Powerlifting

【Competition Venues：Tokyo International Forum】

• Overview

  Powerlifting is a sport in which athletes with impairment in their lower limbs lift a barbell (a bar loaded with heavy plates) by using their upper body strength.

  

  All Japan Championship（January 2015）

  The winner is the athlete who lifts the highest number of kilograms. In Powerlifting, there is no classification according to the type and the extent of athletes' impairments, and competitions are held on body weight basis. For athletes with amputations, to compensate the weight loss, weight is added to their body weight to account for missing limbs.

  The sole event in Paralympic powerlifting is the bench press, in which powerlifters lie on their backs to lift a barbell with their upper body strength. In a competition, a lifter lies on his/her back on a bench, and then removes the barbell from the racks. Upon the cue from the referee, the lifter lowers the barbell to his/her chest and presses the bar upwards to arms' length where elbows are locked. This is called an “attempt.” After each athlete has completed three attempts, athletes are ranked according to the weight of the barbell they have lifted.

  History

  It is said that Powerlifting originated in England after World War II as part of rehabilitation in hospitals where war veterans, who suffered amputation of their lower limbs or spinal damage, did bench presses so that they could return to society with a well-developed upper body.

  Powerlifting has been an official sport since the Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games.

  Detail

  Sports Event

  	Men	Women
  Event	Up to 49.00kg Up to 54.00kg Up to 59.00kg Up to 65.00kg Up to 72.00kg Up to 80.00kg Up to 88.00kg Up to 97.00kg Up to 107.00kg Over 107.00kg	Up to 41.00kg Up to 45.00kg Up to 50.00kg Up to 55.00kg Up to 61.00kg Up to 67.00kg Up to 73.00kg Up to 79.00kg Up to 86.00kg Over 86.00kg

  Eligible impairment

• Limb deficiency (impairment of lower limb function)

(Updated on April 10, 2019)