Weightlifting has been an event at the Summer Olympics since 1896. Under the current Olympic structure, 15 sets of weightlifting medals are awarded, eight men's and seven women's. Athletes compete in two disciplines, snatch and clean & jerk, and medals are awarded to the top competitors in each weight class.
Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Weightlifting competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held at Beihang University Gymnasium from August 9 to August 19, 2008. The host nation of China won nine medals, including eight gold medals. Russia followed with seven total medals, four silver and three bronze, while Kazakhstan came in third with four total medals.NBC Olympics: Weightlifting 2008 Medals Standings By Nation
History
Although the sport of weightlifting can be traced back to ancient Egyptians and Greeks, international weightlifting competitions began in 1891.Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting Discipline's Origin Weightlifting was one of only nine sports at the first Summer Olympic Games held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The 1900 Olympics did not contain a weightlifting event, but the sport reappeared at the 1904 Olympics before being removed from the program again in 1908. In 1920, weightlifting returned as a full sport and has been contested in each Summer Olympics Games since. Also in 1920, the format of the event was restructured to allow athletes to compete by weight class.
Olympic Weight Classes
- Men's 56 kg (123 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 62 kg (137 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 69 kg (152 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 77 kg (170 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 85 kg (187 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 94 kg (207 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 105 kg (231 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Men's 105+ kg (231+ lbs.)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 48 kg (106 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 53 kg (117 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 58 kg (128 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 63 kg (139 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 69 kg (152 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 75 kg (165 lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
- Women's 75+ kg (165+ lbs)Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Weightlifting
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2008 Olympic Weightlifting Medal Winners
| Men's Weightlifting | |||||||
| Event | Gold Medal | Silver Medal | Bronze Medal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 kg (123 lbs.) | Qingquan Long - China | Anh Tuan Hoang - Vietnam | Eko Yuli Irawan - Indonesia | ||||
| 62 kg (137 lbs.) | Xiangxiang Zhang - China | Diego Salazar - Colombia | Triyatno - Indonesia | ||||
| 69 kg (152 lbs.) | Liao Hui - China | Venceslas Dabaya-Tientcheu - France | Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan - Armenia | ||||
| 77 kg (170 lbs) | Jaehyouk Sa - South Korea | Hongli Li - China | Gevorg Davtyan - Armenia | ||||
| 85 kg (187 lbs) | Lu Yong - China | Andrei Rybakou - Belarus | Tigran Varban Martirosyan - Armenia | ||||
| 94 kg (207 lbs) | Ilya Ilin - Kazakhstan | Szymon Kolecki - Poland | Khadzhimurat Akkaev - Russia | ||||
| 105 kg (231 lbs) | Andrei Aramnau - Belarus | Dmitriy Klokov - Russia | Dmitry Lapikov - Russia | ||||
| 105+ kg (231+ lbs) | Matthias Steiner - Germany | Evgeny Chigishev - Russia | Viktors Scerbatihs - Latvia | ||||
| Women's Weightlifting | |||||||
| Event | Gold Medal | Silver Medal | Bronze Medal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 kg (106 lbs.) | Xiexia Chen - China | Sibel Ozkan - Turkey | Wei-Ling Chen - Taiwan | ||||
| 53 kg (117 lbs.) | Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon - Thailand | Jinhee Yoon - South Korea | Nastassia Novikava - Belarus | ||||
| 58 kg (128 lbs.) | Yanqing Chen - China | Marina Shainova - Russia | Jong Ae O - North Korea | ||||
| 63 kg (139 lbs) | Pak Hyon Suk - North Korea | Irina Nekrassova - Kazakhstan | Lu Ying-Chi - Chinese Taipei | ||||
| 69 kg (152 lbs) | Chunhong Liu - China | Oxana Slivenko - Russia | Natalya Davydova - Ukraine | ||||
| 75 kg (165 lbs) | Cao Lei - China | Alla Vazhednina - Kazakhstan | Nadezhda Evstyukhina - Russia | ||||
| 75+ kg (165+ lbs) | Jang Miran - South Korea | Olha Korobka - Ukraine | Mariya Grabovetskaya - Kazakhstan | ||||
References
Fast Facts
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Introduced
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Summer Olympics event
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Governed by the International Weightlifting Federation
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Men's and women's medals are awarded based on weight class
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15 total medals (eight men's, seven women's)
