Snatch

Clean and Jerk

Olympic Weightlifting, also called Olympic-style weightlifting, or weightlifting, is an athletic discipline in the modern Olympic programme in which participants attempt a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates.

The two competition lifts in order are the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. Each weightlifter receives three attempts in each and the combined total of the highest two successful lifts determines the overall result within a bodyweight category. Bodyweight categories are different for women and men. A lifter who fails to complete at least one successful snatch and one successful clean and jerk also fails to 'total' and therefore receives an 'incomplete' entry for the competition. The Clean and Press was once another competition lift but was discontinued due to difficulties in judging proper form.

In comparison with other strength sports which test limit strength (with or without lifting aids), Olympic Weightlifting tests aspects of human ballistic limits (explosive strength) and are therefore executed faster - and with more mobility and a greater range of motion during their execution - than other lifts. Properly executed, the snatch and the clean and jerk are both dynamic and explosive while appearing graceful, especially when viewed from a recording at a slowed speed.

While there are relatively few competitive Olympic weightlifters (or more simply lifters), the lifts and their components are commonly used by elite athletes in other sports to train for both explosive and functional strength.

Competition[link]

The sport is controlled by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). Based in Budapest, it was founded in 1905. Male athletes compete in one of eight divisions, and female athletes lift in one of seven divisions determined by their body mass. The men's classes are:

• 56 kg (123 lb)
• 62 kg (137 lb)
• 69 kg (152 lb)
• 77 kg (170 lb)
• 85 kg (187 lb)
• 94 kg (207 lb)
• 105 kg (231 lb)
• and over 105 kg;

And the women's are:

• 48 kg (106 lb)
• 53 kg (117 lb)
• 58 kg (128 lb)
• 63 kg (139 lb)
• 69 kg (152 lb)
• 75 kg (165 lb)
• and over 75 kg.^[1]

In each weight division, lifters compete in both the snatch and clean and jerk and prizes are usually given for the heaviest weights lifted in each, and in the Overall - the maximum lift from both combined. The order of the competition is up to the lifters – the competitor who chooses to attempt the lowest weight goes first. If they are unsuccessful at that weight, they have the option of reattempting at that weight or trying a heavier weight after any other competitors have made attempts at the previous weight or any other intermediate weights. The barbell is loaded incrementally and progresses to a heavier weight throughout the course of competition. Weights are set in 1 kilogram increments. When a tie occurs, the athlete with the lower bodyweight is declared the winner. If two athletes lift the same total weight and have the same bodyweight, the winner is the athlete who lifted the total weight first - a rule with an intentional design on 'human progress'.^[1]

During competition, the Snatch event takes place first, followed by a short intermission, and then the Clean and Jerk event follows-on. There are two side judges and one head referee who together provide a "successful" or "failed" result for each attempt based on their observation of the lift within the governing body's rules and regulations. A majority of two "successes" is required for any attempt to pass. Usually, the judges' and referee's results are registered via a lighting system with a white light indicating a "successful" lift and a red light indicating a "failed" lift. This is done for the benefit of all in attendance be they athlete, coach, administrator or audience. In addition, one or two technical officials may be present to advise during a ruling.

Also, a "Best Lifter" title is commonly awarded at local competitions. It is awarded to both the best Men's and Women's lifters. The award is based on a formula which employs the "Sinclair Coefficient", a coefficient derived and approved by the sport's world governing body and which allows for differences in both gender and bodyweight. When the formula is applied to each lifter's overall total and then grouped along with the other competitors' and evaluated, it provides a numeric result which determines the competition's best overall Men's and Women's lifters. ^[2] And while, usually, the winner of the heaviest weight class will have lifted the most overall weight during the course of a competition, a lifter in a lighter weight class may still have lifted more weight both relative to his or her own bodyweight and to the Sinclair Coefficient formula thereby garnering the "Best Lifter" award.

History[link]

Competition between people concerning who can lift the heaviest weight has been recorded in diverse and ancient civilizations as early as the earliest known recordings of such human events, including those found in Egypt, China and in ancient Greece. Today, the modern sport of weightlifting traces its origins to the European competitions of the 19th century.

The first male world champion was crowned in 1891. Women's competition did not exist, and the weightlifters were not categorised by height or weight.

The first Olympic Games of 1896 included weightlifting in the Field event of the predecessor to today's Track and Field or Athletics event. During the 1900 Olympic Games, there was no weightlifting event. Weightlifting resumed as an event, again in Athletics, in 1904 but was omitted from the Games of 1908 and 1912. These were the last Games until after the First World War. In these early Games, a distinction was drawn between lifting with 'one hand' only and lifting with 'two hands'. The winner of the 'one hand' competition in 1896 was Launceston Elliott, while the winner of the 'two hands' event was Viggo Jensen of Denmark.

In 1920, weightlifting returned to the Olympics and, for the first time, as an event in its own right. At these Games, which took place in Antwerp, Belgium, fourteen nations competed. The competition lifts were the 'one hand' Snatch, the 'one hand' Clean and Jerk and the 'two hands' Clean and Jerk. At the next Olympic Games, in Paris, France, in 1924, the 'two hands' Press and the 'two hands' Snatch were added to the programme, making a total of five lifts.

In the Olympic Games after 1920, instead of requiring all competitors to compete against each other regardless of size, weight classes were introduced and, by the 1932 Olympic Games, weightlifting was divided into five weight divisions.

In 1928, the sport dropped the 'one hand' exercises altogether leaving only the three remaining exercises: the Clean and Press, the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. By 1972, the Clean and Press was dropped for the reasons cited above, and this left the sole elements of what is today's modern Olympic weightlifting programme – the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk.

A competition for women was introduced at the Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney, Australia. However, as early as 1987, there were official world championships awarded to women weightlifters such as Karyn Marshall and Judy Glenney.^[3][4][5]

In 2011 the International Weightlifting Federation ruled that athletes could wear a full-body "unitard" under the customary weightlifting uniform. ^[6] Kulsoom Abdullah became the first woman to do so at the U.S. National Championships that year, and athletes are allowed to do so at the Olympics. ^[7] IWF rules previously stated that an athlete's knees and elbows must be visible so officials can determine if a lift is correctly executed. ^[8]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Olympic weightlifting

• World Weightlifting Championships
• Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics
• List of world records in Olympic weightlifting
• List of Olympic records in weightlifting
• List of Olympic medalists in weightlifting
• Powerlifting
• Paralympic powerlifting

References[link]

External links[link]

• International Weightlifting Federation

v t e Strength sports Strength athletics World's Strongest Man Strongman Bodybuilding Natural bodybuilding Powerlifting Olympic weightlifting Clean and jerk Snatch Clean and press See also: Weight training

Michel Courtemanche (born December 11, 1964 in Laval, Quebec, Canada) is a Québécois comedian and actor. He has drawn hundreds of thousands to his one-man shows in Quebec, France, Belgium and Switzerland.

His debut one-man show, A New Comic is Born, ran for more than five hundred performances and earned him two Felix nominations. It was first performed in Montreal in 1989. His second, The New Adventures of Michel Courtemanche, first performed in 1992, filled theatres in both North America and Europe and spawned his second international hit video (1993).

Courtemanche has internationally sold out enormous houses usually reserved for rock stars (although such shows are quite commonplace for comedians in Quebec). He has even inspired a popular one-of-a-kind hardcover comic book. He has starred in Québécois films La Nuit de Noces and Karmina 2, and on the Secret Adventures of Jules Verne television series, on the Sci Fi Channel (United States).

His style of comedy can be best summed up as mime combined with sound effects, as he is most often seen interacting with invisible objects or even people and using his voice to complete the scene. He is also particularly good at making remarkable grimaces.

Since 2002, he moved behind the camera; his production company, Encore Télévision, produces the French-Canadian edition of a sitcom called Caméra café, which was adapted from French television.

See also[link]

• List of Quebec comedians
• Humour of Quebec
• Culture of Quebec

External links[link]

• Michel Courtemanche at the Internet Movie Database
• YouTube - Michel Courtemanche: Golfer

Harold Poole (b. December 25, 1943 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a former AAU, IFBB and WBBG professional bodybuilder.

Poole's athleticism was apparent very early on. He was quarterback on his footballl team at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, placed fourth in the state high school wrestling championships, ran 440 yards in 50 seconds and put the 12 pound shot 55 feet.

In 1960, Poole entered the AAU Mr. America and, at the age of 16, took 18th place. His final AAU teen opportunity came in June 1963, where he won most muscular, but was the runner-up to Vern Weaver.

Three months later, Poole switched to the IFBB and, at age 19, he won the Mr. Universe. The next year, he became the first African-American to be named IFBB Mr. America. Starting in 1965, Poole became the only man to compete in the first three Mr. Olympia contests.

He retired from bodybuilding competition following the 1982 IFBB Night Of Champions where he placed out of the top 10.

Today he currently lives in New York where he continues to train with weights and practice Martial Arts. He was inducted to the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004 and the WBBG Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2008 Harold was voted the Greatest Teenage Bodybuilder of All-Time.

Competition & Award history[link]

1960

Mr America - AAU, 18th

Mr Mid-America - AAU, Most Muscular, 2nd

1961

Mr America - AAU, 4th

Junior Mr America - AAU, Overall Winner

1962

Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st

Mr America - AAU, 2nd

Mr North America - AAU, Winner

1963

Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st

Mr America - AAU, 2nd

Teen Mr America - AAU, 2nd

Universe - IFBB, Tall, 1st

Universe - IFBB, Overall Winner

1964

Mr America - IFBB, Tall, 1st

Mr America - IFBB, Overall Winner

1965

Olympia - IFBB, 2nd

1966

Olympia - IFBB, 2nd

1967

Pro Mr America - WBBG, Winner

Olympia - IFBB, 2nd

1968

Pro Mr America - WBBG, Winner

1971

Mr USA - IFBB, Tall, 1st

1972

Mr World - IFBB, Tall, 3rd

1980

Night of Champions - IFBB, 12th

1981

Grand Prix California - IFBB, 7th

Grand Prix New England - IFBB, 9th

Night of Champions - IFBB, 6th

Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, 8th

1982

World Pro Championships - IFBB, 9th

2004

IFBB Hall of Fame

2007

WBBG Hall of Fame

See also[link]

• List of male professional bodybuilders
• List of female professional bodybuilders

References[link]

• Roark, Joe. (November, 2004). "Featuring 2004 Hall of Fame inductee: Harold Poole". Flex
• Comstock, Loren. (August, 1962). "Introducing Harold Poole". Strength & Health

External links[link]

• Harold Poole Official Website