the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk.
- The specific weight classes for women have also changed over time to adapt to the sport's growth.
Olympic Weightlifting Medals
This table shows which countries have won the most medals in Olympic weightlifting over the years. It includes results up to the 2020 Summer Olympics.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union (URS) |
39 | 21 | 2 | 62 |
| 2 |  China (CHN) |
38 | 16 | 8 | 62 |
| 3 |  United States (USA) |
16 | 17 | 11 | 44 |
| 4 |  Bulgaria (BUL) |
12 | 17 | 8 | 37 |
| 5 |  Iran (IRI) |
9 | 6 | 5 | 20 |
| 6 |  France (FRA) |
9 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 7 |  Turkey (TUR) |
8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 8 |  Germany (GER) |
6 | 7 | 9 | 22 |
| 9 |  Poland (POL) |
6 | 6 | 22 | 34 |
| 10 |  Greece (GRE) |
6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| 11 |  North Korea (PRK) |
5 | 8 | 5 | 18 |
| 12 |  Italy (ITA) |
5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| 13 |  Unified Team (EUN) |
5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| 14 |  Egypt (EGY) |
5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 15 |  Thailand (THA) |
5 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| 16 |  Russia (RUS) |
4 | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| 17 |  Chinese Taipei (TPE) |
4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 18 |  South Korea (KOR) |
3 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| 19 |  Austria (AUT) |
3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 20 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 21 |  Georgia (GEO) |
3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 22 |  Hungary (HUN) |
2 | 9 | 9 | 20 |
| 23 |  Romania (ROU) |
2 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| 24 |  Colombia (COL) |
2 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 25 |  Japan (JPN) |
2 | 3 | 10 | 15 |
| 26 | West Germany (FRG) |
2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 27 |  Canada (CAN) |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 28 |  Cuba (CUB) |
2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 29 |  Ukraine (UKR) |
2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 30 |  Uzbekistan (UZB) |
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 31 |  East Germany (GDR) |
1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) |
1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | |
| 33 |  Belarus (BLR) |
1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
 Great Britain (GBR) |
1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | |
| 35 |  Estonia (EST) |
1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 36 |  Belgium (BEL) |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 37 |  Denmark (DEN) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 38 |  Australia (AUS) |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 39 |  Spain (ESP) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 40 |  Ecuador (ECU) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Philippines (PHI) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 42 |  Mexico (MEX) |
1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 43 |  Finland (FIN) |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 44 |  Croatia (CRO) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Qatar (QAT) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 46 |  Norway (NOR) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 47 |  Indonesia (INA) |
0 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| 48 |  Armenia (ARM) |
0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 49 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 50 |  Venezuela (VEN) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 51 |  Latvia (LAT) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 53 |  Argentina (ARG) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Dominican Republic (DOM) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 India (IND) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Nigeria (NGR) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Vietnam (VIE) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 58 |  Lebanon (LIB) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Luxembourg (LUX) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Samoa (SAM) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Singapore (SIN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Turkmenistan (TKM) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 63 |  Sweden (SWE) |
0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 64 |  Netherlands (NED) |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 65 |  Cameroon (CMR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Iraq (IRQ) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Lithuania (LTU) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Syria (SYR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (68 entries) | 228 | 225 | 226 | 679 | |
Top Weightlifters: Multiple Medal Winners
Some weightlifters are so strong and consistent that they win multiple medals at the Olympics. Here are some of the athletes who have won at least two gold medals. The names in bold are still competing today!
| Rank | Weightlifter | Country | Gender | Weights | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyrros Dimas | Greece |
M | 82.5 kg / 83 kg / 85 kg | 1992 | 2004 | 3 | – | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Lü Xiaojun | China |
M | 77 kg / 81 kg | 2012 | 2020 | 3 | - | – | 3 |
| Akakios Kakiasvilis (Kakhi Kakhiashvili) |
 Unified Team Greece |
M | 90 kg / 99 kg / 94 kg | 1992 | 2000 | 3 | – | – | 3 | |
| Halil Mutlu | Turkey |
M | 54 kg / 56 kg | 1996 | 2004 | 3 | – | – | 3 | |
| Naim Süleymanoğlu | Turkey |
M | 60 kg / 64 kg | 1988 | 1996 | 3 | – | – | 3 | |
| 6 | Louis Hostin | France |
M | 82.5 kg | 1928 | 1936 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 |
| Tommy Kono | United States |
M | 67.5 kg / 75 kg / 82.5 kg | 1952 | 1960 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 | |
| Yoshinobu Miyake | Japan |
M | 56 kg / 60 kg | 1960 | 1968 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 | |
| 9 | Arkady Vorobyov |  Soviet Union |
M | 82.5 kg / 90 kg | 1952 | 1960 | 2 | – | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Vasily Alekseyev | Soviet Union |
M | +110 kg | 1972 | 1976 | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Waldemar Baszanowski | Poland |
M | 67.5 kg | 1964 | 1968 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Chen Yanqing | China |
F | 58 kg | 2004 | 2008 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| John Davis |  United States |
M | +82.5 kg / +90 kg | 1948 | 1952 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Hsu Shu-ching | Chinese Taipei |
F | 53 kg | 2012 | 2016 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Aleksandr Kurlovich | Soviet Union Unified Team |
M | +110 kg | 1988 | 1992 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Long Qingquan | China |
M | 56 kg | 2008 | 2016 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Norair Nurikyan |  Bulgaria |
M | 56 kg / 60 kg | 1972 | 1976 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Hossein Rezazadeh | Iran |
M | +105 kg | 2000 | 2004 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Shi Zhiyong | China |
M | 69 kg / 73 kg | 2016 | 2020 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Lasha Talakhadze | Georgia |
M | +105 kg / +109 kg | 2016 | 2020 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Charles Vinci | United States |
M | 56 kg | 1956 | 1960 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Leonid Zhabotinsky | Soviet Union |
M | +90 kg | 1964 | 1968 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Zhan Xugang | China |
M | 70 kg / 77 kg | 1996 | 2000 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Rim Jong-Sim | North Korea |
F | 69 kg / 75 kg | 2012 | 2016 | 2 | – | – | 2 |
See also
In Spanish: Halterofilia en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños
- List of Olympic medalists in weightlifting
- List of Olympic records in weightlifting
- List of Olympic venues in weightlifting
- World Weightlifting Championships
- Powerlifting at the Summer Paralympics
- Weightlifting at the 1906 Intercalated Games
