IWF120y/13 – 1925: The first “official” World Record list

Following the consolidation of the FIH (“Fédération Internationale d’Haltérophilie”, the French version of the IWF) after 1920, and the establishment of the weightlifting programme for the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam – where one-hand movements were banned and remained a triathlon of events formed by the press, snatch, and clean & jerk, all with both hands – an FIH Rules Commission was created in 1924. One of its missions was the establishment of clear sport rules, with one obvious consequence: the “cleaning” of the performances listed until then as “World Records”. The Commission published in March 1925 the first official set of World Records, with results only going back to 1922. With some of the lifts reflecting the results of the Paris Olympic Games, held in July 1924, seven records are proposed for each of the five bodyweight categories (60kg, 67.5kg, 75kg, 82.5kg, and +82.5kg): right-hand snatch, left-hand snatch, right-hand clean & jerk (C&J), left-hand C&J, two-hand press, two-hand snatch, and two-hand C&J. By the standards of 1925, Charles Rigoulot, from France, was the strongest man in the field, with a successful (two-hand) C&J of 160.5kg in the heaviest category. The French star had been the Olympic champion in the 82.5kg, with a total of 502.5kg (for the five events still on the programme, the three with two hands, plus one-hand snatch and one-hand C&J).