Olympic Weight Lifting is one of the oldest competitive sports still practiced today. Tracing its origins back to ancient Greece and China, Olympic Weight Lifting was one of the seven sports that made up the programme of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, 1896.
Weightlifting, also called Olympic-style weightlifting, or Olympic weightlifting, is an athletic discipline in the modern Olympic program in which the athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates.
Weight Lifting for women was introduced at the Sydney Games in 2000.
In the Olympic Games after 1920, instead of requiring all competitors to compete against each other regardless of size, weight classes were introduced and by the 1932 Olympic Games.
Modern Olympic Weightlifting
The two competition lifts are The snatch, followed by The clean and jerk.
Each weightlifter receives three attempts in each, and the combined total of the highest two successful lifts determines the overall result within a bodyweight category. Bodyweight categories are different for women and men.
The snatch consists of lifting the barbell from the floor to an overhead position in one fluid motion. It is a very precise lift that can be nullified by a lack of balance of the athlete.
The clean and jerk consists of moving the barbell from the floor to overhead in 2 movements: from the floor to the shoulders, and from the shoulders to overhead.
The clean and press was once a competition lift, but was discontinued due to difficulties in judging proper form.