Why Can’t North Korea Compete in Weightlifting at the 2024 Olympic Games?
“This is the first time that all of our athletes have won gold,” says Song Nam Jang, head coach of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK or PRK) weightlifting team in an interview provided to BarBend. “We trained more and harder, and we made many world records.” Jang is referring to the DPRK’s performance […]
2024 European Weightlifting Championships Full Results
It’s getting down to the wire now. The 2024 European Weightlifting Championships (EWC) run in Sofia, Bulgaria from Feb. 12 to 20. This year’s EWC will not only host many of the best weightlifters in Europe — as well as distinguished guests from Team USA — but also represents one of the final opportunities to […]
Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (73KG) Lifts 204KG World Record Clean & Jerk at 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, weightlifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah of Indonesia surprised everyone when he snuck himself into bronze medal position from the “B” Group. Prior to that moment, no one had really heard of him. Flash forward to 2024, and Abdullah has established himself as the best middleweight Olympic lifter in the world. […]
Weightlifter Won Hyon Sim Sets First-Ever World Records in 45-Kilogram Division
Tiny, but mighty; on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, weightlifter Won Hyon Sim made history in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The city is hosting the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships (AWC) this year from Feb. 3 to 10, one of the final major competitions before the 2024 Olympic Games. Kicking off the competition in spectacular fashion, 45-kilogram Sim set […]
2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships Full Results
It’s finally here. The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France inch closer by the day. But before then, the best weightlifters in the world will continue to fight for those few precious Olympic qualification slots across a handful of international competitions. Kicking off the 2024 season of competitive weightlifting is the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) […]
Watch 2023 World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper Try Olympic Weightlifting
Strongman catches a bad rap sometimes for being perceived as less elegant than other strength sports like powerlifting or, particularly, weightlifting. While any dedicated fan will tell you that’s not true, a good athlete isn’t afraid to borrow from other disciplines to strengthen their own performance. That’s what Mitchell Hooper appears to be doing. In […]
2023 IWF Grand Prix II Full Results
The final major weightlifting competition of 2023 finished the year with a bang. The 2023 International Weightlifting Federation‘s (IWF) Grand Prix II, from Dec. 4 to 14 in Doha, Qatar, saw some spectacular performances. The IWF does not host Grand Prix events every year, but 2023 featured two (Grand Prix I took place in June). […]
Weightlifter Liang Xiaomei (81KG) Sets 161KG (354.9-Pound) Clean & Jerk World Record
Records continue to fall at the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) Grand Prix II & Qatar International Cup. The second Prix event of the year (following the first in June) runs from Dec. 4 to 14, 2023, in Doha, Qatar. On Dec. 12, Chinese weightlifter and reigning 81-kilogram World Champion Liang Xiaomei set the latest records. […]
Team USA Sweeps 18 Medals at 2023 IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships
The future of American weightlifting brightens. When the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) Junior World Weightlifting Championships (JWWC) wrapped up on Nov. 23, Team USA racked up one of its best performances in years. According to a Nov. 24 presser published by USA Weightlifting (USAW), the American Junior contingent departed Guadalajara, Mexico, with 18 cumulative medals […]
The Bulgarian Method Is Madness: A Look at the Hardest Weightlifting Routine Ever Created
In the dusty, beige, and completely silent training hall of the Bulgarian weightlifting federation, Zlatan Vanev approaches a barbell loaded with 210 kilograms, just a bit more than 460 pounds. Over the last 20 minutes, Vanev had tried four separate times to lift it overhead. Howling, Vanev tries again and fails again. He wanders off, […]