Pre Olympic

Competition among people concerning who can lift the heaviest weight has been recorded in diverse and ancient civilizations as early as the earliest known recordings of such human events, including those found in Egypt, China and in ancient Greece. Today, the modern sport of weightlifting traces its origins to the European competitions of the 19th century.The first male world champion was crowned in 1891. Womens competition did not exist, and the weightlifters were not categorized by height or weight.