As a basic athletic activity and a natural means to measure strength and power, the lifting of weights was present in both the ancient Egyptian and Greek societies. Developing its international scope chiefly in the 19th century, weightlifting was among those few sports (alongside athletics, swimming, gymnastics, fencing, wrestling, shooting and cycling) which featured on the program of the first modern Olympic Games, in 1896, in Athens. The first World Championships in this sport, however, had been staged five years earlier: on 28 March 1891, in London, with seven athletes representing six countries. The power relations have undergone major changes over past decades.

At the beginning of the century, Austria, Germany and France were the most successful nations. Later on, Egypt, then the United States of America reigned. In the 1950s and the following three decades, the Soviet Union's weightlifters played the protagonists' role - with Bulgaria and other East European nations being the major challengers.

In the 1990s, China, Turkey, Greece and Iran catapulted to the lead. In the women's field, China has been dominant since the very beginning, with other Asian countries (e.g. Thailand) emerging as strong contenders to the championship and Olympic titles. Europe has remained the most powerful continent in the men's ranks, with a significant boost in Asian weightlifting. Asian women have definitely seized power over their European counterparts, but other continents, e.g. North and South America, can also boast female Olympic champions.

(BOCOG)