Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics

Governing body	IWF
Events	14 (men: 7; women: 7)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Medalists

Weightlifting has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the 1920 Summer Olympics, in Antwerp, Belgium, as well as twice before then. It debuted at the 1896 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, and was also an event at the 1904 Games.

Summary
Events
- Men's events
- Women's events
Medal table
Nations
Multiple medalists
See also

Summary

Games	Year	Events	Best Nation
1	1896	2	Denmark Great Britain
2
3	1904	2	United States
4
5
6
7	1920	5	France
8	1924	5	Italy
9	1928	5	Germany
10	1932	5	France
11	1936	5	Egypt
12
13
14	1948	6	United States
15	1952	7	United States
16	1956	7	United States

Games	Year	Events	Best Nation
17	1960	7	Soviet Union
18	1964	7	Soviet Union
19	1968	7	Soviet Union
20	1972	9	Bulgaria
21	1976	9	Soviet Union
22	1980	10	Soviet Union
23	1984	10	China
24	1988	10	Soviet Union
25	1992	10	Unified Team
26	1996	10	Greece
27	2000	15	China
28	2004	15	China
29	2008	15	China
30	2012	15	China
31	2016	15	China
32	2020	14	China

Events

Men's events

In the early Games, all lifters competed in the same events, regardless of their individual body weights.

1896

One hand lift
Two hand lift

1904

Two hand lift
All-around dumbbell

When the sport returned to the Olympic Games in 1920, the competition was structured as a set of weight classes. The number of classes and weight limits for each class have changed several times, as shown in the following table.

1920–1936	1948	1952–1968	1972–1976	1980–1992	1996	2000–2016	2020
Heavyweight +82.5 kg		Heavyweight +90 kg	Super heavyweight +110 kg		Super heavyweight +108 kg	Super heavyweight +105 kg	Super heavyweight +109 kg
			Heavyweight 90–110 kg	Heavyweight 100–110 kg	Super heavyweight +108 kg		Super heavyweight +109 kg
					Heavyweight 99–108 kg		Heavyweight 96–109 kg
						Heavyweight 94–105 kg
				First-heavyweight 90–100 kg
					First-heavyweight 91–99 kg
					First-heavyweight 91–99 kg	Middle-heavyweight 85–94 kg	Middle-heavyweight 81–96 kg
					Middle-heavyweight 83–91 kg
		Middle-heavyweight 82.5–90 kg
						Light-heavyweight 77–85 kg
					Light-heavyweight 76–83 kg
Light-heavyweight 75–82.5 kg							Middleweight 73–81 kg
						Middleweight 69–77 kg
					Middleweight 70–76 kg
Middleweight 67.5–75 kg					Middleweight 70–76 kg
					Lightweight 64–70 kg		Lightweight 67–73 kg
						Lightweight 62–69 kg
Lightweight 60–67.5 kg
					Featherweight 59–64 kg		Featherweight 61–67 kg
						Featherweight 56–62 kg
Featherweight −60 kg	Featherweight 56–60 kg
	Featherweight 56–60 kg				Bantamweight 54–59 kg		Bantamweight −61 kg
	Bantamweight −56 kg		Bantamweight 52–56 kg		Bantamweight 54–59 kg	Bantamweight −56 kg
			Bantamweight 52–56 kg		Flyweight −54 kg
			Flyweight −52 kg		Flyweight −54 kg
5	6	7	9	10	10	8	7

Weight class	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Super heavyweight												+110	+110	+110	+110	+110	+110	+108	+105	+105	+105	+105	+105	+109	+102	14
Heavyweight	+82.5	+82.5	+82.5	+82.5	+82.5	+82.5	+90	+90	+90	+90	+90	110	110	110	110	110	110	108	105	105	105	105	105	109	102	25
First-heavyweight														100	100	100	100	99								5
Middle-heavyweight							90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	91	94	94	94	94	94	96		18
Light-heavyweight	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	82.5	83	85	85	85	85	85		89	24
Middleweight	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	76	77	77	77	77	77	81		24
Lightweight	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	67.5	70	69	69	69	69	69	73	73	25
Featherweight	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	64	62	62	62	62	62	67		24
Bantamweight						56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	59	56	56	56	56	56	61	61	20
Flyweight												52	52	52	52	52	52	54								7

Total	5	5	5	5	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	8	8	8	8	8	7	5	186

Lift			96	04	24	28	32	36	48	64	72	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
One hand lifts	One hand lift		X																				1
	All-around dumbbell			X																			1
	Clean and jerk				X																		1
	Snatch				X																		1
Two hand lifts	Two hand lift		X	X																			2
	Clean and jerk				X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
	Clean and press				X	X	X	X	X	X
	Military press										X
	Snatch				X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
	Totals	Biathlon										X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
	Totals	Triathlon				X	X	X	X	X	X
Mixed totals					X																		1

Women's events

Women's weightlifting made its Olympic debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney, with seven weight classes.

Weight class	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
+75..+87 kg	+75	+75	+75	+75	+75	+87	+81	7
75..87 kg	75	75	75	75	75	87	81	7
69..76 kg	69	69	69	69	69	76	71	7
63..64 kg	63	63	63	63	63	64		6
58..59 kg	58	58	58	58	58	59	59	7
53..55 kg	53	53	53	53	53	55		6
48..49 kg	48	48	48	48	48	49	49	7

Total	7	7	7	7	7	7	5	47

Medal table

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Court of Arbitration for Sport decision of March 2022 to disqualify a gold medalist in the weightlifting men's 77kg event at the 2016 Summer Olympics (medals in this event have not yet been reallocated as of May 2023).

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
31	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	1	4	6	11
33	Belarus (BLR)	1	4	3	8
33	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
40	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
44	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
51	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

Nations

Nation	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Albania (ALB)																	1					3	1	1	2	3	4	2	2	9
Algeria (ALG)																			3	2	2	2	3	1	2	1	1	2	1	11
American Samoa (ASA)																					2	1	1	1	1			1	1	7
Argentina (ARG)							3	3	1		8	5	2		2	1						2	3	2	2	1		1		14
Armenia (ARM)																							10	4	4	6	6	7	2	7
Aruba (ARU)																							1		1		1			3
Australia (AUS)											2	3	7	7	7	2	3	3	5	4	4	4	7	12	2	2	2	2	5	19
Austria (AUT)							15	10	2	10	6	4	2	4	3	1	6	5	3	6	1				1			1	2	18
Azerbaijan (AZE)																							2	4	5	5	6			5
Barbados (BAR)																1	1													2
Belarus (BLR)																							9	5	8	10	8	8	2	7
Belgium (BEL)						7	8	8			3	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	3					2		1	1	1	2	17
Belize (BIZ)																1														1
Bolivia (BOL)																					1	1				1				3
Botswana (BOT)																													1	1
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH)																						1								1
Brazil (BRA)												3	2	1		1	2	1	2		2	1	1	1		1	2	5	2	15
British West Indies (BWI)														1																1
Bulgaria (BUL)													3	7	5	5	9	9	10		6	10	10	9	9		2		2	14
Cameroon (CMR)																					2	1	1		2	1	2	2		7
Canada (CAN)											5	5	3	3	3	4	4	4		7	3	2	2	2	2	5	3	2		17
Chile (CHI)																							1			1	2	2		4
China (CHN)																				10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10		9
Chinese Taipei (TPE)																				4	7	1	4	4	7	5	4	7		9
Colombia (COL)													2	3			2	2		5	3	4	5	3	9	10	8	9		13
Comoros (COM)																									1					1
Cook Islands (COK)																					2	1	1		1	1	1	1		7
Costa Rica (CRC)																3					1									2
Croatia (CRO)																								1	1			1		3
Cuba (CUB)											3	1		1	1	5	6	9	9			8	5	5	2	6	4	2		15
Cyprus (CYP)																										1		1		2
Czech Republic (CZE)																							2	1	1	1	1	1		6
Czechoslovakia (TCH)						2	6	7	2	6		4	1	3	2	1	3	7	10		5	5								15
Denmark (DEN)	1					5		1	1		4	3					3	1	1	1	2	2								12
Dominican Republic (DOM)																2	1	2	1		4	1	1	2	1	1	2	3		12
East Germany (GDR)																3	8	7	9		4									5
Ecuador (ECU)																				1	3			1	2	2	4	3		7
Egypt (EGY)						1	1	2		8	8	6		7	5	3		2		10	5	5	1	2	5	5	8	9		18
El Salvador (ESA)																2							1	1	1	1	1	1		7
Estonia (EST)						3	8	4		4																		1		5
Fiji (FIJ)																							1	1	1	1	2	2		6
Finland (FIN)						1					4	7	1	2	4	5	9	5	7	5	4	4	2	1		1	1	2		18
France (FRA)						10	14	10	5	8	9	5	3	6	2	5	3	8	4	2	4	6	2	3	5	4	4	5		23
Georgia (GEO)																							1	3	2	3	3	4		6
Germany (GER)	1		1					10	4	10		5										10	10	5	4	5	5	5		13
Ghana (GHA)																											1	1		2
Great Britain (GBR)	1					2	10	5		5	10	5	5	7	5	7	9	8	10	10	10	6	1	1	2	1	5	2		23
Greece (GRE)	3		1			1								1		2	4	4	5	9	4	5	10	8	10	4	1	1		17
Guam (GUM)																					2	1		1						3
Guatemala (GUA)																1		1	1	2		1	1	1	1	1	2	1		11
Guyana (GUY)											2	1	2		1	1									1					6
Haiti (HAI)														1														1		2
Honduras (HON)																						1					1	1		3
Hong Kong (HKG)																											1			1
Hungary (HUN)	1									2	3	2		5	7	7	9	9	10		10	10	7	7	7	1	1	1		18
Iceland (ISL)																1	2	1	3											4
India (IND)										1	2	2	3	1	2	1	1	1	2	4	2	3	5	3	3		2	2	1	18
Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA)																								1						1
Indonesia (INA)												1	1	2		3	1	1		3	5	4	1	3	6	5	6	7		15
Iran (IRI)											5	7	7	5	5	4	3	7				5		6	6	3	6	5		14
Iraq (IRQ)														5	7	1			5	2		5	1		1		1	1		10
Ireland (IRL)														2			1													2
Israel (ISR)														2			3	1		1		3	1					1		7
Italy (ITA)						5	15	6	4	4	1	6	4	7	2	3	6	1	3	3	6	3	2	4		4	1	2		22
Jamaica (JAM)											2					1				1										3
Japan (JPN)												1	5	7	7	7	9	9		9	10	10	7	8	4	6	5	7		16
Kazakhstan (KAZ)																							7	6	3	8	8	8		6
Kenya (KEN)																				1	4	1	1				1	1		6
Kiribati (KIR)																									1	1	1	1		4
Kuwait (KUW)																						1	1							2
Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)																								2	1	1	1	2		5
Latvia (LAT)							4	1														2	5	3	1	1	1	2		9
Lebanon (LIB)												1		2		1	1		2	1	3	1		1						9
Libya (LBA)																			2		2	1			2					4
Lithuania (LTU)								1															1	1	1	1		1	1	7
Luxembourg (LUX)						3	4	3		2				2																5
Madagascar (MAD)																						1					1	1		3
Malaysia (MAL)													3	2																2
Malaysia (MAS)															6	2									1	1		1		5
Malta (MLT)																												1		1
Marshall Islands (MHL)																												1		1
Mauritius (MRI)																					1		2	1	1	1		1		6
Mexico (MEX)											3	2	1	1	1	3	2	1	3	1				1	1	2	2	4		15
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)																								1	1	1	1			4
Moldova (MDA)																							5	3	3	5	2	2		6
Monaco (MON)															1											1				2
Mongolia (MGL)																	4		3			2			1	1		2		6
Morocco (MAR)														4	2							1	1		1			2		6
Myanmar (MYA)											1	2	3	2	3		1		1					3	1					9
Nauru (NRU)																							3	2	3	1	1	1		6
Nepal (NEP)																			2	2	1		1			1				5
Netherlands (NED)						5	3	10			2	2				1														6
Netherlands Antilles (AHO)														5	3	2	1													4
New Zealand (NZL)											1	1	1	1	1	2	3	3		3	1			2		2	1	2		14
Nicaragua (NCA)																1		2		2		2		1		1	1	1		8
Nigeria (NGR)																			2	6	4	1	1	5	2	3	2	1		10
North Korea (PRK)																	1	3	5			10	2	4	4	7	8	8		10
Norway (NOR)												3		1		1	4	2					1		1	1				8
Pakistan (PAK)											2	1	3	2	1		1	2												7
Palau (PLW)																								1			1			2
Panama (PAN)												1		1	1	2	2	2		3	2	1	1	1						11
Papua New Guinea (PNG)																					2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1		8
Peru (PER)											3					1				2	1	1			1	1	1	2		9
Philippines (PHI)											1	2	2	2	1	3	3	2			3					1	1	2		12
Poland (POL)												4	5	7	7	7	9	9	10		7	9	5	9	7	10	9	5		16
Portugal (POR)							1	1						1		1	1		1	2	1		1							9
Puerto Rico (PUR)												3		2	4	6	6	2		1	2	1	1	2		1	1	1		14
Qatar (QAT)																								2	2			1		3
Republic of China (ROC)										3			3	2	7	5	1													6
Romania (ROU)												4		2	2		2	1	10	10	4	6	5	5	7	5	4	4		15
Russia (RUS)																							9	9	9	10	10			5
Samoa (SAM)																				2	1	2	1	1	1	1	2	2		9
San Marino (SMR)																			1		1									2
Saudi Arabia (KSA)																							1		4		1	1		4
Serbia (SRB)																												1		1
Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)																							1							1
Seychelles (SEY)																							1	1	1	1		1		5
Sierra Leone (SLE)																					1			1						2
Singapore (SIN)												3	3	1		2		1									1			6
Slovakia (SVK)																							3	1	3	1	1	1		6
Solomon Islands (SOL)																				1	1	1	1			1	1	1		7
South Africa (RSA)											2	4	3	3								1				1	1			7
South Korea (KOR)											8	4	6	7	7	6	1			9	10	10	7	8	8	9	10	7		16
Soviet Union (URS)												7	7	6	7	7	9	9	10		9									9
Spain (ESP)														2			1	1		4	6	6	1	3	2	2	2	4		12
Sri Lanka (SRI)																				1		1				1		1		4
Sudan (SUD)														2			1					1								3
Eswatini (SWZ)																				1	2									2
Sweden (SWE)						6	5	2		2	4	7	1	1	3	2	2	5	6	6	3	5	2					1	1	19
Switzerland (SUI)						2	9	10		5	3	4		3	1		1	1		1										11
Syria (SYR)																			4	2	1		1			1	2	1		7
Tajikistan (TJK)																										1				1
Thailand (THA)															4	2	1	1				1	1	5	5	7	7	9		11
Tonga (TGA)																						1	1	1		1				4
Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)											1	2	2		2	1														5
Tunisia (TUN)																				2		1		1	2	2	2	2		7
Turkey (TUR)							1	1							1		2	2		4	5	6	9	7	9	6	9	4		14
Turkmenistan (TKM)																								1	1	2	3	2		5
Tuvalu (TUV)																										1	1			2
Uganda (UGA)																				2	2		1		1		1			5
Ukraine (UKR)																							7	10	9	9	9	8		6
Unified Team (EUN)																						10								1
United Team of Germany (EUA)													2	7	6															3
United Arab Emirates (UAE)																											1	1		2
United States (USA)									10	10	12	7	7	7	7	7	9	9		10	10	10	10	6	5	6	3	4		20
Uruguay (URU)																					1	1	1					1		4
Uzbekistan (UZB)																							5	2	3	2	6	5		6
Venezuela (VEN)														2					1		1	3	1	2	3	7	3	4		10
Vietnam (VIE)																									1	2	2	4		4
Virgin Islands (ISV)																1														1
West Germany (FRG)																5	7	6		6	7									5
Yugoslavia (YUG)																	2		2											2
Zimbabwe (ZIM)																			1											1

No. of nations	5		3			14	16	19	8	15	30	41	34	53	42	55	54	46	39	48	62	69	77	76	79	84	84	94		148
No. of athletes	7		5			53	107	95	29	80	120	142	105	172	149	160	188	173	172	186	226	244	243	246	249	253	259	260		2710
Year	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20

Multiple medalists

The table shows those who have won at least 2 gold medals. Boldface denotes active weightlifters and highest medal count among all weightlifters (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

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