By Amelia Harper
Olympic Weightlifting is a sport rich with history that spans over three centuries, the 19th, the 20th and the 21st century. Though it a sport with a worldwide following, sadly not many people know much about it. In this sport, an athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift with a barbell loaded with weight plates. It consists of two lifts: the “Snatch” and the “Clean and Jerk”.
In competition, the athletic is given three attempts in each and the weight of the highest successful lifts will be added to the total and the best total wins.
The main aim of this sport is to lift the weight with a flawless execution.
What is the “snatch”?
“Snatch” is a single movement where the barbell is pulled from the floor and flip it overhead in a squat position. It is consider as the “fastest lift in the world” as it takes only one second or less to get the barbell from the floor to the overhead position.
What is the “Clean and Jerk”?
Clean and Jerk is the ultimate test of the lifter’s strength and power. Even though it is broken into two parts, it is classified as one lift.
“Clean” is a movement where the barbell is pulled from the floor and received in a front squat position with the barbell resting on one’s shoulders.
“Jerk” is a movement where the barbell is raised from the shoulders and jerking it overhead, with the arms locked out. The movement is only completed when the hips and legs fully extend.
“Clean and Jerk” is where you combine both the “Clean’ and the “Jerk” into one movement and it is not easy at all as it needs a big pull for the clean and a big front squat to come out of the squat position and then an enormous effort to complete the jerk.
Competitions
Before any lifting begins there is a weigh-in to register the actual body weight of all athletes competing. This determines which of the eight weight categories they will be competing in.
The athletes will have three attempts to record their highest lift in both the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. The Snatch is attempted first and the barbell is loaded on the lifting platform in order of progression. This just means that the athlete attempting the lowest weight will lift first.
As attempts are made the athletes have to announce the next weight they will attempt to lift and any increase in weight must be a minimum of 1kg. Athletes have 1 minute to perform the lift, or 2 minutes if they are attempting consecutive lifts.
Once all athletes have had their three attempts at lifting their highest weight in the Snatch there is short break and this process is repeated for the Clean & Jerk.
Refereeing
Three referees watch on as the athletes attempt their lifts. Each referee has a control box with two buttons; one is white and the other is red. The white button is pressed when the referees have judged a lift as ‘Good’. The red button is pressed if the referee believes the athlete has committed a fault during the execution of a lift and a ‘No Lift’ decision is made.
A majority judgement is required from the referees to determine whether a lift is ‘Good’ or ‘No Lift’. For example, if two referees press the white button to indicate a ‘Good’ lift and the third presses the red button, the majority will be accepted.
A no lift will be given if an individual uses his/her foot to move the bar before the attempt or put their foot on the bar or plates whichever before/after the attempt. The main reason for this is hygiene, if their shoes are dirty, the bar may scratch the athlete's neck so the bar must be clean.
An athlete’s score is calculated by combining the best successful lifts in the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. The winner of the competition is the athlete with the highest combined total.
If two lifters are tied, the lifter who achieved the total first wins i.e. the lifter with the lowest clean and jerk weight. If their clean and jerk weights are identical then the lifter that reached the total in the fewest number of lifts will win.
If you do want to try Olympic weightlifting, please please please see a qualified instructor. Do not attempt to lift heavy weights without the correct introduction. Form always comes before weight!
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