Topend Sports Logo

Weightlifting at the Paralympic Games

Weightlifting first featured in the Paralympic Games at Tokyo during 1964. Initially, the sport was only for male competitors who had spinal injuries, but it evolved into something much more than that.

After its Paralympic debut, the sport included more and more disability groups as the years went on. It also began implementing rules similar to able-bodied weightlifting. Finally, in 1992 at the Barcelona Paralympic Games, weightlifting was officially replaced by powerlifting. In essence, powerlifting is another form of lifting weights.

weightlifting at the 2012 Paralympics powerlifting at the 2012 Paralympics

There was a number of events that took place in the weightlifting competition every Paralympics, and they were separated by weight class. The classes ranged from 48kg all the way up to 100kg. Weightlifting was essentially a test of pure strength, power and control. Athletes that were competing had to lower a loaded barbell to their chest, hold it, and explode back up. They followed this routine under the refereeā€™s commands. Each athlete had up to 3 trials for the lift, and they chose their own weight. The athlete who could bench press the most weight won the gold medal.

While the sport did transition from weightlifting to powerlifting, not much actually changed. The rules and regulations evolved, as with every sport, but at the heart of the sport remains the attributes of pure strength and power.



Related Pages

send us a comment Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.

Paralympics Extra

The current Summer Paralympics are in Paris 2024, followed by the 2026 Winter Paralympics. Also, check out the list of Paralympic sports, and top medal winners.

Major Events Extra

The largest sporting event in the world is the Olympic Games, but there are many other multi-sport games. In terms of single sport events, nothing beats the FIFA World Cup. To see what's coming up, check out the calendar of major sporting events.

 → How to Cite