Weightlifting is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead. The snatch is a wide-grip lift, in which the weighted barbell is lifted overhead in one motion. The clean and jerk is a combination lift, in which the weight is first taken from the ground to the front of the shoulders, and then from the shoulders to over the head.
Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effort of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as "odd lifts", which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events, akin to strongman competition. Eventually, odd lifts became standardized to the current three.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The USOPC is one of only four NOCs in the world that also serve as the National Paralympic Committee for their country. The USOPC is responsible for supporting, entering and overseeing U.S. teams for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and Parapan American Games and serves as the steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States.
USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overall organization and operation of the sport within the country, in accordance with the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The national headquarters of USA Swimming is located at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
United States of America Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and training national teams for the Olympic Games and World Championships. The mission of USA Gymnastics is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of gymnastics.
Clyde Emrich was an American Olympic weightlifter. He was also a long-time strength coach for the Chicago Bears, who in 2008 named their weight room after him. He is a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.
Ben Turner is an Australian weightlifter best known for his performances at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where he won the gold medal in the 69 kg category, and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, where he won Silver in the 77 kg category. Turner is also a coach and has worked with former top Australian female lifter Erika Yamasaki.
The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. U.S. athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which was boycotted by the American team and many others in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The USOC sent a total of 588 athletes to Beijing, and competed in all Olympic sports except handball.
Hidilyn Francisco Diaz-Naranjo is a Filipino World and Olympic champion weightlifter and airwoman, the first Filipino to ever win an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. She is also an Olympic weightlifting record holder by winning the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Karyn Marshall is an American Olympic weightlifter who won the first women's world championship in weightlifting, held in 1987. She also set 60 American and world records in women's weightlifting and in 1985 became the first woman in history to clean and jerk over 300 lb (136 kg), which she did with a lift of 303 pounds (137 kg). She became a chiropractor and runs a private practice in Shrewsbury, New Jersey while battling breast cancer since 2011. In 2011, Marshall was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame, and she was inducted into the International Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Lü Xiaojun is a Chinese weightlifter. He is a three-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion competing in the 77 kg category until 2018 and 81 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories. He has been provisionally banned for EPO use since December 2022.
Sarah Elizabeth Robles is an American weightlifter. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and earned a bronze medal in weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first US athlete to medal in Olympic weightlifting in 16 years. She repeated her feat in the +87 kg category at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, once again earning bronze, and becoming the first US woman to earn two Olympic weightlifting medals.
Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can include: developing physical strength; promoting health and fitness; competing in weightlifting sports; and developing a muscular and aesthetic physique.
Natalie Burgener is an American weightlifter. She is a multiple-time American record-holder, a four-time national weightlifting champion (2005–2008), and a resident athlete of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She also won a bronze medal for the 63 kg division at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Alyssa Rae Nicole Lampe is an American freestyle wrestler. She won bronze medals in the 48 kg and 51 kg weight classes at the 2012 and 2013 Women's World Championships. She competes with the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. Lampe has been a member of Team USA from 2009-16 and then returned in 2021-22. She has been a member of the United States's World team a total of five times.
Kulsoom Abdullah is a Pakistani-American weightlifter who became the first female weightlifter representing Pakistan when she competed at the 2011 World Championships. The same year she made history when, in keeping with her religious views, she became the first woman to compete in hijab, covered arms and legs after the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) modified its rules to accommodate her request to do so.
Martha Ann "Mattie" Rogers is an American Olympic weightlifter. She is a four-time silver medalist at the World Weightlifting Championships. She holds the United States record in the snatch, clean & jerk, and total. She competed for the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 87 kg category.
Laurel Hubbard is a New Zealand weightlifter. Selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she was the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympic Games. Prior to making her Olympic debut, Hubbard achieved a ranking of 7th in the IWF's women's +87 kg division.
Talha Talib is a Pakistani weightlifter from Gujranwala. He is the Pakistani national champion in the 62 kg category. He set a new record at the games in snatch as he lifted 132 kg in the third attempt with 127 kg and 130 kg in the first two attempts, respectively. He was also a gold medalist at the 2016 Commonwealth Youth Weightlifting Championships in Penang. He lifted 258 kg to clinch the gold. He is currently the top No. 1 ranked weightlifter of Pakistan.
British Weight Lifting (BWL) is a trading name of the British Weight Lifters' Association Ltd (BWLA), the National Governing Body (NGB) in the United Kingdom for the sports of weightlifting and para powerlifting. The Association was initially established in 1910. From 1911 to 2003 its name was the British Amateur Weight Lifters' Association (BAWLA); and in 1957, it was incorporated as a limited company.
