Let’s start with the basics so that we can understand what we are seeing when we watch an Olympic weightlifting match and what the announcer is saying while reporting:
Format- according to official Olympic guidelines:
There are seven weight categories within the women’s competition and within each category: the competitors can attempt to lift up to more than three times their body weight
- 48 kg (106 lb)
- 53 kg (117 lb)
- 58 kg (128 lb)
- 63 kg (139 lb)
- 69 kg (152 lb)
- 75 kg (165 lb)
- 75 + kg (165+ lbs)
Format Rules- according to Olympic Guidelines
There are three allowed attempts at the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk
An athlete’s best lift in each attempt is combined to determine the overall result
If an athlete fails to make a valid lift with any of their three attempts in the snatch, they are eliminated.
When there is a tie in lift weight: the athlete with the lower body weight is declared the winner
However, if two athletes lift the same total weight and have the same body weight, the winner is the athlete who lifted the total weight first.
Moves-
There are two types of “lifts”, the first is the “snatch” where the barbell is lifted from the floor in a squatting position to above the head in a single swift body movements. The “clean and jerk” is where the bar is first brought up to the shoulders before being jerked over the head with the elbows facing outward.
Dictionary- according to the Olympic Guidelines
No lift – a lift that is judged to be unsuccessful by at least two of the three referees
Press out – “an illegal move where the lifter bends the arms while holding the bar overhead, then presses them out to straighten them
Squat – to drop while bending the legs, with the feet shoulder width a part and knees coming right above the toes so that the body is properly aligned