WEIGHTLIFTING

It may seem easy since the task is “simply” to lift weight from the ground and over one’s head – in one or two movements, depending on the type of lift – but weightlifting requires a combination of power, speed, technique, concentration and timing.

The champions of the sport’s super heavyweight categories can also claim the title of the world’s strongest man or woman (although weightlifters from the lighter categories are usually even stronger).

Men’s weightlifting has been part of the Games since the first modern Games of 1896, while women’s weightlifting joined the Olympic family in Sydney 2000.