Hampton Morris made a great start for Team USA at the 2024 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, an Olympic qualifying competition. Morris broke all three American national records in the 61-kilogram ... Continue Reading
Why Can’t North Korea Compete in Weightlifting at the 2024 Olympic Games?
“This is the first time that all of our athletes have won gold,” says Song Nam Jang, head coach of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK or PRK) weightlifting team in an interview provided to ... Continue Reading
2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships Full Results
It's finally here. The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France inch closer by the day. But before then, the best weightlifters in the world will continue to fight for those few precious Olympic qualification ... Continue Reading
Song Kuk Hyang (71KG) Sets 154KG Clean & Jerk World Record at 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships
At this point, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) might need to just chuck out the record book altogether. The 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships (AWC) run from Feb. 3 to 10 in Tashkent, ... Continue Reading
Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (73KG) Lifts 204KG World Record Clean & Jerk at 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, weightlifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah of Indonesia surprised everyone when he snuck himself into bronze medal position from the "B" Group. Prior to that moment, no one had ... Continue Reading
Kang Hyon Gyong (55KG) Breaks Snatch World Record at 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships
North Korea continues its dominance. Having already set new world records in every session held so far at the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships (AWC), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ... Continue Reading
Ri Song Gum (49KG) Sets Clean & Jerk and Total World Records at 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or PRK) produces some of the best weightlifters in the world. Case in point: One day after 45-kilogram Won Hyon Sim set her class' first-ever world records ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Won Hyon Sim Sets First-Ever World Records in 45-Kilogram Division
Tiny, but mighty; on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, weightlifter Won Hyon Sim made history in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The city is hosting the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships (AWC) this year from Feb. 3 to ... Continue Reading
Team China Withdraws From 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships
The Chinese weightlifting team — the world’s most dominant contingent in the sport — has abandoned one of its two remaining 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualification opportunities by withdrawing from the ... Continue Reading
Never Before Seen: Olympic Champion Ilya Ilyin Attempts 247KG Unofficial World Record Clean & Jerk
Two hundred forty-seven kilograms, or 544.5 pounds, is the weight of the barbell in a Jan. 8, 2024 video posted to Instagram by Kazakh weightlifter and former two-time (2008, 2012) Olympic Champion Ilya ... Continue Reading
The 10 Best Weightlifters of 2023
To no one’s surprise, 2023 ended up being a phenomenal year for weightlifting athletes and fans of the sport alike. All eyes turn towards the ever-closer Olympic Games next summer, but the battles held ... Continue Reading
The BarBend Staff’s Favorite Stories of 2023
The team at BarBend produces a lot of content. Our news and editorial staff work tirelessly, week after week, to bring you the latest developments and most interesting stories in the worlds of strength and ... Continue Reading
Heaviest Deadlift EVER (Plus America’s Best Weightlifter) — Strength Weekly
Welcome to Strength Weekly, keeping you updated on everything from around the barbell game! This week, we've got an action-packed rundown. American weightlifting phenom Olivia Reeves sets MULTIPLE World ... Continue Reading
American Weightlifter Mary Theisen-Lappen Wins Gold Medal at 2023 IWF Grand Prix II
Team USA is walking away from the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) 2023 Grand Prix II with more than a handful of medals. American athletes competed at the Prix from Dec. 4 to 14 in Doha, ... Continue Reading
2023 IWF Grand Prix II Full Results
The final major weightlifting competition of 2023 finished the year with a bang. The 2023 International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Grand Prix II, from Dec. 4 to 14 in Doha, Qatar, saw some ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Liang Xiaomei (81KG) Sets 161KG (354.9-Pound) Clean & Jerk World Record
Records continue to fall at the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Grand Prix II & Qatar International Cup. The second Prix event of the year (following the first in June) runs from Dec. 4 ... Continue Reading
American Weightlifter Olivia Reeves (71KG) Sets Multiple New Junior World Records at IWF Grand Prix II
Team USA's women made strong attempts for the top of the podium at the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar. Leading the charge was 20-year-old Olivia Reeves, ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Karlos Nasar (89KG) Sets 223KG (491.6-Pound) World Record Clean & Jerk
On May 8, 2023, then-18-year-old Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar suffered a serious injury to his Achilles tendon, sidelining him from prominent events like the 2023 IWF World Weightlifting ... Continue Reading
Team USA Sweeps 18 Medals at 2023 IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships
The future of American weightlifting brightens. When the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Junior World Weightlifting Championships (JWWC) wrapped up on Nov. 23, Team USA racked up one of ... Continue Reading
2023 IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships Full Results
Fans of weightlifting have been spoiled rotten in 2023. The International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) event calendar has featured prominent competitions on a near-monthly basis from January to ... Continue Reading
The Bulgarian Method Is Madness: A Look at the Hardest Weightlifting Routine Ever Created
In the dusty, beige, and completely silent training hall of the Bulgarian weightlifting federation, Zlatan Vanev approaches a barbell loaded with 210 kilograms, just a bit more than 460 pounds. Over the ... Continue Reading
Mary Theisen-Lappen (+87KG) Wins Gold Medal for USA at 2023 Pan American Games
The 2023 Pan American Games are a multi-sport event held every four years; think of it like a regional Olympics. American weightlifter Mary Theisen-Lappen closed out the weightlifting event at the Games in ... Continue Reading
Kaiser Witte (+109KG) Wins Silver Medal for USA at 2023 Pan American Games
Kaiser Witte is back on the scene after a four-year hiatus from international weightlifting. On Oct. 24, 2023 in Santiago, Chile as part of the closing weightlifting sessions at the 2023 Pan American ... Continue Reading
Olivia Reeves (81KG) Wins Gold Medal, Sets New Records at 2023 Pan American Games
With weightlifting officially confirmed for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, keen eyes are turning towards the sport's rising stars. And 20-year-old Olivia Reeves' star is absolutely soaring. At the ... Continue Reading