One of the few sports included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, weightlifting has a long history as being a means to measure strength and power since the early days of man. Women participated for the first time at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. Power, speed, technique, concentration and timing are key factors in this sport. While European men have dominated men’s weightlifting throughout the years, many of the top female weightlifters hail from Asia.

Lifters perform two types of lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. In the snatch, the bar is lifted in one movement to arm’s length above the head. In the clean and jerk, the bar is lifted to the shoulders; the competitor stands up straight, and then jerks the bar to arm’s length above the head. Lifters are allowed three attempts at each lift, and their best snatch and best clean-and-jerk figures are combined to determine the winners.

In local competitions, the title of "Best Lifter" is given based on Sinclair Coefficients. These coefficients compare how much the person weighs to how much he or she lifts. This way, they can figure out who has lifted the most weight in proportion to their own body size.

The Midwest Weightlifting Club in Northwest Indiana (www.midwestweightlifting.com) is a USOC training center that serves the Chicagoland area. The club is dedicated to the development of Olympic weightlifting and acts as a strong force behind many young people’s Olympic dreams. Many of the center’s students have succeeded in international competition, including the Olympic Games and the Pan American Weightlifting Championships, which will be held in Chicago in June of 2009.

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