Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics explained

Size:	150
Code:	WLF
Sport:	weightlifting
Menevents:	7
Womenevents:	7

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

Games	Year	Events	Best Nation
1		2	(1) (1)
2
3		2	(1)
4
5
6
7		5	(1)
8		5	(1)
9		5	(1)
10		5	(2)
11		5	(1)
12
13
14		6	(2)
15		7	(3)
16		7	(4)
17		7	(1)
18		7	(2)
19		7	(3)
20		9	(1)
21		9	(4)
22		10	(5)
23		10	(1)
24		10	(6)
25		10	(1)
26		10	(1)
27		15	(2)
28		15	(3)
29		15	(4)
30		15	(5)
31		15	(6)
32		14	(7)
33		10	(8)

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	2024
Heavyweight +82.5 kg<	-- 1952–1968 -->	Heavyweight +90 kg<	-- 1972–1976; 1980–1992 -->	Super heavyweight +110 kg<	-- 1996 -->	Super heavyweight +108 kg<	-- 2000–2016 -->	Super heavyweight +105 kg<	-- 2020 -->	Super heavyweight +109 kg<	-- 2024 -->	Super heavyweight +102 kg
Heavyweight 90–110 kg<	-- 1980–1992 -->		Heavyweight 100–110 kg
	Heavyweight 96–109 kg
				Heavyweight 99–108 kg
					Heavyweight 94–105 kg
						Heavyweight 89–102 kg
			First-heavyweight 90–100 kg
				First-heavyweight 91–99 kg
	Middle-heavyweight 81–96 kg
					Middle-heavyweight 85–94 kg
				Middle-heavyweight 83–91 kg
Middle-heavyweight 82.5–90 kg
Middleweight 73–89 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
Lightweight 67–73 kg<	-- 2024 -->			Lightweight 61–73 kg
	Lightweight 64–70 kg
		Lightweight 62–69 kg
			Lightweight 60–67.5 kg
Featherweight 61–67 kg
	Featherweight 59–64 kg
		Featherweight 56–62 kg
Bantamweight -61 kg
Featherweight -60 kg<			-- 1948; 1952–1968; 1972–1976; 1980–1992 -->	Featherweight 56–60 kg
	Bantamweight 54–59 kg
		Bantamweight -56 kg<	-- 1972–1976; 1980–1992 -->	Bantamweight 52–56 kg<	-- 2000–2016 -->	Bantamweight -56 kg
	Flyweight -54 kg
		Flyweight -52 kg
5	6	7	9	10	10	8	7	5

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
							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	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
One hand lifts	One hand lift		X																										1
	All-around dumbbell			X																									1
	<		--1 Hand-->Clean and jerk				X																							1
	<		--1 Hand-->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 <	--snatch+clean&jerk-->																X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
		Triathlon <	--press+snatch+clean&jerk-->					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,^[1] 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		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

Sources:^[2]

As of the 2024 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 August 2024).

Nations

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

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			M	82.5 kg / 83 kg / 85 kg	1992	2004	3	–	1	4
2	Lasha Talakhadze		M	+105 kg / +109 kg / +102 kg	2016	2024	3	–	–	3
	3
	Lü Xiaojun		M	77 kg / 81 kg	2012	2020	3	-	–	3
			M	90 kg / 99 kg / 94 kg	1992	2000	3	–	–	3
			M	54 kg / 56 kg	1996	2004	3	–	–	3
		M	60 kg / 64 kg	1988	1996	3	–	–	3
7			M	82.5 kg	1928	1936	2	1	–	3
			M	67.5 kg / 75 kg / 82.5 kg	1952	1960	2	1	–	3
			M	56 kg / 60 kg	1960	1968	2	1	–	3
10			M	82.5 kg / 90 kg	1952	1960	2	–	1	3
11			M	+110 kg	1972	1976	2	–	–	2
			M	67.5 kg	1964	1968	2	–	–	2
			F	58 kg	2004	2008	2	–	–	2
			M	+82.5 kg / +90 kg	1948	1952	2	–	–	2
			F	53 kg	2012	2016	2	–	–	2
			M	+110 kg	1988	1992	2	–	–	2
			M	56 kg	2008	2016	2	–	–	2
			M	56 kg / 60 kg	1972	1976	2	–	–	2
			M	+105 kg	2000	2004	2	–	–	2
	Shi Zhiyong		M	69 kg / 73 kg	2016	2020	2	–	–	2
			M	56 kg	1956	1960	2	–	–	2
			M	+90 kg	1964	1968	2	–	–	2
	2
			M	70 kg / 77 kg	1996	2000	2	–	–	2
	2
			F	69 kg / 75 kg	2012	2016	2	–	–	2
	Li Wenwen		F	81+ kg / 87+ kg	2020	2024	2	–	–	2
Hou Zhihui		F	49 kg	2020	2024	2	–	–	2
Li Fabin		M	61 kg	2020	2024	2	–	–	2

See also

• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ola Rio 2016. 4 February 2022.
2. Web site: Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries . olympanalyt.com . 2022-01-31.