Ladies Olympic Weight Lifting

Weightlifting as a sport has not yet reached its full potential in the United States, but it has become a very important aspect in sports in foreign countries. The Olympic level of weightlifting is at its peak in Australia, with its women's divisions being top-performance in the last few years (6). It is not a complicated sport, yet the endurance, power, and strength of an individual are crucial. It is important to recognize the physical ability of a person through this sport and the impact of women's involvement in it.

Although commonly seen as a test of strength, Weightlifting is a sport which develops many other positive physical and psychological attributes in its participants. Qualities such as Flexibility, Speed of Movement, Co-ordination and Concentration are vital ingredients for success on the Weightlifting competition platform, and these qualities can be developed and enhanced by following a well planned Weightlifting training program under the guidance of a qualified coach (3). Olympic weightlifting consists of two major lifts. The first lift, called the snatch, is one of the fastest movements in all sports. The bar is taken from the ground to full arms' length overhead in a single continuous movement. The best performers in the world can lift well over double their own bodyweight in this way. The bar shall be placed horizontally in front of the lifter's legs. It shall be gripped, palms downwards and pulled in a single movement from the ground to the full extent of both arms vertically above the head, while straightening the legs. The bar shall pass with a continuous movement along the body of which no part other than the feet may touch the ground during the execution of the lift The weight which has been lifted, must be maintained in the final motionless position, the arms and legs extended, the feet on the same line, until the referees signal to replace the bar on the platform. The turning over of the wrists must not take place until the bar has passed the top of the lifter's head. The lifter may recover in his own time from the squat position. The referees signal shall be given as soon as the lifter becomes absolutely motionless in all parts of the body (3). The second lift, called the clean and jerk, allows for even heavier weights to be lifted as it is completed in two stages. The athlete first lifts the bar to the shoulders (usually by employing a squatting motion under the apparatus) - this is called the "clean" - then thrusts (or "jerks") the bar to full arms length overhead. Some lifters have achieved a weight equivalent to three times their own bodyweight, while the top superheavies are capable of lifting in excess of 250kg - over a quarter of a ton! lst part: Clean - The bar shall be placed horizontally in front of the lifter's legs. It shall be gripped, palms downwards and brought in a single movement from the ground to shoulders while bending the legs. The bar must not touch the chest before the final position. It shall then rest on the clavicles or on the chest or on the arms fully bent, the feet shall be returned to the same line, legs straight, before performing the jerk. The lifter may make this recovery in his own time. 2nd part: jerk - Bend the legs and extend them, as well as the arms, so as to bring the bar to the full stretch of the arms vertically extended. Return the feet to the same line, arms and legs extended ad await the referees signal to replace the bar on the platform. The referees signal shall be given as soon as the lifter becomes absolutely motionless in all parts of the body (3).

Women and girls will benefit from this initiative through: greater opportunities to participate in alternative physical activity; improved health; opportunities to gain greater knowledge and learn new skills as an athlete, coach, official or administrator; greater opportunities to take on decision making and leadership roles; opportunities to positively influence future policies and weightlifting development; less risks associated with female participation; encouragement of both competitive and non-competitive involvement; wider opportunities for females to become involved in a wider range of physical activity options; access to state-of-the-art weightlifting courses and resources for women and girls; long-term decrease in community health costs as a direct result of injury/ill health prevention; improved school-community club links. (1).

These outlines of the beneficial properties from the Queensland Weightlifting Association are an exponential reason why the sport has become quite admired by foreign individuals.

As with all major sports and competitions, there has been some speculation as to the hazards and myths of women's Olympic weightlifting:

MYTH: Weightlifting can make girls infertile. FACT: Women's reproductive organs are internal