The Lowdown

1 kg and three lifts

Weights are set in 1 kg increments (previously 2.5 kg increments) and each lifter can have a maximum of three lifts, regardless of whether their lifts are successful or not.

Barbell

Competitors have to lift a weight called the barbell, which consists of a steel bar (weighing 20 kg for men, 15 kg for a women) onto which differently colored weight discs (0.5 to 25 kg) are loaded and fastened with the help of collars (2.5 kg each).

4 x 4

The athletes perform lifts on an elevated stage with a platform of 4 x 4m made of wood and coated with non-slippery material.

Lowest weight goes first

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 that lift or trying a heavier weight later (after any other competitors have made attempts at that weight or any intermediate weights).

3

Three referees pass their decision about the correctness and validity of each lift

White and red

When a referee has judged a lift as correctly completed, he or she will press the white light button, or, if the attempt is not correct or missed, a red light button. Two or three white lights represents a good lift, two or three red lights results in a "no lift."

The heaviest snatch

The heaviest snatch of all time is 216.0 kg, lifted by Antonio Krastev of Bulgaria in 1987.

The heaviest clean and jerk

The heaviest clean and jerk of all time is 266.0 kg, lifted by Leonid Taranenko in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988.

8,000

The 8,000th medal in weightlifting was issued at the 2001 World Championships - to a woman in the 63 kg category - in Antalya, Turkey.