IWF120y/22 – 1972: The end of the Press movement

Historically considered one of the basic weightlifting exercises, the Press movement – whereby the bar is lifted onto the chest/shoulder level and then elevated overhead – had been left as one of the three movements in the Olympic programme since the 1928 edition in Amsterdam. However, constant changes in the technique (with lifters performing most of the times in the “limits” of what was allowed and what was not…) and the associated difficulties in judging, led to a proposal to abolish this technique at the 1964 Congress in Tokyo. The change was rejected and four years later, in Mexico City, the delegates had the opportunity to deliberate once more, and the vote remained the same: Press should continue. In Munich, in 1972, with a set of more solid arguments – namely medical advice on the risk of injury due to an exaggerated arching of the lower back – the proposal was finally adopted (33 delegates in favour, 13 against), much to the relief of the weightlifting referees around the world. From 1973 onwards, the “officially allowed cheating” (as Press was unfortunately known around the world), was banned from the programme at the IWF events and, of course, at the Olympics. From that moment on, Snatch and Clean & Jerk are the two movements to be performed by lifters at the international level. For the record, the last recognised World Record in Press was the successful lift of 157.5kg from Bulgaria’s Mladen Kuchev (photo) in the 67.5kg category, precisely at the 1972 Games in Munich!