Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting, is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete vying to successfully lift the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead: these are the snatch and the clean and jerk. 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 overhead. The clean and press, wherein a clean was followed by an overhead press, was formerly also a competition lift, but was discontinued due to difficulties in judging proper form.
At the 1896 Summer Olympics, two weightlifting events were contested. The top two places were won by the same two men in each event, though their order was reversed for the two events. The bronze medals were split by the two Greek weightlifters. A total of seven men from five nations competed.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics one gymnastics event for men was contested. The competition was held on Sunday, 29 July 1900, and on Monday, 30 July 1900. There were 135 competitors from 8 nations. The top 18 places were taken by French gymnasts, of which there were more than 100. The event was won by Gustave Sandras, with Noël Bas finishing second and Lucien Démanet third. The highest-placing foreign gymnast was Jules Ducret of Switzerland, in a tie for 19th place.
Sotirios Versis was a Greek athlete and weightlifter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris.
Stephanos Christopoulos was a Greek wrestler. He was a member of Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron, that merged in 1923 with Panachaikos Gymnastikos syllogos to become Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi.
Weightlifting has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the 1920 Summer Olympics, 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.
Sierra Leone sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the African nation's sixth time appearing at a Summer Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of three competitors, two track and field athletes; Alpha B. Kamara and Ekundayo Williams; and weightlifter Joseph Bellon. Neither of the track athletes advanced beyond the first round of their events, while Bellon finished 16th in the men's under 77 kg event.
The men's one hand lift, an event similar to the modern snatch, was one of two weightlifting events in the weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme.
The men's two hand lift was one of two weightlifting events held as part of the Weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics program. The two-handed lift was the first weightlifting event on 7 April. Six athletes took part. Viggo Jensen of Denmark and Launceston Elliot of the United Kingdom both lifted 111.5 kilograms, and the tie was broken by a determination by Prince George that Jensen had performed the lift with better form than had Elliot. A protest by the British delegation resulted in each athlete being given further attempts to improve their scores. Neither did, and the results stood as originally declared with Jensen taking the gold medal. Jensen had, however, suffered from the extra lifts in that he experienced a slight injury in trying to lift more than he was able.
The Solomon Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain from 25 July to 9 August 1992. This was the nation's third appearance at a Summer Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single weightlifter, Leslie Ata, who finished 29th in the men's under 75 kilograms event.
Nauru competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States from 19 July to 4 August 1996. The delegation consisted of three weightlifters; Quincy Detenamo, Gerard Garabwan, and Marcus Stephen. Their best performances were by Detenamo, who came 20th in the men's 76 kg category and Garabwan who finished 24th in the men's 91 kg event. Stephen failed to finish his event, but would later become President of the Republic.
Albania first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1972. They missed the next four games, three of them for political reasons due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, 1984 Summer Olympics boycott and 1988 boycotts, but returned for the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics. They have appeared in all games since then. They made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006. Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting, and wrestling. The country has not yet won an Olympic medal, and along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is the only European non-microstate without an Olympic medal. They have been represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee since 1972.
The men's light heavyweight event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the second-heaviest contested, and allowed weightlifters of up to 82.5 kilograms. The competition was held on Sunday, 29 July 1928.
The men's heavyweight or unlimited event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the heaviest contested, and allowed weightlifters over 82.5 kilograms. The competition was held on Sunday, 29 July 1928.
The men's lightweight event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the second-lightest contested, and allowed weightlifters of up to 67.5 kilograms. The competition was held on 22 July 1924.
The men's light-heavyweight event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the second-heaviest contested, and allowed weightlifters of up to 82.5 kilograms. The competition was held on Wednesday, 23 July 1924.
The men's +105 kg competition of the weightlifting events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 27 at the Weightlifting Forum. The defending champion was Cristián Escalante from Chile. Escalante was scheduled to compete, however withdrew after testing positive for drugs.
The Men's Super heavyweight Weightlifting Event (+110 kg) is the heaviest men's event at the weightlifting competition. It was open to any competitors who had at least 110.0 kilograms of body mass. The maximum weight was unlimited. The competition took place on 4 August in the Pavelló de l'Espanya Industrial.
The men's 75 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place on 10 August at the Empress Hall of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. It was the sixth time the middleweight class competition was held, all at 75 kg.
The men's +82.5 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place on 11 August at the Empress Hall of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. It was the sixth time the heavyweight class competition was held, all at over 82.5 kg.
