IWF120y/11 – 1896: Without a formal structure but already in the Games

The foundation of the IWF in 1905 does not mean that the sport of weightlifting was only “born” then. From that important moment on, it became more structured, but its practice was popular by the middle of the 19th century. The “strength” movements were part of the physical education exercises, so when Pierre de Coubertin decides to revive the Olympic Games, weightlifting appears without surprise in its first edition, in 1896 in Athens, Greece. It was one of the nine sports on the programme, together with Athletics, Cycling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, and Wrestling. At the Panathinaiko Stadium, seven lifters from five nations (Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, and Hungary) competed in two events: one-hand and two-hand lifts. Competitors were not divided by body categories (this was namely one of the rules later imposed by the IWF), and the first two Olympic champions in history came from Great Britain and Denmark. In the one-hand event, Launceston Elliot (left, photo), won the first gold of his country in the history of the Games, lifting 71kg. Earlier in that same day, at the two-hand contest, Elliot and Viggo Jensen, from Denmark (right, photo), had finished tied at 111.5kg, but judges decided that Jensen’s attempt had been performed with more style… He also remains in the history books as the first Olympic champion representing Denmark.