Sport profile: Weighlifting

Weightlifting is a sport in which competitors attempt to lift heavy weights mounted on barbells. It has two different movements: snatch and clean and jerk. Some photos to show you this two different events.

Snatch:


Clean:


Jerk:


If the competitor fails on the first attempt in snatch he's out of the competition but if he fails in clean or jerk he has another try.


The first organized competitions began in Europe in the late 1800's and the first world champion was crowned in 1891. Weightlifting appeared in the Olympics in 1896, as part of athletics. Then, it was left out of the competition but finally people decided to get weightlifting into it another time, so it returned to the games in 1920.


The most important weightlifting competition is the Olympic Games because it's an international competition and actually the weightlifting competitions are just for a country or a continent.