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Weightlifting contests have been common since ancient times (and were apparently included in the ancient Greek Olympics), and were a part of the original Olympic Games in 1896. Women's weightlifting began in the 1980s and was added to the Olympic program in 2000.

Weights are mounted on a steel barbell which weighs 20 kilograms for male competition and 15 for female competition. The weights themselves are rubber-coated steel discs, color-coded for their different weights, and held in place by 2.5 kg collars. Identical weights are placed at each end of the barbell. The barbell has patterns (knurling) engraved on it to assist the lifters to get a steady grip on the bar. Competitors start with the weighted barbell placed in the middle of a 4 x 4 metre wooden floor, coated with non-slip material.

There are two different weightlifting events - the " snatch ", in which competitors must lift the barbell above their head in one steady movement, and the " clean and jerk" where competitors first "clean" the barbell from the floor to an intermediate position squatting with the barbell resting on their chests, then stand straight while continuing to rest the barbell, then "jerking" the barbell to a position above their head. In both cases, for a successful lift, competitors must hold the bar steady above their heads, with arms and legs straight and motionless.

Three judges judge the successful completion of the lift. Once a competitor has met the requirements in their opinion, each judge shines a white light. When at least two white lights are shown, the lift is regarded as successful and the competitor may return the bar to the platform. If the competitor fails to achieve a successful lift in the opinion of a judge, a red light is shown. The bar must be lifted to at least knee level within 60 seconds of the bar being loaded or the lift does not count. If the competitor is making two consecutive lifts then they are permitted 120 seconds for the second lift. A third lift, the "clean and press" or simply "press", was practiced in the Olympics until 1972. The clean and press differs from the clean and jerk, in that the weight is pressed directly up from the chest in slow controlled motion rather than being jerked. The event was eliminated due to the difficulty in judging whether the lift was performed correctly.

Competitors compete in one of eight (seven for women) divisions determined by their body mass. The men's classes are 56 kg, 62 kg, 69 kg, 77 kg, 85 kg, 94 kg, 105 kg and 105+ kg. The women's classes are 48 kg, 53 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg, and 75+ kg. In each weight division, competitors compete in both the snatch and clean and jerk, and prizes are usually given for the heaviest weights lifted in the snatch, clean and jerk, and the two combined.

The order of the competition is up to the lifters - the competitor who chooses to attempt the lowest weight goes first. If they are unsuccessful at that weight, they have the option of reattempting that lift, or trying a heavier weight later (after any other competitors have made attempts at that weight or any intermediate weights). Weights are set in 2.5 kilogram increments, and each lifter can have a maximum of three lifts, regardless of whether lifts are successful or not.

Weightlifting can be an awe-inspiring spectator sport, as competitors expend massive psychological and physical efforts to lift weights over twice their own body weight. The competitive sport is controlled by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). Based in Budapest, it was founded in 1905.

From the 1950s to the 1980s many successful elite weightlifters were from parts of eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Since then lifters from ChinaThis article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). China ( Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: Zhongguo, Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) is a country in continental East Asia with some oute, IranIran ( Persian: ) is a Middle Eastern country located in southwestern Asia that until 1935 was referred to in the West as Persia''. It borders Pakistan (909km of border) and Afghanistan (936km) to the east, Turkmenistan (1000km) to the northeast, the Casp, GreeceGreece formally called the Hellenic Republic (in Greek: ) Hellenike Demokratia , is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It is bounded on land by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania and TurkeyTurkey (officially the Republic of Turkey Turkish Turkiye is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the have dominated the sport. Naim SuleymanogluNaim Suleymanoğlu (also Naim Suleimanov and Naum Shalamanov, born January 23, 1967 at Ptichar, Bulgaria) is a World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting. He won three Olympic Championships, seven World Championships and 6 European Championships and of Turkey won Olympic gold in 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day., 19921992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday. Events January January The Internet Society is formed. January 1 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General January 1 George H. Bush becomes the fi and 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan, while another Turkish weightlifter Halil Mutlu repeated the same in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Vasily Alexeyev of Russia set 80 world records and won two gold medals during the 1970s. Today countries with leading weightlifters in Olympic Games are Iran, Russia and Bulgaria.

The total record in the men's 56 kg class is 305 kg, in the 105 kg and above class it is 472.5 kg. The quality of lifters in different classes can be compared using the Sinclair Coefficients .