Havana.- The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has revealed the qualification system for this sport towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
On its official website, the entity announced that 120 athletes will be invited to the summer event, evenly split between 60 men and an equal number of women.
Competitions will take place in 12 weight categories, six per gender. Women will compete in 53, 61, 69, 77, 86, and over 86 kilograms; men will compete in 65, 75, 85, 95, 110, and over 110 kilograms.
According to the IWF, 108 spots will be allocated through direct qualification: 96 via the qualification ranking and 12 through continental representation.
Additionally, six spots will be reserved for the host country (United States) and the same number through universality places, intended for National Olympic Committees with small delegations.
The road to qualification will follow an extensive schedule spanning from July 27, 2026, to May 7, 2028, structured into two key periods.
The first stage will include competitions such as the 2026 and 2027 senior World Championships.
Also included will be three IWF qualification events — one in the current year and two in the next — plus the 2027 continental tournaments.
The second period consists of two qualifying events, one continental and one world event, all scheduled for 2028.
The federation clarified that for a lifter to be eligible and appear in the Olympic qualification ranking, they must meet a minimum participation requirement.
The criterion to meet this is achieving and recording three valid total results during the events of the first period, and two biathlons during the second stage.
At the end of the process, the top eight ranked in each category will earn spots at the Games.
This system, also approved by the IOC, seeks to guarantee a consistent presence of high-level weightlifters on the international circuit.
