There are a total of 15 Olympic events, eight for men and seven for women, all designated by the upper weight limit of the athletes permitted in each class.

Competitors lift a weight, called the barbell, which consists of a steel bar (weighing 20kg for men, 15kg for women) onto which different coloured weight discs (weighting 0.5kg to 25kg) are loaded.  Lifters perform two types of lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk, with three attempts at each.  The best snatch and best clean and jerk for each lifter are added together to determine the final results. 

Weightlifting is one of seven sports taking place at ExCeL (Exhibition Centre London), one of Europe's largest and most versatile exhibition spaces.

London 2012 Storylines:
China dominated the competition when it hosted the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, winning eight of the 15 gold medals awarded as well as one silver medal.  In fact, Chinese athletes reached the podium in every event they were entered.  That dominance has not waned as we head towards London 2012.  China led all countries with 11 medals (4 G, 5 S, 2 B) at the 2010 World Championships.  China's strength lies in the women's events as well as the lighter weight men's events.

Canada's Outlook:
Canada has won two Olympic weightlifting medals.  Both were silvers, won by Gerry Gratton in Helsinki 1952 and Jacques Demers in Los Angeles 1984.

Canada's best medal hope for London 2012 lies with Christine Girard, who finished fourth in the women's 63kg weight class in Beijing 2008.  She missed the podium by just three kilograms.  Girard competed in the 69kg weight class at both the 2009 and 2010 World Championships, finishing eighth and seventh in the respective years, but has since moved back to the 63kg event in preparation for the Olympic Games.  She appears poised for success as she captured gold at the Pan Am Games while setting a Games record for total points in the snatch event.

Another woman to watch is Marilou Dozois-Prevost, who finished 10th in the 48kg weight class in Beijing 2008.  She has since moved up to the 53kg weight class and won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.  Most recently she finished 19th overall in her class at the World Championships in Paris.

Also pay attention to Marie-Eve Beachemin-Nadeau in the 69kg weight class as she finished 15th overall at the Worlds.

Canada's top male weightlifter is George Kobaladze, who competes in the +105kg weight class.  Canada has never had an Olympic entry in the heaviest of the men's weight classes.  He earned his first international medal, a bronze, at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and followed that up with another bronze at the Pan Am Games.

Other International Athletes to Follow:

MEN

Long Qingquan – China (56kg)

• Had yet to reach his 18th birthday when he won gold in Beijing 2008, making him the youngest ever Olympic Champion in weightlifting;
• The 2008 Olympic Games marked his international debut; he earned the berth after upsetting a former world champion at the national championships
• Won gold at the 2009 World Championships followed by silver in 2010

Liao Hui – China (69kg)

• Won gold in Beijing 2008, which was just his second international competition, after having earned the Olympic berth by upsetting the defending Olympic Champion at the national championships
• Won back-to-back World titles in 2009 and 2010

Matthias Steiner – Germany (+105kg)

• Provided one of the most emotional moments of the 2008 Olympic Games when after winning the gold medal he stood on the podium with a photo of his wife Susann who had died in a car accident a year earlier
• After undergoing hernia surgery in 2009, he returned to the world championships in 2010 and won the silver medal

WOMEN

Jang Mi-Ran – South Korea (+75kg)

• Won gold in Beijing 2008 after taking the silver in Athens 2004
• After winning four straight world championship gold medals from 2005 to 2009, she settled for bronze in 2010

Svetlana Podobedova – Kazakhstan (75kg)

• Won back-to-back gold medals at the 2009 and 2010 World Championships as well as at the 2010 Asian Games
• At the 2009 World Championships and 2010 Asian Games she defeated China's Cao Lei, the 2008 Olympic Champion and a two-time world champion

Liu Chunhong– China (69kg)

• After winning back-to-back Olympic titles in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, she looks to become the first female weightlifter to win three Olympic gold medals
• Won World gold in 2003 and World silver in 2007; after finishing 4th at the 2009 World Championships she won gold at the 2010 Asian Games