If you’ve been tuning into the action at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, you might’ve found your way to a weightlifting event and wondered: How does this sport even work?

Sure, weightlifting at the Olympics is simple on the surface. Spandex-clad superhumans throw loaded barbells overhead in the blink of an eye. The strongest one wins. Simple as that, right?

More or less, but weightlifting competitions don’t look much like the weight room at your local gym, do they? And yet, weightlifting at the Olympics is incredibly captivating — even more so if you actually understand it. That’s why we’re recruiting a 2020 Olympian to help you get the lay of the land.

Weightlifting at the Olympics, Explained

Weightlifting is one of the oldest Olympic events, having debuted in 1896 and undergone many changes since then. Come Paris, and you’re looking at a straightforward biathlon.

We asked Team USA 2020 weightlifting Olympian Caine Wilkes to explain his sport to us like we were, say, five years old:

“Lifters have 3 attempts to lift as much weight as possible in two lifts: First the snatch and then the clean & jerk. Your heaviest snatch is combined with your heaviest clean and jerk for your ‘Total,’ and the heaviest total is declared the winner. In a tie, the person who lifted the Total first wins.”

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The snatch is a single movement in which a weightlifter vaults the bar from the floor to arm’s length overhead without stopping.

The clean & jerk has the same objective, but the weightlifter pulls the bar onto their collarbones first, then stands up and pushes it overhead. That push overhead is called a jerk.

Credit: USA Weightlifting

Weightlifting’s charm is based partially in its simplicity. While other Olympic sports may have many different events, each with its own rules or opaque grading systems, weightlifting is straightforward. According to 2021 World Champion Meredith Alwine, the simplicity is the best part:

“I think, despite ranking or position, it’s clear that each athlete is giving their all,” she says. “It’s incredibly moving to see how much it means to them; miss or make. The celebration, and devastation, is palpable to the audience.”

When it comes to weightlifting at the Olympics, the ranking system is as two-dimensional as the sport itself: the strongest athlete wins. That’s the case for every weightlifting meet, but the rules are a bit different at the Games.

Olympics Weightlifting Rules

Weightlifting at the Olympics operates a bit differently than all other competitive venues. While most of the technical rules remain the same — the bar can’t stop once you start moving it, except during the clean, you must display control over the weight before being allowed to drop it — the Games rank and award weightlifters differently.

“At Games competitions, only the Total medals are contested. If you ‘bomb out’ in the snatch, you don’t go out for clean & jerks, since there’s no more chances for medaling,” Wilkes says.

He adds that qualification procedures for the Olympics are more difficult than other events, with stricter rules, too.

If you’d like to read up on the rules of weightlifting, you can refer to the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) official ruleset here. If not, here’s a cursory explanation of the most important rules to be aware of if you’re watching weightlifting at the Olympics (or anywhere, really):

During the snatch, the athlete must move the bar from the floor to arm’s length overhead in one motion.

During the clean & jerk, the athlete must move the bar from the floor to their collarbones, stand still, and then “jerk” it overhead.

Weightlifters must start their attempt before the countdown clock expires.

Weightlifters must not bend and straighten their arms once the bar is over their head in both exercises.

Weightlifters must display control and stability while holding the bar and await a buzzer signal from the judges before dropping it.

The “Rising Bar” Principle

Weightlifting at the Olympics (and everywhere else) follows what’s called a “rising bar.” Each weightlifting competitor declares the weight they intend to lift on their first of three attempts, and are ordered in a sequence from lowest opener to highest.

Athletes are then called in accordance with the weights they’ve declared their intent to lift; the weight of the barbell can only increase, which naturally sorts the order of the contestants in accordance with the rising bar rule. To illustrate:

Athlete A declares and lifts 100 kilograms in the snatch for their first attempt.

Athlete B declares 101 kilograms, so they go out afterward but are unsuccessful.

Athlete C also declares 101 and lifts it successfully after Athlete B failed.

No one wants or needs to try 101 again, so the bar’s weight is increased to 102 for Athlete A’s second attempt.

Athlete B declares 102 as well, and is successful despite “missing” their first attempt.

Athlete C jumped from 101 to 105, so they are waiting in the wings for the bar to rise.

Neither Athletes A nor B want to try anything less than 105, so the bar is increased.

Athlete C announced their intent to “make” 105 first, so they are the first to come out and try it…

And so on. In plain English, the strongest athletes wait their turn and appear on stage last.

What Equipment Do Weightlifters Use?

Here’s an overview of the equipment the athletes use during weightlifting at the Olympics.

Barbell: Weightlifters lift a 15-kilogram (for women) and 20-kilogram (for men) barbell that is specifically designed to enhance performance in the Olympic lifts.

Bumper Plates: Rubber-coated bumper plates of various colors are loaded upon the barbell. Red plates are 25 kilograms, blues are 20, yellows weigh 15, and green plates are 10 kilograms. The unique colors allow viewers to count up how much weight the athlete is lifting.

Change Plates: Smaller replicas of the bumper plates are loaded onto the bar to achieve precise loads. Their weights mirror their larger cousins; small red change plates weigh 2.5 kilograms while the “big reds” weigh 25, and so on.

Collars: A pair of winding collars are wound onto the ends of the bar to keep the plates in place. These collars weigh 2.5 kilograms each. If the bar requires change plates, any that weigh less than 2.5 kilograms are placed on the outside of the collars.

Platform: Athletes perform on a square wooden platform that’s 4 meters by 4 meters. The platform is constructed out of layers of varnished wood and shock-absorbing materials like compressed rubber. It is designed to disperse the force of the barbell being dropped from several feet in the air.

You’ll also see weightlifters using sport-specific heeled weightlifting shoes. Lifting shoes are designed to increase strength and power by adding stability and improving mobility. Additionally, many weightlifters opt for joint support via knee sleeves or wrist wraps.

Weightlifting at the 2024 Olympics

Now that you’ve got a grasp on the rules and regs, you need to know the schedule. Weightlifters are competing in Paris between Aug. 7 and 11. There are 10 total weight class events; five for men and five for women.

Wednesday, August 7

9:00 a.m.: Men 61KG

1:30 p.m.: Women 49KG

Thursday, August 8

9:00 a.m.: Women 59KG

1:30 p.m.: Men 73KG

Friday, August 9

9:00 a.m.: Men 89KG

1:30 p.m.: Women 71KG

Saturday, August 10

5:30 a.m.: Men 102KG

10:00 a.m.: Women 81KG

2:30 p.m.: Men +102KG

Sunday, August 11

5:30 a.m.: Women +81KG

More Weightlifting Content on BarBend

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These Are the Olympic Records in Weightlifting (for Now)

Why Some Countries Struggle To Send Weightlifters to the Olympic Games

Featured Image: @iwfnet / Instagram

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