Since we use it so much in our daily WODs, I thought it might be fun to take a look at exactly where Olympic lifting came from.
It’s almost impossible to trace an exact date of the very first weightlifting championship. Tests of human strength, in one form or another, are probably older than civilization itself. Images of athletes lifting heavy objects, apparently for sport, appear in ancient Egyptian records, in Chinese texts and in Greek carvings. As a sport, weightlifting’s origins can be traced back to ancient Greek and Egyptian societies where stones and bags filled with sand were used to display strength (we sometimes use these objects in CrossFit, as well!). The first organized weightlifting competitions began in Europe in the late 1800’s, and the sport’s first world champion was crowned in 1891. In those unsophisticated days there were no divisions of any kind, and the world crown went to the man able to lift the most weight, regardless of his own size. If you think about it…CrossFit sort of operates on this no-division concept now. We have men separate from women, but size and weight aren’t factored into results with a lot of the WODs.
Weightlifting is a sport rich in history that spans over three centuries: the 19th, 20th and 21st century. Weightlifting was on the program for the first Olympic Games in 1896, as part of athletics, but was left out of the 1900 Games. Lifting reappeared again in 1904, but didn’t return to the Olympic fold again until 1920 when it was admitted in its own right. That same year the IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) was founded.
Although weightlifting is a sport that can be traced back to the earliest of the Olympic Games, it is only in the post World War II years that it has been given prominence in the national media of this country. This has mainly come about because a certain aspect of weightlifting, weight training, has received widespread publicity because of the beneficial effects that it has produced in almost every branch of sport. It is somewhat interesting that already 40 years ago, there were coaches who accepted that weight training could play an useful role in all sports training, yet there are still some today who maintain that it is useless or dangerous! This idea of weight training being valuable and transferable to other sports is part of what the CrossFit philosophy was founded on.
Modern weightlifting really began in the year 1920, when the Seventh Olympic Games were held in Antwerp, Belgium. And although the world was still feeling the effects of First World War, no less than fourteen nations sent athletes to compete for the Olympic weightlifting titles. In those early days, Olympic weightlifting incorporated some events which would seem strange today. The first competitions consisted of one and two-handed lifts with no weight divisions. The one handed lifts were performed with dumbbells, and there were nine different lifts that competitors could participate in. The competition lifts in Antwerp were the One Hand Snatch, the One Hand Clean and Jerk and the Two Hands Clean and Jerk. At Paris, in 1924, the Two Hands Press and the Two Hands Snatch were added to these to make a five-lift championship. However, in 1928 the one armed lifts were finally cut from the program. These established lifts gave way later to the ‘Olympic Three’- the Two Hands Clean and Press, the Two Hands Snatch and the Two Hands Clean and Jerk. The Two Hands Clean and Press was dropped from official competition in 1972, much to the dismay of many athletes. By 1932, five weight divisions had been established and three disciplines made up the Olympic competition – Press, Snatch, and Clean-And Jerk. In 1972 the Press was finally abolished, due to controversies about how it should be judged, leaving the Snatch and Clean and Jerk as the sport’s two Olympic disciplines.
As early as the 1930’s, Strength and Health magazine in the United States consistently promoted weight training, but not competition, for women. Women kind of entered through the back door, via bodybuilding and powerlifting. The Miss Universe bodybuilding contest came first, in 1965. Women got a late start in competitive weightlifting, with their first world championship held in 1987. Then, women’s competition made its Olympics debut in 2000 in Sydney. There are currently eight weight classifications for men, and seven for women.
In weightlifting, pure strength, explosive speed, good flexibility and extreme coordination are essential. It is not necessarily the strongest competitor that wins! This is why practice makes perfect, and attention to form is imperative. Next time you see Olympic lifts in the daily WOD, remember to give a thought to how important those skills have been throughout history. And don’t forget how they continue to be essential to your overall strength and skill, both in and outside of the gym. Now let’s all get lifting like the pros!
Sounds awesome, I’ll be there. I need to work on my toe to bar kipping.
And the Chucknorrisisms begin…
Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
Superman wears Chuck Norris Pajamas.
Chuck Norris doesn’t sleep, he waits
Faster than a speeding bullet … more powerful than a locomotive … able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… yes, these are some of Chuck Norris’s warm-up exercises.
Chuck Norris doesn’t do pushups, he pushes the earth down. And everything blends… except Chuck Norris.
Some of the top ten chuck norrissisms:
Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity – twice.
Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.
If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can’t see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.
Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn’t stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.
From the games site, check out this guy’s stats!
http://games2010.crossfit.com/competitors/midwestern-sectional-athlete-profile—jacob-szafranski.html
Sean, you’ve got him in the 5k!
Great post Shannon!!!
FYI – Cam I screwed up the scoring for your workout. I recorded total calories not lowest meters on the row. Sorry!!!
I do not drop many remarks, but i did some searching and wound up here The History of Olympic Weightlifting
– Crossfit Zone Victoria BC, Vancouver Island.
And I actually do have a couple of questions for you if you tend not to mind.
Is it only me or does it look like some of the responses
look like written by brain dead individuals? 😛 And, if you are
posting on other social sites, I would like to follow everything new you have to post.
Would you list of the complete urls of your community pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
A short moment later, James traded for his share for the business to Tom for just a second-hand Volkswagen Beetle
automobile, probably a deal he took to later are
sorry for. Department of Agriculture predicts that overall food inflation
next year, about 2% to 3%. The economy is without a doubt positively impacted too
so ordering coming from Dominos is the best way to stimulate the economy.
Could not agree more, good article
With all due joys, this should be the period
of utmost carefulness and conscious concentration on the
vital issues affecting the future the nation and due attention of not being stabbed from the back.
There were also interesting garden “flowers”, made
from tin cut into petal shapes, bolted together on an
aluminum rod, with bottle caps as the center. Among Pakistan
newspapers, the best-studied papers are not always those from the nation’s capital. Assuming there is a God and assuming that the Bible is God’s word and an historical record of His activities (and you won’t hear anything to the contrary in church and from other formal Christian religious organisations) then the standard hype you hear, the standard image projected of God (and son) tends to be ‘warm and
fuzzy’. Studies about Egyptians lend itself to activities such as mummy-making,hieroglyphics tablets or Egyptian jewelry.
Ground cover can be added to pedophile the landscape.
Mulch will reduce weed growth and prevent new weeds from growing in the garden.
The less competition, the better off your plants will be.
Luckily, there are many methods in safely removing unwanted hair.
This article will explain the hair product diversion
conspiracy and list ways that you can determine whether
or not the beloved salon brand you saw in Walgreens last week was truly diverted merchandise or strategically placed by
the powers that be. The professional hair merchandise of Loreal are effectively currently being sold all
more than the world in about one hundred thirty different countries.
Otherwise you may feel frustration to play these games.
If you make mistakes and you use a simulator, then it will cost you nothing.
The atmosphere parameters calculated are: temperature, dew
point, pressure density, wind (three-dimensional) and visibility.
This kind of game is great because it can also provide scientific information,
‘Phun’ would help with physics study obviously while other simulation games that offer choices could contribute
valuable data to Psychology. 3) Physical parameters:
The simulators are almost real, but actually they are on the
ground, I mean around the sea level.