Weightlifting is a competitive strength 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. The sport formerly included a third lift/event known as clean and press.
Naim Süleymanoğlu was a Turkish Olympic weightlifter. He was a seven-time World Weightlifting champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set 46 world records. At 147 cm in height, Süleymanoğlu's short stature and great strength led to him being nicknamed "Pocket Hercules". He is widely considered as one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters of all time, with many calling him the best pound-for-pound weightlifter in the history of weightlifting.
Aruba sent a delegation to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece from 13 to 29 August 2004. The delegation's participation in the Athens Olympics marked Aruba's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the Dutch colony's debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across three sports. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the first round in their events, and as of Athens, no Arubans had medaled in any events. Roshendra Vrolijk bore Aruba's flag at the ceremonies.
Solomon Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea from 17 September to 2 October 1988. This was the island nation's second time participating in a Summer Olympic Games, following their debut four years earlier. Solomon Islands competed at these games in track and field, archery, boxing, and weightlifting, with one competitor in each category. Only Benjamin Fafale, the weightlifter, completed an event final, finishing 22nd in the middleweight category.
Aruba sent a delegation to compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States from 19 July to 4 August 1996. This was Aruba's third appearance at a Summer Olympic Games since separating from the Netherlands Antilles. The Aruban delegation consisted of three competitors, track and field athlete Miguel Janssen, weightlifter Junior Faro, and cyclist Lucien Dirksz. Janseen was eliminated in the first round of the men's 200 metres, Faro finished 21st in the men's middleweight, and Dirksz failed to finish his event.
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.
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.
The weightlifting competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul consisted of ten weight classes, all for men only.
On behalf of the Cook Islands the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee sent a team to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, marking its sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics since its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The country sent four athletes to the Games across three sports and four distinct events. No athlete of the Cook Islander delegation progressed past the first rounds in their events and did not go on to win medals. Pera was the nation's flag bearer at the ceremonies.
The men's pommel horse competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 18, 20 and 24th at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall. There were 89 competitors from 23 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. For the second time, the event ended in a three-way tie for first place. Dmitry Bilozerchev of the Soviet Union, Zsolt Borkai of Hungary, and Lubomir Geraskov of Bulgaria each received a gold medal. It was Bulgaria's first medal in the pommel horse. Hungary had its third gold medal in four Games, with Zoltán Magyar winning in 1976 and 1980 before the nation was part of the Soviet-led boycott in 1984. The Soviets had had an eight-Games medal streak in the event snapped by that boycott; Bilozerchev's medal put the nation back on the podium after that one-Games absence.
The men's 62 kilograms weightlifting event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 17.
Antonio Krastev was a Bulgarian super heavyweight Olympic-style weightlifter best known for his 1987 heaviest ever snatch in IWF competition, at 216 kg. This was only equalled by Behdad Salimi of Iran at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and finally surpassed at the 2017 European Championships by Lasha Talakhadze, who now holds the record of 225 kg. Krastev's record was no longer official after the restructuring of the weight classes in 1993 and 1998. Krastev is a two-time world and European champion. He was also world junior champion in 1981 and runner-up in 1979. Antonio has six gold medals from World Cup tournaments and has a silver medal from the 1986 World Cup final in Melbourne. The Bulgarian giant is also a two-time Balkan champion and a ten-time Bulgarian champion - five for men and five for juniors. In 1987, he won the Golden Boot award for best performance at the European Championships in Reims, France.
The Men's Featherweight Weightlifting Event is the third-lightest men's event at the Olympic weightlifting competition, limiting competitors to a maximum of 60 kilograms of body mass. The competition took place on 28 July 1992 in the Pavelló de l'Espanya Industrial.
The men's 52 kg weightlifting event was the lightest event at the weightlifting competition of the 1988 Summer Olympics, limiting competitors to a maximum of 52 kilograms of body mass. The competition took place on 18 September, and participants were divided in two groups. Each lifter performed in both the snatch and clean and jerk lifts, with the final score being the sum of the lifter's best result in each. The athlete received three attempts in each of the two lifts; the score for the lift was the heaviest weight successfully lifted.
The men's +110 kg weightlifting event was the heaviest event at the weightlifting competition of the 1988 Summer Olympics, with competitors required to have a minimum of 110 kilograms of body mass. The competition took place on 29 September, and participants were divided in two groups.
The men's 56 kg weightlifting event was one of the event at the weightlifting competition of the 1988 Summer Olympics, limiting competitors to a maximum of 56 kilograms of body mass. The competition took place on 19 September, and participants were divided in two groups.
The men's 67.5 kg weightlifting event was one of the events at the weightlifting competition of the 1988 Summer Olympics, limiting competitors to a maximum of 67.5 kilograms of body mass. The competition took place on 20 September, and participants were divided in two groups.
Mitko Todorov Grablev is a Bulgarian weightlifter who competed for Bulgaria. He is a twice European champion and a world record holder. He originally claimed the gold medal in Weightlifting at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 56 kg but was disqualified after he tested positive for furosemide. It became a scandal after another Bulgarian weightlifter Angel Guenchev, who also originally claimed a gold medal in weightlifting, was disqualified for failing a drug test and resulting to a positive result for the doping agent furosemide. The Bulgarian weightlifting team was forced to withdraw midway from the weightlifting competition.
Angel Angelov Genchev is a Bulgarian weightlifter who competed for Bulgaria. He claimed the gold medal in weightlifting at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 67.5 kg but was disqualified after he tested positive for furosemide, an IOC banned substance. It became a scandal because earlier in the meet fellow Bulgarian weightlifter Mitko Grablev had also been disqualified, after claiming a gold medal in his division, when his drug test came back positive, also for furosemide. The Bulgarian weightlifting team was forced to withdraw midway through the Weightlifting competition. Of six athletes known to have lifted more than triple their bodyweight, Genchev's 202.5 kg world record was the heaviest ever performed in competition. Genchev is a European champion in the 75 kg category from Cardiff in 1988. He was also a bronze medalist at the 1994 World Championships in Istanbul. He won the European Cup in Reims 1986 and Miskolc 1987 with the team of Bulgaria. There he set a world record in snatch - 170 kg. Angel is a four-time World and European junior champion.
This article details the qualifying phase for weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The competition at these Games includes 196 athletes. Each competing nation is allowed to enter a maximum of 8 competitors, 4 men and 4 women. The IWF released its qualification list on 28 June 2021.
