Olympic Weightlifting will have new bodyweight categories for the first time in seven years. On Dec. 5, 2024, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) approved the Innovation Commission’s proposal to reduce weight classes from 10 to eight for both male and female athletes. With that reduction comes an adjustment to the weights for each category.
None of the male or female weight categories remain. They have all been removed and replaced by the new categories below:
IWF Female Weightlifting Categories
- 48 kilograms
- 53 kilograms
- 58 kilograms
- 63 kilograms
- 69 kilograms
- 77 kilograms
- 86 kilograms
- +86 kilograms
Previous bodyweight categories were:
- 45 kilograms
- 49 kilograms
- 55 kilograms
- 59 kilograms
- 64 kilograms
- 71 kilograms
- 76 kilograms
- 81 kilograms
- 87 kilograms
- +87 kilograms
IWF Male Weightlifting Categories
- 60 kilograms
- 65 kilograms
- 71 kilograms
- 79 kilograms
- 88 kilograms
- 98 kilograms
- 110 kilograms
- +110 kilograms
Previous bodyweight categories were:
- 55 kilograms
- 61 kilograms
- 67 kilograms
- 73 kilograms
- 81 kilograms
- 89 kilograms
- 96 kilograms
- 102 kilograms
- 109 kilograms
- +109 kilograms
[Related: The Jump Squat: How, When, and Why Weightlifters Should Include Them In Training]
[Related: Karlos Nasar Smashes 3 Unofficial Records Ahead of 2024 World Weightlifting Championships]
In addition to the weight category adjustments, the weight classes for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will also shrink, though those categories have not been confirmed yet.
This would be somewhat of a continuation of the limited number of categories from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which featured the following:
Men’s Weightlifting
- 61 kilograms
- 73 kilograms
- 89 kilograms
- 102 kilograms
- +102 kilograms
Women’s Weightlifting
- 49 kilograms
- 59 kilograms
- 71 kilograms
- 81 kilograms
- +81 kilograms
BarBend will update this article with further information regarding the updated weight categories and their implications for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games as soon as they are available.
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Featured image: @iwfnet on Instagram
