Olympic Weightlifting Focuses Sights Beyond Past Controversy

Weightlifting is one of the few links from the first Olympic Summer Games of modern history to today. Appearing at the 1896 Games in Athens, it has been a mainstay of the program since 1920.

But the sport has endured turmoil for most of its recent Olympic history. Between the 2008 and 2012 Games, nearly 60 competitors ultimately tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, leading to extensive debate as to the sport’s future in the Olympics.

This year, the competition remains in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Paris  — with fewer athletes, but with what the International Weightlifting Federation insists will be a fairer playing field than ever before.

“Long-term survival as an Olympic sport is tied to clean sport,” said Ursula Papandrea, first vice president at the IWF. “We have implemented a number of reforms in anti-doping in recent years including strengthening our partnership with the International Testing Agency on key areas such as testing, investigation and education. … It should not be underestimated that clean competition is critical to growing the sport’s appeal among participants, fans and sponsors.”

In recent years, the IWF has added an Athletes Commission with three representatives on the IWF executive board. Papandrea says the federation is also exploring an Athletes’ Ambassador program for further engagement. Beyond the competition, the IWF also launched a sustainability program last year and recently met with the representatives of Sporting Giants, a partner in charge of conceiving a sustainability strategy to be presented and implemented from October 2025 onwards. The IWF also has a framework with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

But, as Papandrea also notes, there are additional stakeholders: “The overall success of this depends on the integrity and commitment to change of individual athletes and coaches. We are committed to providing the right tools and initiatives to ensure that athletes compete in clean and fair events.”

Several American athletes said they notice the changes made in the past few years.

“I remember at junior world competition and we started medaling, our sports performance director said, this changes it,” said Jourdan Delacruz, a 2020 USA Weightlifting Olympian who won gold at the 2022 Pan Am Games at 49kg. “We can medal, we can compete with countries like China and we can be really good. That was in 2017 and to watch the evolution of that and be part of a group of women who are so competitive and are constantly breaking barriers at every competition we go to, I am super excited about the future.”

“I just don’t think about what anybody else might be doing,” said Hampton Morris, a 10-time record holder and six-time World Championship medalist who last year at 61kg won gold in the clean and jerk, becoming the first American winner since 1972. “The best thing I can do as an athlete is assume that everyone I compete against is clean and try to beat them anyways.”

Historic Venue in Paris

Weightlifting in Paris runs August 7–11 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, a historic 1923 venue that will also host handball, volleyball and table tennis. It is the largest exhibition park in France.

“Lifting weights has arguably never been more popular and we are committed to engaging with this ever-growing audience by connecting what they do in gyms with what our elite athletes are doing on the international stage,” Papandrea said. “We now know which athletes have qualified to compete at the Games. This allows us to really work on branding our sport and athletes as the strongest in the world. With such a high percentage of superfans in our fanbase, we know that the atmosphere inside the South Paris Arena 6 will be electric.”

While the IWF hopes attention will increase on the competition, one thing that is down is the number of competitors. With 10 categories instead of 14 in Tokyo, the number of athletes will be 120, split equally between men and women, compared to 196 in Tokyo.

“I completely understand why the IOC made that decision,” Morris said. “They stand for the same interests that I have in the sport in wanting to see it grow and make progress in terms of fair playing fields and clean competitions. The decrease in number of spots available is something that everybody has to deal with. All I can do is keep working and hope for the best.”

Papandrea said the IWF is “hoping to increase athlete quota and weight classes for LA2028” with its spot on the program assured.

“Knowing we are in L.A. and doing the work to make weightlifting a permanent fixture on the Olympic agenda is critical in supporting those dreams and to keep supporting new generations of athletes who can train knowing the opportunity is still there,” she said.