Altogether male athletes from 63 countries and 85 female athletes from 47 countries participated in the weightlifting competitions. The medal ceremony of the first female weightlifter was one of the greatest moments in weightlifting history, where Tara Nott USA was awarded the gold medal in the 48 kilograms on September 17, After the win of Tara Nott, overall Chinese weightlifters dominated the female categories, but Mexico and Colombia also won gold medals.
With this win China recorded a total of four female category wins. The distribution of gold medals was greater for men: six countries won gold medals, with Iran and Greece winning gold medals in the male weight classes.
In the male categories a total of 13 nations, in the women categories 14 countries won Olympic medals in Sydney. From July 24 to Aug. Tokyo International Forum. Weightlifting started as a competition in the ancient world to lift heavy stones and it was part of the programme at the very first modern Olympics in Athens in Athletes competed in the same events regardless of their bodyweight.
They were grouped by bodyweight category for the first time at the Games in Antwerp, and the two lifting techniques - the snatch and the clean and jerk - were standardised from Montreal Women's events were not introduced until the Sydney Olympics in Athletes can lift more than twice their bodyweight.
To survive as an Olympic sport, changes needed to be made. When the games came to Antwerp in , weightlifting had finally become more organised.
This time there were actual weight classes, five in fact. Ranging from featherweight under 60 kilos to heavyweight Unlike the games, competitors in were faced with more recognisable lifts revolving around one and two handed snatches, presses and cleans. Fun fact about the Games. French and Swedish lifters brought their own equipment to the games, intent on using their own barbells.
It was only after the referees intervened that the Europeans contented themselves with the regulation barbells. The games proved to be a success and at the subsequent games in Paris the same format and lifts were used.
Regularity in the lifts and weight classes afforded the sport a more respectable image. After all, few Olympic sports had been forced to change the parameters of contest as frequently as weightlifting. Though the and games had gone a long way in establishing weightlifting as a respectable Olympic event, the sport was to undergo one more change before it really took off. When the Olympics came to Amsterdam in the weight classes from the previous two games were retained but the lifts had changed.
Thankfully this was to mark the last change to the format until the early s. Gone were the one handed lifts and in their place three lifts familiar to any gym goer worth their salt.
Competitors were now tested on the clean and jerk, the snatch and the clean and press. This was the winning formula. From then on only weight changes were made such as the addition of a bantamweight class in , a middle heavyweight class in and flyweight and super heavyweight classes in Something that I find remarkable about Olympic Weightlifting during this period was the popularity of these lifts amongst the general training population.
In the United States Bob Hoffman of York Barbell ensured that trainees were greatly aware of the importance of these lifts within their training. Unlike today when the lifts are the preserve of specialised athletes and Crossfitters interested in all round development, the clean, snatch and press were part of the general muscle builders repertoire back then. Those interested in bodybuilding in the s, 40s and 50s would have laughed at my naivety. While the above section ends on a somewhat nostalgic note, it would be remiss not to note the controversies surrounding one of the Olympic lifts during the period — As detailed excellently by John D.
Fair , the Olympic Clean and Press came under scrutiny from the s onward when coaches began citing the frankly dangerous form being used to press the bar overhead. As an example of this I submit footage of my favourite Soviet lifter Vasily Alexeev clean and press from
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