Weightlifting is a sport based on the lifting of a series of progressively heavier metal weights, which are generally encased in rubber. Participants engage in the sport for competitive or recreational purposes. As a competitive sport, weightlifting is popular internationally, notably in the United States, the countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Germany, Romania, Poland, Finland, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, China, and Cuba. The sport of weightlifting is organized worldwide by the International Weightlifting Federation, located in Budapest, Hungary, and in the United States by the U.S. Weightlifting Federation, Incorporated, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Weightlifting is one of the sports in the Olympic Games.
The chief item in weightlifting is the barbell, a steel rod to which plates (also called disks) of different weights may be attached by means of clamps called spin-lock collars. The plates are interchangeable.
Participants in weightlifting contests are usually tested in two types of lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. A third type, the press, was eliminated after the 1972 Summer Olympics.
In executing the snatch the contestant grasps the barbell and in one continuous motion lifts it to a position of arm's length overhead. Both legs may be flexed or moved at any time during this lift, but they must be straightened and returned to the same plane to complete the lift.
The clean and jerk involves lifting the barbell to shoulder level in one motion and above the head in another, separate motion. Most competitors gain power for the final, upward thrust by bending and then suddenly straightening the knees, then moving the body under the barbell.
Weightlifters compete in ten classes for men and nine classes for women. These classes are based on body weight and are designated by the maximum body weight allowed in each class. The men's classes are 54 kg, 59 kg, 64 kg, 70 kg, 76 kg, 83 kg, 91 kg, 99 kg, 108 kg, and more than 108 kg.
