World Weightlifting Championships
The World Weightlifting Championships is an annual 3-day event for weightlifting organized by the International Weightlifting Federation (IFW) The first World Weightlifting Championships was held in March 1891 in London, United Kingdom, with only 7 athletes from six countries. Edward Lawrence Levy from England won the very first World Weightlifting Championship.
The weightlifting tournaments held during the Summer Olympics from 1964 to 1984 are counted as the World Weightlifting Championships of the corresponding year.
A separate championship was added for women in 1987 and a combined event has been held for both men and women since 1991.
Weightlifting ChampionshipsCurrently (in 2021) the World Weightlifting Championships has 20 weight categories – 10 for men and 10 for women. In the men’s categories, 55 kg is the lightest and +109 kg the heaviest while the women’s categories range from 45 kg to +87 kg.
Recently, the most successful countries have been China, Soviet Union and Bulgaria.
Recent and Upcoming Events
- 2025 Forde, Norway
- 2024 Manama, Bahrain
- 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 2–17 September
- 2022 in Bogota, Colombia on 5–16 December
Related Pages
- Other major weightlifting events
- Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics
- More about the sport of weightlifting
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Current Events