One of the most interesting sports to watch, weightlifting often highlights the depth of physical strength and courage of the human body. The sport which is a combination of raw power and technique often witnesses the athletes lifting double or triple the weight of their bodies. The sport is tricky as well and one wrong lift can cause an injury to the players.
The historic sport traces its roots to Africa, South Asia and modern Greece. The governing body for the sport - the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) was formed in 1905 and it played a crucial role in making weightlifting a permanent fixture in the Olympics.
Olympic history of the sport
Weightlifting made its maiden appearance in 1896 but there is a huge difference in how the sport was played back then and how it is played today. The 1896 Olympics featured two weightlifting events - lifting with one hand and lifting with two hands. Launceston Elliot of Great Britain was the one-hand champion while Viggo Jensen of Denmark topped lifting with two hands. The sport didn't feature after that till 1920 but when it returned to the fold it became a regular feature in the Olympic Programme. Also, the one-hand event was discarded after the 1924 Olympics.
By the 1928 Olympics, the lifts had become a three-step procedure which involved the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the clean and press. In 1972, the clean and press were removed as it was causing difficulty in judging the technique of the weightlifters.
Women’s weightlifting was added to the Olympic charter from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 10 events will be competed in weightlifting in Paris and there will be a tough fight in Paris.
Top performers in Olympic weightlifting
In the male weightlifters, Greece’s Pyrros Dimas is the most successful Olympian winning three gold medals and a bronze medal in the Games. He won medals in the 82.5/83/85 kg categories from 1992 to 2004 Olympics. Greek weightlifter Akakios Kakiasvilis and Turkey’s Halil Mutlu and Naim Suleymanoglu have also won three Olympic golds each and they are also one of the elite performers of the sport in the Olympics.
China’s Chen Yanqing (58kg) and South Korean Hsu Shu-Ching (53kg) are other successful weightlifters in the Olympics winning a couple of gold medals each.
Indian weightlifters in Paris 2024
Mirabai Chanu (49 Kg) - Mirabai will represent the country in the 49 Kg category at the Paris Games. One of the medal contenders for the contenders, Chanu will be participating in her third Olympics and will be gunning for a second consecutive Olympic medal. The Manipur-based athlete won a silver in Tokyo 2021 in the 48 kg category becoming only the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal.
Although Chanu is considered to be a medal contender she is coming back after an injury. Also, in the qualification event for the Paris Games held in March - the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup she was in the 12th position and was very short of the weight lifted by the athlete who finished at the top.
India’s track record in Olympic Weightlifting
India’s maiden participation in the sport came in 1948 when Daniel Pon Mony participated in Men’s featherweight and finished the final in 16th position with a total of 280 kg. Dandamudi Rajagopal took part in Men’s Lightweight but finished in the last position. In 1984, two Indian athletes - Mahendran Kannan and Deven Govindasami managed the first top-10 finish for the country in the final of Flyweight and Bantamweight respectively.
The Sydney 2000 Olympics provided a watershed moment for India in the sport of weightlifting as Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in the women’s 69 kg category by lifting a total of 240 kg. Another Indian athlete, Sanamacha Chanu was impressive in the Women’s 53 category with a fifth-place finish.
Four years later, Kunjarani Devi produced an impressive outing in the women’s 48kg. She missed the bronze medal position by a close margin and ended up in fourth place. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu inked a new chapter in Indian weightlifting in Tokyo bagging a silver with at total of 202 kg. All eyes will be on her this time around as well for a medal.
Rules
There are two stages in modern weightlifting - the snatch and the clean and the jerk.
In the snatch, the weightlifter picks up the barbell and lifts it above his head in one singular motion. In the clean and jerk, the weightlifter has to first bring the barbell up to his chest. Then, he should extend his arms and legs to lift the barbell straight above his head without bending his knees.
Weightlifting is given three attempts in each discipline and a total of both is counted as the score of the athlete. The one who decided to lift the lowest weight got to take his turn first and also the weightlifters have only one minute from the point when their name was called out to take an attempt.
