Weightlifting

History

Weightlifting came about way back in time, as a simple way of deciding who was strongest. But the future Olympic sport also had other purposes. For example, in 1,100 BC the Chinese used weightlifting as way of selecting new soldiers for the army. Lifting different weights was a prerequisite to be selected.

Despite not being included in the Games in Ancient Greece, weightlifting was particularly used at the time as part of training for other sports.  However, the first weightlifting school was established in the 19th century in Austria. Before that, the practice had become popular as a circus' performance in Europe and the United States.

There are records that show that weightlifting competitions were held in Austria back in 1887. Then, the federations started to be founded - the firsts in France and Russia - and the sport starting taking shape. For example, in 1891, the first weightlifting world championship was held, with seven athletes from six different countries taking part.

Weightlifting was included in the Olympic programme since the first edition of the Games in the Modern Era. In Athens 1896, the competition was not divided between weight classes. This was only implemented at the 1920 Games in Antwerp. Women only started competing at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Curiosities

Controversial decisions
Weightlifting has seen medals decided because of what could be considered, very small details. For example, in the first edition of the Games in Athens (1896), Danish weightlifter Viggo Jensen scooped up the gold because of an intriguing detail.  Tied with Launceston Elliot from Great Britain in the final - both had lifted 115.5kg -, Jensen won because according to the judges, his style was better than his opponent’s. Elliot’s payback came in the one hand lift event. He lifted 71 kg, while his Danish opponent only managed 57kg and was left with the silver.

In the 1920 Games in Antwerp, the first edition of the Olympics when weightlifters were classed according to their weight, Pietro Bianchi from Italy scooped up the silver in the middleweight category, even though he had drawn with Abert Pettersson from Sweden. Both had lifted 235kg each. The silver medal was decided by a ballot draw process, which awarded the Italian the second place.

Golden hair
The 1956 Games in Melbourne provided a lot of thrills for American weightlifter Charles Vinci. Competing in the Bantamweight category, Vinci was almost left out because of weight problems. With a little less than an hour to go to the official weighing, the American athlete was 680 grams over the limit for the category. After an hour, Vinci was back on the scale, still weighing over the limit, but his time only 212 grams more.

As he was about to be disqualified, Charles Vinci had an idea: to cut his hair off. And it worked. Within the weight limit for the category, the American athlete took part in the competition and scooped up the gold medal. In addition to the gold medal, Vinci broke the world record at the time, lifting a total of 342.5kg.

See also

Confederação Brasileira de Levantamento de Peso (CBLP)
Site: www.cblp.com.br
E-mail: confepesobrasil@gmail.com
Federação Internacional de Levantamento de Peso (IWF): www.iwf.net