The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will be relocating their offices from Budapest, Hungary to Lausanne, Switzerland. Editor's note: This article has been amended to clarify that ... Continue Reading
Zygmunt Smalcerz Is the New Head Coach of Norway Weightlifting
In Olympic Weightlifting news, media outlets in Poland and Norway are reporting that Zygmunt Smalcerz has been hired as the Head Coach of the Norwegian Weightlifting Federation. Smarlcerz, the 1972 Olympic ... Continue Reading
USA Weightlifting Partners With Canadian Weightlifting Federation for North American Open Series
USA Weightlifting and Canadian Weightlifting Fédération Haltérophile Canadienne (CWFHC) announced on Friday April 17th that they have established a partnership to hold the North American ... Continue Reading
Longtime IWF President Tamás Aján Resigns Amid Corruption Investigation
After a 24-year reign as the General Secretary and 20 years as its President, Dr. Tamás Aján has officially resigned from the International Weightlifting Federation. Ursula Papandrea, the American who ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Tian Tao Squats 310kg/683lb For a Double Beltless
Athletes who were gearing up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games this summer have had to adjust to it being officially postponed for a full year until July 2021. Although this historic change in schedule may ... Continue Reading
Weightlifters From Thailand and Malaysia Banned From 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) shared a press release on Friday, April 4th citing sanctions issued to the Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (TAWA) and the Malaysian ... Continue Reading
Calling All Weightlifters, the Nike Romaleos 4 Are Officially Out
Over the last week, there has been a fair amount of news that's circulated about the Nike Romaleos 4 weightlifting shoes. From athlete sneak peaks in regard to what they look like, to a shaky release ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Li Fabin (61kg) Clean & Jerks 180kg/397lb, Sets Unofficial World Record
Li Fabin, the 27 year old weightlifter from China, competes in the -61kg weight class and was expected to post some huge numbers at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games before they were postponed until 2021 due to ... Continue Reading
Qualified Athletes For 2020 Olympic Games Will Keep Their Spots In 2021
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, originally scheduled for July 24th through August 9th, were officially postponed on March 24th. There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Games would be ... Continue Reading
The Tokyo Olympics Have Officially Been Postponed Until 2021
When longstanding International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound revealed in an interview yesterday that the Tokyo Games were being postponed, there wasn’t much of a reason to question the truth of the ... Continue Reading
Canada Pulls Their Athletes From the Summer Olympic Games
While event after event is canceled as the coronavirus pandemic spreads worldwide, the “rising clamor” to cancel or postpone the Summer Olympics is reaching a fever pitch. Now, the Summer Olympics has ... Continue Reading
Phil Andrews: USA Weightlifting’s Response to COVID-19
Athletes and sports governing bodies across the world have been racing to adapt to postponements, cancellations, and the challenges of training while maintaining social distance. In this special episode, ... Continue Reading
2020 Weightlifting Events Canceled or Postponed Due To Coronavirus (Updated)
The coronavirus pandemic is causing multiple Olympic weightlifting events to be canceled, postponed, or otherwise affected. We at BarBend decided it would be helpful to have a continuously updated ... Continue Reading
Olympic Torch Relay Continues With Adjustments as WHO Declares Pandemic
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games have encountered a lot of difficult circumstances recently. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic (as declared by the World Health Organization) has compelled governments ... Continue Reading
Both the European and African Weightlifting Championships Have Been Postponed
The International Weightlifting Federation has announced that two significant events in the sport’s calendar have been postponed due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak: The European Weightlifting ... Continue Reading
Asian Weightlifting Championships Postponed; Olympics May Prohibit Spectators
Two developments in the coronavirus outbreak surfaced late this week. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwjTRf2gLKM/ The Asian Weightlifting Championships Postponed First up, the Asian Weightlifting ... Continue Reading
Heaviest Competition Snatch and Clean & Jerk in American History
Did you know one athlete has both the heaviest competition snatch and clean & jerk in American history? Shane Hamman is a multi-time Olympian who represented the United States in the 2000 Sydney and ... Continue Reading
Arnold Sports Festival Spectators Were Allowed, Then Prohibited Again In Confusing Series of Announcements
The circumstances and communication surrounding the four-day 2020 Arnold Sports Festival, which began today in Columbus, Ohio have caused significant confusion over the past couple of days. Here is a ... Continue Reading
Katherine Nye Will No Longer Compete At the Arnold Sports Festival
Team USA weightlifter Katherine Nye has announced her withdrawal from the American Open Series 1, also known as the Arnold Weightlifting Championships. The event is scheduled to take place at the ... Continue Reading
Long-Time IWF President Tamás Aján Resigns IOC Honorary Membership Amid Corruption Investigation
According to a press release shared on the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF)'s website, longstanding IWF President Dr. Tamás Aján is resigning his International Olympic Committee (IOC) honorary ... Continue Reading
The 2020 IWF Junior World Championships Have Been Cancelled Due to Coronavirus Concerns
Two weeks before it was scheduled to take place, the 2020 International Weightlifting Federation Junior World Weightlifting Championships have been cancelled, with the outbreak and global spread of the ... Continue Reading
How to Watch Weightlifting at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival
The Arnold Sports Festival, also just called “The Arnold,” is arguably the biggest event on the strength sports calendar. The Arnold holds big time competitions for many strength sports, bringing ... Continue Reading
The Heaviest Women’s Snatch and Clean & Jerk Ever Made in Competition
In the world of weightlifting, all records are cool, but heaviest EVER is just so much fun to talk about. So who holds the marks for heaviest women's snatch and clean & jerk of all time? When ... Continue Reading
East Asian Weightlifting Championships Postponed Due to Coronavirus Concerns
Probably the strength sport most affected by the spread of the coronavirus is Olympic weightlifting. Given the highly regulated nature of the sport, the frequency of its competitions, the huge number of ... Continue Reading