World Weightlifting Championships
StatusActive
GenreSports event
Date(s)November
FrequencyAnnual, apart from Summer Olympic years
Location(s)Various
Inaugurated28 March 1891 (1891-03-28)
Organised byIWF

The World Weightlifting Championships is an international weightlifting competition, currently held annually (except for years of the Summer Olympic Games) by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The predecessor organization of the IWF was founded in 1905,[1] but World Championship events began before its foundation. The first recognized World Championship event was held in 1891, and was won by Edward Lawrence Levy of England.[1][2][3]

Athletes today compete in a total of 20 weight categories (10 for men and 10 for women):

Competitions

Men

No. Year Dates City and host country # Athletes # Countries
I 1891 28 March United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 7 6
II 1898 31 July – 1 August Austria Vienna, Austria 11 3
III 1899 4–5 April Italy Milan, Italy 5 3
IV 1903 1–3 October France Paris, France 18 5
V 1904 18 April Austria Vienna, Austria 13 4
VI 1905 8–10 April Germany Berlin, Germany 41 4
VII 1905 11–13 June Germany Duisburg, Germany 7 2
VIII 1905 16 & 30 December France Paris, France 16 1
IX 1906 18 March France Lille, France 33 4
X 1907 19 May Germany Frankfurt, Germany 23 3
XI 1908 8–9 December Austria Vienna, Austria 23 2
XII 1909 3 October & 2 December Austria Vienna, Austria 23 3
XIII 1910 4–6 June Germany Düsseldorf, Germany 57 5
XIV 1910 9–10 October Austria Vienna, Austria 15 2
XV 1911 29–30 April Germany Stuttgart, Germany 36 3
XVI 1911 13–14 May Germany Berlin, Germany 27 2
XVII 1911 26 June Germany Dresden, Germany 21 3
XVIII 1911 29 June – 2 July Austria Vienna, Austria 32 3
XIX 1913 28–29 July Germany Breslau, Germany 40 4
XX 1920 4–8 September Austria Vienna, Austria 74 4
XXI 1922 29–30 April Estonia Tallinn, Estonia 33 4
XXII 1923 8–9 September Austria Vienna, Austria 76 7
XXIII 1937 10–12 September France Paris, France 50 10
XXIV 1938 21–23 October Germany Vienna, Germany 38 11
XXV 1946 18–19 October France Paris, France 79 13
XXVI 1947 26–27 September United States Philadelphia, United States 39 12
XXVII 1949 4–6 September Netherlands Scheveningen, Netherlands 38 13
XXVIII 1950 13–15 October France Paris, France 56 17
XXIX 1951 26–28 October Italy Milan, Italy 62 14
XXX 1953 26–30 August Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 70 19
XXXI 1954 7–10 October Austria Vienna, Austria 100 23
XXXII 1955 12–16 October West Germany Munich, West Germany 108 25
XXXIII 1957 8–12 November Iran Tehran, Iran 76 21
XXXIV 1958 16–21 September Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 96 27
XXXV 1959 29 September – 4 October Poland Warsaw, Poland 85 19
XXXVI 1961 20–25 September Austria Vienna, Austria 120 33
XXXVII 1962 16–22 September Hungary Budapest, Hungary 113 27
XXXVIII 1963 16–22 September Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 134 32
XXXIX 1964 11–18 October Japan Tokyo, Japan 149 42
XL 1965 27 October – 3 November Iran Tehran, Iran 85 24
XLI 1966 15–21 October East Germany East Berlin, East Germany 117 28
XLII 1968 13–19 October Mexico Mexico City, Mexico 160 55
XLIII 1969 20–28 September Poland Warsaw, Poland 166 37
XLIV 1970 12–20 September United States Columbus, United States 129 28
XLV 1971 18–26 September Peru Lima, Peru 144 30
XLVI 1972 27 August – 6 September West Germany Munich, West Germany 188 54
XLVII 1973 15–23 September Cuba Havana, Cuba 189 39
XLVIII 1974 21–29 September Philippines Manila, Philippines 143 32
XLIX 1975 15–23 September Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union 169 33
L 1976 18–27 July Canada Montreal, Canada 173 46
LI 1977 17–25 September West Germany Stuttgart, West Germany 186 44
LII 1978 4–8 October United States Gettysburg, United States 185 35
LIII 1979 3–11 November Greece Thessaloniki, Greece 189 39
LIV 1980 20–30 July Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union 173 40
LV 1981 13–20 September France Lille, France 194 35
LVI 1982 18–26 September Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ljubljana, Yugoslavia 205 38
LVII 1983 22–31 October Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union 187 32
LVIII 1984 29 July – 8 August United States Los Angeles, United States 187 48
LIX 1985 23 August – 1 September Sweden Södertälje, Sweden 195 38
LX 1986 8–15 November Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria 193 41
LXI 1987 6–13 September Czechoslovakia Ostrava, Czechoslovakia 168 29
LXII 1989 16–23 September Greece Piraeus, Greece 220 37
LXIII 1990 10–18 November Hungary Budapest, Hungary 182 38

Women

No. Year Dates City and host country # Athletes # Countries
I 1987 30 October – 1 November United States Daytona Beach, United States 100 22
II 1988 2–4 December Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia 103 23
III 1989 24–26 November United Kingdom Manchester, United Kingdom 133 25
IV 1990 26 May – 3 June Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 109 25

Combined

No. Year Dates City and host country Men Women
M W # Athletes # Countries # Athletes # Countries
LXIV V 1991 27 September – 6 October Germany Donaueschingen, Germany 200 40 108 24
VI 1992 16–24 May Bulgaria Varna, Bulgaria 110 25
LXV VII 1993 11–21 November Australia Melbourne, Australia 195 57 94 25
LXVI VIII 1994 17–27 November Turkey Istanbul, Turkey 242 52 105 30
LXVII IX 1995 16–26 November China Guangzhou, China 345 63 93 26
X 1996 3–11 May Poland Warsaw, Poland 102 24
LXVIII XI 1997 6–14 December Thailand Chiang Mai, Thailand 189 51 143 39
LXIX XII 1998 10–15 November Finland Lahti, Finland 210 53 122 35
LXX XIII 1999 21–28 November Greece Piraeus, Greece 395 79 231 51
LXXI XIV 2001 4–11 November Turkey Antalya, Turkey 153 47 114 34
LXXII XV 2002 18–26 November Poland Warsaw, Poland 170 47 115 37
LXXIII XVI 2003 14–22 November Canada Vancouver, Canada 297 59 208 47
LXXIV XVII 2005 9–17 November Qatar Doha, Qatar 169 58 112 42
LXXV XVIII 2006 30 September – 7 October Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 298 58 186 39
LXXVI XIX 2007 17–26 September Thailand Chiang Mai, Thailand 355 70 225 53
LXXVII XX 2009 20–29 November South Korea Goyang, South Korea 196 57 133 38
LXXVIII XXI 2010 17–26 September Turkey Antalya, Turkey 312 63 203 50
LXXIX XXII 2011 5–13 November France Paris, France 307 75 212 61
LXXX XXIII 2013 20–27 October Poland Wrocław, Poland 168 49 124 37
LXXXI XXIV 2014 8–16 November Kazakhstan Almaty, Kazakhstan 307 62 219 51
LXXXII XXV 2015 20–28 November United States Houston, United States 324 76 261 72
LXXXIII XXVI 2017 28 November – 5 December United States Anaheim, United States 176 54 139 44
LXXXIV XXVII 2018 1–10 November Turkmenistan Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 272 68 310 73
LXXXV XXVIII 2019 18–27 September Thailand Pattaya, Thailand 313 84 275 79
LXXXVI XXIX 2021 7–17 December Uzbekistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan 235 64 179 54
LXXXVII XXX 2022 5–16 December Colombia Bogotá, Colombia 267 79 270 76
LXXXVIII XXXI 2023 2–17 September Saudi Arabia Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
LXXXIX XXXII 2025 Norway Forde, Norway

All-time medal table

Total

All-time big (total) medal count below updated after the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 China1909144325
2 Soviet Union1519033274
3 Bulgaria808265227
4 United States425331126
5 Russia384835121
6 Austria32273190
7 Poland253857120
8 Germany24342785
9 Iran24152867
10 Chinese Taipei16222563
11 Turkey15191549
12 Kazakhstan158932
13 North Korea13222459
14 South Korea12192455
15 Egypt12131439
16 Hungary11384291
17 Greece10151136
18 Japan10132851
19 Thailand8192047
20 Colombia8131435
21 Belarus88824
22 Ukraine861933
23 Cuba851124
24 Georgia84517
25 Romania7131434
26 France7112038
27 Armenia591226
28 Indonesia591024
29 Great Britain551020
30 Qatar53412
31 East Germany4192952
32 Uzbekistan44311
33 Switzerland44210
34 Finland421016
35 India39517
36 West Germany35311
37 Estonia34613
38 Czechoslovakia331521
39 Azerbaijan3137
40 Norway2316
41 Turkmenistan2305
42 Spain2237
43 Italy15915
44 Vietnam14510
45 Australia1449
46 Latvia13711
47 Canada1258
48 Sweden1179
49 Bahrain1102
 Chile1102
51 Venezuela1045
52 Philippines1034
53 Slovakia1012
 Tunisia1012
55 Mongolia1001
56 Belgium0437
57 Denmark0303
58 Ecuador0279
59 Nigeria0235
60 Netherlands0202
61 Moldova0134
62 Argentina0112
63 Albania0101
 Croatia0101
 Guyana0101
 Lebanon0101
 Lithuania0101
 New Zealand0101
69 Dominican Republic0055
 Myanmar0055
71 Russian Weightlifting Federation0033
72 Saudi Arabia0022
73 Brazil0011
 Iraq0011
 Macau0011
 Mexico0011
Totals (76 entries)8528538522557

Big and small medals

All-time big (total) and small (snatch, clean & jerk, and press) medal count below updated after the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 China568267149984
2 Soviet Union33120893632
3 Bulgaria226222189637
4 Russia11913391343
5 Poland6499124287
6 United States599075224
7 Iran534351147
8 North Korea496658173
9 Turkey495642147
10 Chinese Taipei427172185
11 Hungary3989107235
12 Germany364336115
13 Kazakhstan34312893
14 Austria32273493
15 South Korea306274166
16 Thailand295148128
17 Georgia27111048
18 Greece264341110
19 Cuba26223684
20 Belarus25263384
21 Japan245074148
22 Romania24294396
23 Colombia223252106
24 Ukraine22274695
25 Egypt21182665
26 East Germany206171152
27 Armenia16303682
28 Uzbekistan16151445
29 Indonesia15213167
30 West Germany13141542
31 France12213366
32 Finland12112245
33 Qatar1291132
34 Norway95519
35 India8281551
36 Azerbaijan85720
37 Vietnam6121634
38 Czechoslovakia5144059
39 Great Britain5122340
40 Australia581528
41 Turkmenistan58417
42 Spain561728
43 Switzerland55313
44 Chile5117
45 Estonia45615
46 Philippines41813
47 Russian Weightlifting Federation40711
48 Italy3101730
49 Belgium38415
50 Sweden341219
51 Myanmar32813
52 Venezuela311317
53 Slovakia3148
54 Latvia251522
55 Moldova23712
56 Albania2338
57 Bahrain2316
58 Lithuania2215
59 Tunisia2046
60 Canada110920
61 Ecuador161926
62 Nigeria151218
63 Mongolia1326
64 Saudi Arabia1045
65 Dominican Republic04913
66 Croatia0404
67 Denmark0303
68 Mexico0257
69 Lebanon0224
70 Nauru0202
 Netherlands0202
 New Zealand0202
73 Brazil0123
74 Argentina0112
 Kyrgyzstan0112
 Puerto Rico0112
77 Guyana0101
 Malaysia0101
Federated States of Micronesia Micronesia0101
80 Macau0033
81 Syria0022
82 Algeria0011
 CIS0011
 Iraq0011
 Israel0011
 Pakistan0011
 Peru0011
 United Arab Republic0011
Totals (88 entries)2206220222006608

Multiple medalists

The table shows those who have won at least 5 gold medals in total result. Boldface denotes active weightlifters and highest medal count among all weightlifters (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Rank Weightlifter Country Gender Weights From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Vasily Alekseyev  Soviet Union M +110 kg 1970 1977 8 8
2 Naim (Naum) Süleymanoğlu
(Suleymanov, Shalamanov)
 Bulgaria
 Turkey
M 56 kg / 60 kg / 64 kg 1983 1995 7 1 8
Yurik Vardanyan  Soviet Union M 75 kg / 82.5 kg / 90 kg 1977 1985 7 1 8
4 Josef Grafl Austria Austria M Open / +80 kg 1904 1913 6 2 8
5 Tommy Kono  United States M 75 kg / 82.5 kg 1953 1962 6 1 1 8
6 John Davis  United States M 82.5 kg / +82.5 kg / +90 kg 1938 1953 6 1 7
7 Yoshinobu Miyake  Japan M 56 kg / 60 kg 1961 1968 6 1 7
David Rigert  Soviet Union M 82.5 kg / 90 kg / 100 kg 1970 1978 6 1 7
9 Lasha Talakhadze  Georgia M +105 kg / +109 kg 2015 2022 6 6
10 Waldemar Baszanowski  Poland M 67.5 kg / 75 kg 1961 1971 5 5 10
11 Tatiana Kashirina  Russia F +75 kg / +87 kg 2009 2019 5 3 8
12 Arkady Vorobyov  Soviet Union M 82.5 kg / 90 kg 1950 1961 5 2 1 8
13 Pete George  United States M 67.5 kg / 75 kg 1947 1955 5 2 7
Halil Mutlu  Turkey M 54 kg / 56 kg / 62 kg 1993 2003 5 2 7
Yanko Rusev  Bulgaria M 60 kg / 67.5 kg / 75 kg 1977 1983 5 2 7
16 Mohammad Nassiri  Iran M 56 kg / 52 kg 1966 1976 5 1 3 9
17 Kuo Hsing-chun  Chinese Taipei F 58 kg / 59 kg 2013 2022 5 1 1 7
18 Viktor Kurentsov  Soviet Union M 75 kg 1964 1970 5 1 6
Lü Xiaojun  China M 77 kg / 81 kg 2009 2019 5 1 6
20 Anatoly Khrapaty  Soviet Union
 Kazakhstan
M 90 kg / 91 kg / 99 kg 1985 1995 5 2 7
Stanley Stanczyk  United States M 67.5 kg / 75 kg / 82.5 kg 1946 1954 5 2 7
22 Vladimir Stogov  Soviet Union M 56 kg 1955 1962 5 1 6
23 Deng Wei  China F 58 kg / 63 kg / 64 kg 2010 2019 5 5
Om Yun-chol  North Korea M 56 kg / 55 kg 2013 2019 5 5

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Weightlifting History". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  2. ^ "122 years since the first World Championships". International Weightlifting Federation. 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  3. ^ Siegman, Joseph M. (1992). The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. SP Books. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-56171-028-7.