A Quick Overview

The Commonwealth’s strongest men and women will gather in Birmingham, with competitors segmented into bodyweight categories.

Each athlete will perform three lifts in each of the two classic weightlifting disciplines – The snatch (a one-move lift with a wide grip), and the clean and jerk (a close-gripped, two part lift).

Each competitor will have just three attempts in each of the two disciplines to make their best lifts, always starting with the snatch. The order of lifting is determined by the weights the competitors choose to start at, with the athlete choosing to attempt the lowest weight going first. The weight of the barbell is gradually increased throughout the course of competition. If two athletes lift an identical weight, they are both credited with it, but the athlete who successfully lifts it first secures a higher placing. The lifter must secure one snatch as well as one clean and jerk to gain a total and placing at the end of the competition. When it comes to securing medals, every lift counts, and the scoreboard becomes a tactical race for Gold.

If a lift attempt is unsuccessful, the competitor may try again at the same weight or increase the weight, but they cannot decrease the weight if less than the weight announced. At the end of the competition, each athlete’s heaviest lift in each of the disciplines is combined, and the competitor with the highest aggregate (total) weight secures Gold.

Previous Commonwealth Games Appearances

Weightlifting was first contested at the 1950 Games in Auckland, and has been part of the Commonwealth Games programme ever since.

Fun Fact

Australia has won the most weightlifting Gold medals in Commonwealth Games history with 59 – that’s 13 more than nearest challengers, England and India.