I’ve been looking into Oly Lifting, as Powerlifting (my sport) is not in the Olympics. Needless to say, the Olympics are the most prestigious competitions in the world. I can’t find any information on the process to qualify for the Olympics or what path one should take if one’s goal were to compete there. Does anybody know how this is done?
You’re chosen to compete by your country. In the US you get chosen by competing, and doing well, in national and international events. So things like the American Open, Nationals, University Nationals, Worlds, etc. All of these apply to your rankings. Now, depending on how many points your country has earned internationally dictates how many lifters they can take to the Olympics. The US, being quite bad, has only done well enough to bring 1 athlete the past 2 (maybe 3) olympic games. Here’s the kicker: if your country cannot bring a lifter from every weight class, then it is possible for the #1 lifter in that country to not be taken to the Olympics. This happens because certain weight classes are more competitive. For example: In the US, our 105kg lifters haven’t been very notable as of late, not usually totally much higher than the 94s and sometimes even the 85s. But the 105kg class always totals higher in the olympics.
So, if we have an elite 94kg lifter who does decently well internationally in the 94s, but is ranked #2 in the US, and a 105kg lifter who does not have a competitive total, but is still ranked #1 in the US, then the 94 will get chosen to represent the United states.
Ahh. That sucks. Would it be unethical/unpatriotic of me to move to a place that sends a lot of lifters?
That wouldn’t guarantee you even being able to compete in the Olympics. You would have to either have a relative from one of those countries (documented) or become a citizen. Both of which are very long processes.
Are you planning on trying to get to the olympics in Olympic weightlifting? If so, how old are you and what is your current total?
Actually, the IOC just recently approved the qualification system for weightlifting for the 2016 games. You can find the document here: http://www.iwf.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/02/2014-02-Rio-2016-Qualification-System-FINAL-Weightlifting-EN.pdf
The gist of it is that slots are earned as a country based on team performance first at the 2014 and 2015 world championships (weighted equally), and if you fail to earn any slots through worlds there is an opportunity to earn a slot at your respective continental championships in 2016 (for the US, that’d be the PanAms). As mentioned above, each nation gets to choose who they send to fill those slots; they don’t have to be the same athletes who earned them. Obviously this process happens separately for men and women.
The US is rather unlikely to qualify any slots through worlds (for the men anyways), which means they will be fighting to earn one slot at PanAms. They only sent one male lifter to London, though they sent 2 to the '08 games in Beijing (you could earn two slots for male lifters from PanAms back then) and I believe 3 to the Athens games in '04, where I believe Shane Hamman managed to earn some quota slots at worlds basically single handed. It’s my understanding that the US picks the athletes to send to the Games by ranking them based on what their total is as a percentage of some world standard (average of the third place total at the last n world championships or some damn thing), but I can’t be sure on that.
So, what this all means is if your goal is to go to the olympics as a weightlifter for the United States, then you need to be the best male lifter in the country. You need to realize that you will not achieve this in time for Rio, and you need to find a great coach and get to work right now, and maybe you’ll have a chance to be fighting for that one slot for the 2020 games in Tokyo, or even the games after that. You need to realize it will take an asinine amount of dedication and sacrifice with poor (at best) financial support along the way. And you need to realize that the odds are stacked incredibly high against you and very few people, if any, will be betting on you achieving that goal.
How old are you? You say you’re a powerlifter; what are your lifts? How is your flexibility/mobility? Are you willing and able to move across the country for the right training situation? Are you able to train anywhere from 4-9 times a week, or more, depending on who your coach is?
I know some of that probably came across as kinda harsh, but you’re better off if somebody kicks you the real deal sooner rather than later.
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
Ahh. That sucks. Would it be unethical/unpatriotic of me to move to a place that sends a lot of lifters?[/quote]
There’s a number of lifters throughout the course of weightlifting history who have changed nationalities and gone on to win medals at worlds/olympic games. So there is a bit of a precedent there. However, any country that tends to send a lot of lifters to the olympics, does so because they have very deep rosters of incredibly talented weightlifters. It would probably be harder to crack the national squad in a country like China, Russia, Poland, etc, than it would be to become the best lifter in the US.
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
Ahh. That sucks. Would it be unethical/unpatriotic of me to move to a place that sends a lot of lifters?[/quote]
Odds are astronomically against you being good enough in two years time to be the lifter sent by the US or any country. As another poster has said, if you have a shot at all it will be in 2016 or later.
[quote]TheJonty wrote:
How old are you? You say you’re a powerlifter; what are your lifts? How is your flexibility/mobility? Are you willing and able to move across the country for the right training situation? Are you able to train anywhere from 4-9 times a week, or more, depending on who your coach is?
I know some of that probably came across as kinda harsh, but you’re better off if somebody kicks you the real deal sooner rather than later.[/quote]
@TheJonty
How old are you? You say you’re a powerlifter; what are your lifts? How is your flexibility/mobility? Are you willing and able to move across the country for the right training situation? Are you able to train anywhere from 4-9 times a week, or more, depending on who your coach is?
-TheJonty
I’m 16. My lifts are as follows.
Sq: 500
Be: 285
DL: 575
Current financial status would not allow me to seek the best training in the land.
I’m able to train 5 days a week now, but soon I should be able to train 7.
It is likely that I shall acquire a coach in the near future.
My flexibility is high for a person of my size and weight (6’1", 320 lbs.) With a lean body mass of 184 and some cutting, competing in the 105 kg. class would be most realistic.
I have not yet received proper instruction in the Olympic lifts and won’t try a max until I have form down pat. I’m willing to train as hard as is necessary with my available resources. In a few years, I’ll be off to college. None of the colleges with weightlifting programs are places I’d consider going, but a suitable college with a club nearby could definitely be found. How does one gain entrance into Olympic Training Centers? Is it by personal invitation? If I were to become a very good weightlifter is an invitation likely?
The document you linked to was quite helpful.
Your help is appreciated.
Yes, training at an OTC is through invitation. But many of the better lifters don’t train at the OTC because it requires you to live off THEIR schedule and train with THEIR coach rather than the coach of your choice. Granted, food, massages, injury treatment, and any other number of benefits are all free, but you aren’t exactly making money either.
At 6’1" you’d be better served in the +105s. Dmitry Klokov, one of the most popular (not best mind you) 105kg lifters is 6’1" and is actually a little too tall. He is not the norm. Most people over 6’0" would be better served competing around 120-130kg.
When you say “high flexibility” what do you mean? Can you squat atg with GOOD form without a raised heel? Can you perform a Sots press, snatch grip or clean grip?
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
At 6’1" you’d be better served in the +105s. Dmitry Klokov, one of the most popular (not best mind you) 105kg lifters is 6’1" and is actually a little too tall. He is not the norm. Most people over 6’0" would be better served competing around 120-130kg.
[/quote]
I respectfully disagree. A 6’1" lifter just totaled 425 at 105 to win the 2013 WWC. Marcin Dolega won gold in 2006, 2009, 2010 and he is 6’ tall. Klokov hasn’t done much since 2005, but he still won the Gold.
There have been several other Gold Medalists at 5’11". The shortest gold medalist since 2000 was 5’7".
Yury Zakharevich holds the old 100 and 110 total records and he is 5’11".
Obviously being shorter gives you a biomechanical advantage, but torso and limb length are much more important.
I really question why the Olympic Weightlifting doesn’t have a 125kg class.
On a side note, while researching heights of various Olympians I was absolutely stunned at how short some of them are and how heavy they are relative to their height. One of the ratios I saw said average weight to height of competitors was 60kg to 1 meter. By comparison I am roughly 50kg to 1 meter and would prefer to be 47.5 (85kg at 1.83m/187lbs at 6’).
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
I’m 16. My lifts are as follows.
Sq: 500
Be: 285
DL: 575[/quote]
Those are pretty decent lifts for a 16 year old. Be prepared to see little carryover from those to the snatch and clean and jerk.
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
Current financial status would not allow me to seek the best training in the land.
I’m able to train 5 days a week now, but soon I should be able to train 7.
It is likely that I shall acquire a coach in the near future. [/quote]
What’s “in the near future”? What’s stopping you from acquiring coaching now? Or at least trying some lifts and putting those attempts up on youtube for scrutiny? Better to start learning the lifts sooner rather than later.
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
My flexibility is high for a person of my size and weight (6’1", 320 lbs.) With a lean body mass of 184 and some cutting, competing in the 105 kg. class would be most realistic.[/quote]
If you need to qualify your flexibility, it is probably an issue that will need to be addressed. It’s incredibly difficult to master the lifts, and outright impossible if you don’t have the flexibility/mobility to hit the positions correctly. And in what world is dropping ~90 pounds (105kg is ~231) with “some cutting” the “most realistic” choice???
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
I have not yet received proper instruction in the Olympic lifts and won’t try a max until I have form down pat. I’m willing to train as hard as is necessary with my available resources. In a few years, I’ll be off to college. None of the colleges with weightlifting programs are places I’d consider going, but a suitable college with a club nearby could definitely be found. [/quote]
Like I said above, first priority, if you’re serious about this, should be finding a reputable coach in your area to learn the lifts from. The lifts are not just about strength, you need to spend years of monotony honing your technique at maximal lifts so that in competition when you’re going for the big lift on your third attempt your technique won’t break down because if it does, the lift happens way too fast for you to fix it.
[quote]Senior Nastyman wrote:
How does one gain entrance into Olympic Training Centers? Is it by personal invitation? If I were to become a very good weightlifter is an invitation likely? [/quote]
Forget about the OTCs. Forget about what ifs. Start lifting, start learning the lifts, learning your body and how it responds to training. Maybe, maybe, if you one day get to that level and receive an invitation to train and live at the OTC, you can decide if it’s best for your goals. You need to think about what you can do now to get the ball rolling. Stop planning and start doing.
And if you’re planning on going to college, maybe don’t throw away academic opportunities for what is probably a pipe dream. Odds are very good you won’t make it. I’d like to see you prove me wrong, but I wouldn’t like to see you driving a truck in ten years because you skipped class to lift weights and don’t have an education to fall back on.
[quote]amayakyrol wrote:
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
At 6’1" you’d be better served in the +105s. Dmitry Klokov, one of the most popular (not best mind you) 105kg lifters is 6’1" and is actually a little too tall. He is not the norm. Most people over 6’0" would be better served competing around 120-130kg.
[/quote]
I respectfully disagree. A 6’1" lifter just totaled 425 at 105 to win the 2013 WWC. Marcin Dolega won gold in 2006, 2009, 2010 and he is 6’ tall. Klokov hasn’t done much since 2005, but he still won the Gold.
There have been several other Gold Medalists at 5’11". The shortest gold medalist since 2000 was 5’7".
Yury Zakharevich holds the old 100 and 110 total records and he is 5’11".
Obviously being shorter gives you a biomechanical advantage, but torso and limb length are much more important.
I really question why the Olympic Weightlifting doesn’t have a 125kg class.
On a side note, while researching heights of various Olympians I was absolutely stunned at how short some of them are and how heavy they are relative to their height. One of the ratios I saw said average weight to height of competitors was 60kg to 1 meter. By comparison I am roughly 50kg to 1 meter and would prefer to be 47.5 (85kg at 1.83m/187lbs at 6’).
[/quote]
You two (and the OP) need to stop worrying about how tall he is and what weight class is perfect for him based on literature and stats and other maths. Once you have learned the lifts and your body has started to adapt to the lifts, which could take years, then you start thinking about where you best fit into the weight classes. You can throw out outliers, both tall and short, all day long but in the end it comes down to at what weight are you, as an athlete, most successful. Not to mention the fact that this kid is only 16, so his body still has a lot of maturing left to do, and he’s 90 fucking pounds away from the 105s as it stands right now.
Also, amayakyrol, a couple things. You said Klokov “hasn’t done much since 2005.” Well, except for those two bronze medals he won at worlds in 2006 and 2007, and oh yeah, that silver medal at the '08 Olympics in Beijing. Oh, and he also took two silver medals at worlds in 2010 and 2011, and was on track to go 1-2 in London with Akkaev before the two of them pulled out. Seeing as he was in the medals for a span of 6-7 years you could say he was a pretty consistent competitor.
Also, there is no 125kg weight class because if you look at the international results for the 105s and the supers, I don’t believe the talent pool is deep enough to support an extra weight class in there. Just my opinion. Besides, I’m sure the IOC feels they already hand out enough medals in weightlifting at the olympics as it is.
I’m also surprised that you’re surprised at your stat about height to weight ratios. Weightlifters tend to benefit from shorter limbs, and with shorter limbs, one would think you would tend to be a more compact, perhaps denser individual. It’s also funny because I’m almost exactly at 60kg per 1 meter height (training weight roughly 109-110kg at about 180cm tall).
If you’re a powerlifter get a coach now. The last thing you want to do is starting habits you will need to unlearn.
[quote]TheJonty wrote:
Also, amayakyrol, a couple things. You said Klokov “hasn’t done much since 2005.” Well, except for those two bronze medals he won at worlds in 2006 and 2007, and oh yeah, that silver medal at the '08 Olympics in Beijing. Oh, and he also took two silver medals at worlds in 2010 and 2011, and was on track to go 1-2 in London with Akkaev before the two of them pulled out. Seeing as he was in the medals for a span of 6-7 years you could say he was a pretty consistent competitor.
Also, there is no 125kg weight class because if you look at the international results for the 105s and the supers, I don’t believe the talent pool is deep enough to support an extra weight class in there. Just my opinion. Besides, I’m sure the IOC feels they already hand out enough medals in weightlifting at the olympics as it is.
I’m also surprised that you’re surprised at your stat about height to weight ratios. Weightlifters tend to benefit from shorter limbs, and with shorter limbs, one would think you would tend to be a more compact, perhaps denser individual. It’s also funny because I’m almost exactly at 60kg per 1 meter height (training weight roughly 109-110kg at about 180cm tall).[/quote]
He doesn’t have a single gold medal since 2005. Several different 105 lifters have won gold. I would say they have all done more than Klokov (exception being the joke at the 2012 games). He’s a great personality and world class lifter, but he isn’t a champion.
I agree, don’t worry about the weight class now. I was just pointing out that height isn’t the end all be all, but is basically a given if you are 6"+ you won’t be competitive at under 94kg.
[quote]amayakyrol wrote:
He doesn’t have a single gold medal since 2005. Several different 105 lifters have won gold. I would say they have all done more than Klokov (exception being the joke at the 2012 games). He’s a great personality and world class lifter, but he isn’t a champion.[/quote]
Someone else having done more doesn’t mean he hasn’t done much. I wouldn’t call him a champion either (even his world title was in an off year after the olympics), but I would say his medals at worlds and olympics put him above the category of “hasn’t done much” though perhaps we will have to agree to disagree.
[quote]amayakyrol wrote:
I agree, don’t worry about the weight class now. I was just pointing out that height isn’t the end all be all, but is basically a given if you are 6"+ you won’t be competitive at under 94kg.
[/quote]
Kolecki was 6’1 and personally I think it’ll be a while before anybody else even comes close to his junior world record clean and jerk of 232@94. Now I’m just being an ass and throwing out another outlier. I haven’t been in a very nice mood lately.
I was gonna say. This doesn’t seem like your usual constructive responses.
I will give Klokov this much credit, he does have the 3rd highest total (428) for the 105kg class at the Olympics or WWC since 2005 and he missed out on a second WWC gold one year due to being slightly heavier than the winner (they posted the same total).
I’d give him even more credit if when you consider that his shoulder injury could (maybe should) have ended his career very early. I guess it apparently still gives him troubles.
Thanks for all the advice, guys. You have been helpful.
There is a college in Michighan–Western I think, but wouldn’t bet on it, that has some sort of tie to the OTC and, again I think, the head coach is a former Chinese lifter. Perhaps going to that college, if college is in your plans, would be a step forward. But take the advice already given: learn and practice the Olympic lifts now. For your sake also keep in mind that our recent best 105 + kg lifter, Shane Hammond, was a powerlifter before truning to Olympic weightlifting, so switchng from powerlifting to Olympic weightlifting is possible.