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
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
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
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
Weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze Pulls Off a 150-Kilogram Muscle Snatch In Training
The training hall, where competitors gather to train and warm-up for their competition appearances, is where you’d expect to see some of the planet’s most impressive Olympic lifts. But when world ... Continue Reading
17-Year-Old Weightlifter Karlos Nasar (81KG) Breaks Multiple Records to Win World Championships
A new contender has emerged in one of weightlifting's most competitive divisions. At the 2021 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships, Karlos Nasar of Bulgaria conquered the ... Continue Reading
How to Watch The 2021 IWF World Championships
The 2021 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships span Dec. 7-17, 2021, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The competition will be live-streamed on the IWF's YouTube channel and highlights ... Continue Reading
USAW Athletes May Compete at 2021 North American Open Finals Instead of IWF World Championships
The 2021 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, have encountered several hurdles with less than a week until its scheduled start on ... Continue Reading
Chinese Weightlifting Team Will Not Compete at 2021 IWF World Championships
The 2021 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships are scheduled for Dec. 7-17, 2021, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and a significant development has occurred: Team China has withdrawn ... Continue Reading
Train Weightlifting Like a Pro With the Squat Jerk
There’s more than one good way to get a barbell overhead. In Olympic lifting, you can jerk a barbell to arm’s length with various techniques — the split, push, power, and the infamous squat jerk. The squat ... Continue Reading
IWF Congressional Elections Postponed Due to Lack of “Proper Legal Foundations”
Yet another turn of events has struck International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) governance. The IWF Electoral Congress was scheduled for Dec. 20-21, 2021, during the IWF World Championships in Tashkent, ... Continue Reading
USA Weightlifting Announces 2021 Junior Pan American Games and 2021 World Championships Rosters
Two major international weightlifting competitions are fast approaching, and USA Weightlifting (USAW) is not pulling punches with its roster selections. The inaugural 2021 Junior Pan American Games (JPAG) ... Continue Reading