Paul Anderson (USA) won the super heavyweight title at Melbourne 1956.
It asks one question: "That heavy thing over there. Can you lift it over your head?" In a world of complicated rules and regulations for various games, the crystal-clear simplicity of weightlifting makes it a beautiful sport. It's the Olympics' most boolean contest, one that only gives yes or no answers.
While humans have been lifting huge objects since the dawn of time, competitive weightlifting has only been around since the 19th Century. Because of organization that predates the Olympic movement, world competitions had been occurring for five years before Athens 1896. There were few common-ground agreements on what types of lifts were acceptable -- in Athens, a British athlete named Lawrence Levy withdrew when he found there would be no two-handed dumbbell event.
Another complication arose when the two-handed barbell lift ended in a tie: Denmark's Viggo Jensen and Launceston Elliot both clean-and-jerked 111.5 kg (246 lbs.), but judges insisted that Jensen had done so with greater style. Jensen, however, had injured his shoulder attempting to hoist a greater weight; in the one-handed dumbbell lift held later that day, Elliot outlifted Jensen and became Great Britain's first Olympic champion.
The rules didn't become standardized until Antwerp 1920 and Paris 1924, when lifters were judged on one-handed and two-handed abilities, and the lifter who had managed the most total weight was crowned the champion. Starting in 1928, all lifts were two-handed. Since 1976, there have been two types of lifting techniques in Olympic competition, and athletes must attempt both.
From 1932 through 1976, the "clean and press" lift was a third required technique. It required athletes to lift the bar to the shoulders, wait for an official signal, and then raise it overhead -- a test of arm and chest strength. The clean and press was discontinued due to disagreements about proper form -- many were bending over backwards to complete the second part of the lift.
Three judges sit in a row in front of the weightlifting stage, and each presses one of two buttons after a lift: white (yes) or red (no). If at least two judges signal white, the lift is considered successful. The final tally for each athlete remains the sum of the total amount lifted, and ties are broken based on lower body weight (not "style"). The second tie-breaker, instituted in 1992, goes to the athlete who hoisted the winning weight total first.
Perhaps it is the sport's simplicity that pushes its athletes to find any possible "edge," and as such no sport has had as much of a problem with doping issues. Since 1972, two out of every three positive in-competition drug tests have been weightlifters. At Munich, Austria's Walter Legel and Mohamad Nasehi Ar Jomand of Iran were disqualified for having taken ephedrine. More lately, it's been stronger stuff -- four lifters were banished from Athens 2004 for anabolic steroids or testosterone. In 2008, 22 weightlifters have tested positive for drugs, half of them Greeks.
The International Weightlifting Federation has required all lifters to provide information on their whereabouts so as to more easily administer drug tests. Furthermore, the IWF has performed three separate purgings of its record books -- in 1992, 1996 and 1998. It did so by simply changing all the weight classes.
Weightlifting Fun Facts:
- Despite all the sport's recent drug problems, it's produced some serious superheroes. Perhaps none more so than Naim Suleymanoglu, Turkey's "Pocket Hercules," the featherweight lifter who won gold in 1988 and 1992. Suleymanoglu went into Atlanta 1996 having lost only one meet in 13 years. Greece's Valerios Leonidis had emerged as a serious challenger, matching Suleymanoglu lift for lift in run-up events, but outweighing him and losing a tie at the 1995 worlds. In Atlanta, Leonidis had worked himself down to a lower weight than the two-time Olympic champion.
- At Barcelona 1992, Unified Team member Ibragim Samadov, the gold medal favorite, lifted a total of 370kg (818 lbs.), but so did Pyrros Dimas of Greece and Poland's Krzysztof Siemion. Samadov was awarded bronze because he weighed one-tenth of a pound more than the other two. So unhappy was he that he refused to lean forward to allow the bronze to be placed around his neck, then flung it to the ground and walked out of the medal ceremony. Dimas followed him to give him the medal, and Samadov again threw it on the floor. The IOC and the IWF stripped Samadov of the medal and kicked him out of the Olympic Village.
- The colors of the weights show viewers and judges how much is being lifted. Red discs are 25 kg (55 lbs.), blue means 20kg (44 lbs.) and yellow weights weigh 15 kg (33 lbs.). White discs are 5kg (11 lbs.). The black ones, used only sparingly, are 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs.). The collars at the end of the barbells add an extra 2.5 kg each.
In 2008:
A total of 260 lifters will compete at next month's Olympics. China, the host nation, automatically received 10 places. From there, the qualification methods get confusing. Countries receive berths based on their showing at the 2006 and 2007 world championships as well as five officially sanctioned regional events, and are able to distribute them as they see fit. Also, individuals can also qualify for the Olympics based on strong performances, but no more than one male and one female from any one country can get in this way. A commission invites 10 more lifters, and any non-allocated Olympic spots are redistributed by the International Weightlifting Federation.
If an athlete has found a way to Beijing through all that, the competition will take place from August 9 to August 19 (Days 1-11) at the Beihang University Gymnasium. There will be 15 total weight classes contested, eight for men and six for women.
For men, the 2008 weight classes are: Bantamweight, 56kg (123 lbs. and under); Featherweight, 62kg (135 lbs.); Lightweight, 69kg (152 lbs.); Middleweight, 77kg (170 lbs.); Light Heavyweight, 85kg (187 lbs.); Middle Heavyweight, 94 kg (207 lbs.); Heavyweight, 105kg (231 lbs.); and Super Heavyweight, an unlimited-weight class above 105kg.
Women have competed since 2000 at Sydney. Females will compete at: Flyweight, 48kg (106 lbs.); Lightweight, 58kg (128 lbs.); Middleweight, 63kg (139 lbs.); Light Heavyweight, 69kg (152 lbs.); Heavyweight, 75kg (166 lbs.); and Super Heavyweight.
All-Time Medal Standings:
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 39 | 21 | 2 | 62 |
 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 43 |
 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 34 |
 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 36 |
 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 29 |
 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 21 |
 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
(Photo via 1956 Official Report)
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