With just under a month until the commencement of the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Junior World Championships in Heraklion, Greece, Karlos Nasar is making a statement — if you come ... Continue Reading
USA Weightlifting Submits Bid to Host the 2022 IWF World Championships
On April 7, 2022, USA Weightlifting (USAW) announced that they submitted a bid to host the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships on March 24, 2022. If granted, the 2022 ... Continue Reading
9-Year-Old Weightlifter Rory van Ulft (30KG) Deadlifts 100 Kilograms Beltless
Anytime a prominent weightlifter with multiple Youth National titles hops in the gym to perform a sumo-stance deadlift with more than three times their competition bodyweight, it's worth attention. On ... Continue Reading
Weight Categories and Competition Schedule Set for Weightlifting at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will kick off on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. Weightlifting will be one of the 32 sports featured at those Games, but many of the weight ... Continue Reading
USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews to Resign, Effective July 15, 2022
On March 31, 2022, USA Weightlifting (USAW) shared a press release that announced Phil Andrews' pending resignation as USAW's Chief Executive Officer effective July 15, 2022. Andrews first joined USAW in ... Continue Reading
2016 Olympic Champion Weightlifter Nijat Rahimov Banned for 8 Years
On Mar. 22, 2022, the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a Swiss-based international athletic regulatory body, issued a press release stating that Kazakh weightlifter ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Sara Ahmed (76KG) Clean & Jerks 150KG, Teases Possible Return to Competition
The landscape of Olympic weightlifting remains in flux following the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. On Mar. 16, 2022, Egyptian weightlifter Sara Samir Elsayed Mohamed Ahmed took to Instagram ... Continue Reading
Mary Theisen-Lappen (+87KG) Hits New American Clean & Jerk Record of 163 Kilograms (359.4 Pounds)
The 2022 USA Weightlifting (USAW) North American Open (NAO) Series 1 competition took place from March 3-6, 2022, at the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival (ASF) in Columbus, OH. With nearly 2,000 weightlifters ... Continue Reading
2022 USA Weightlifting North American Open Series 1 Results & Highlights
The weekend of Mar. 3 to Mar. 6, 2022, saw Columbus, Ohio inundated with legions of Olympic lifting enthusiasts and career weightlifters alike. As part of the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival (ASF), USA ... Continue Reading
Dmitry Klokov and 5 Other Russian Weightlifters Charged for Doping By International Testing Agency
Renowned weightlifter and 2005 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Champion Dmitry Klokov of Russia has been charged by the International Testing Agency (ITA) for the use of a banned ... Continue Reading
International Weightlifting Federation Suspends Russian and Belarusian Athletes & Events
The governing body of the sport of weightlifting has added its voice to the growing international outcry against Russia's attack on Ukraine. On Mar. 3, 2022, the International Weightlifting Federation's ... Continue Reading
Athletes To Watch at the 2022 North American Open Series 1 & National University Championships
After a long and eventful 2021, a new Olympic qualification cycle and competitive season of weightlifting are kicking off in the United States with the first American Open Series (NAO) event. Both NAO ... Continue Reading
Two-Time Olympian and American Weightlifting Icon Oscar Chaplin III Dies at Age 41
The Olympic weightlifting community has suffered a huge blow. On Feb. 9, 2022, USA Weightlifting confirmed to BarBend via e-mail that two-time Olympian and decorated weightlifter Oscar Chaplin III died on ... Continue Reading
Chinese Weightlifter Tian Tao Wants to Qualify for the 2024 Olympics at 89 Kilograms
With over three years until the Paris Olympic Games, the sport of weightlifting is seeing some early shake-ups. On Feb. 7, 2022, Chinese weightlifter Tian Tao announced on Instagram that he will be coming ... Continue Reading
American Weightlifter Ian Wilson Receives Three-Year Suspension for Doping Violation
On Feb. 3, 2022, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) issued a press release saying that Team USA weightlifter Ian Wilson accepted a three-year suspension for drug-related infractions. Wilson, a ... Continue Reading
Watch 64-Kilogram Weightlifter Loredana Toma Power Clean and Push Press 120 Kilograms
When it comes to the sport of weightlifting, it's all about power. And when Romania's Loredana Toma lifts, power is on display. The four-time European Champion recently posted a video to Instagram ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Katie Estep (55KG) Jerks 119KG (262 Pounds) for Two Reps Off Blocks
On Jan. 11, 2022, USA Weightlifting had some big news to share on their Instagram. In the video, weightlifter Katie Estep is seen jerking two kilograms over the Junior World Record clean & jerk. Estep, ... Continue Reading
International Weightlifting Federation Announces Proposed Bodyweight Categories for 2024 Olympics
On Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Athletes' Commission unveiled their proposed weight category changes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Per their announcement on ... Continue Reading
Mart Seim’s 300KG Squat Triple Proves He’s Got Some of the Strongest Legs in Weightlifting
Blink and you'll miss it. In the training hall of the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Estonian weightlifter Mart Seim was seen squatting 305 kilograms (672.4 pounds) in ... Continue Reading
International Weightlifting Federation Congress Approves Updated Election Process and Competition Host Countries
On Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) issued a press release highlighting the events of their Electoral Congress meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. According to the ... Continue Reading
International Olympic Committee Outlines Conditions for Weightlifting’s Reentry Into 2028 Olympic Games
Weightlifting was not included on the initial list of included sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games program, per a Dec. 9, 2021 announcement on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ... Continue Reading
2021 IWF World Championships Results
The 2021 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from Dec. 7-17, 2021, and featured a bounty of world records. The story entering the contest was ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze (+109KG) Sets Three World Records at 2021 IWF World Championships
Expectations were met and somehow still exceeded by super heavyweight weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia. He entered Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as the favorite to win gold at the 2021 International ... Continue Reading
Weightlifting is Out of the 2028 Olympic Games, At Least for Now
The sport of weightlifting is not currently on the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) list of inclusion for the 2028 Olympic Games, set in Los Angeles, CA. The news was announced on Dec. 9, 2021, on ... Continue Reading