From a pair of American performances not seen in a generation, to the crowning of a modern icon, to the latest chapter in China’s reign at atop of the sport, weightlifting at the 2024 Paris Olympics produced plenty of history at the South Paris Arena.

Relive all the best action and top storylines from the Paris platform with everything you need to know about weightlifting at the 2024 Paris Olympics…

FULL REPLAYS: WEIGHTLIFTING
RESULTS: WEIGHTLIFTING

The United States, once a dominant weightlifting nation, had for decades fallen well off the international pace in terms of threatening for Olympic medals. That began to change in Tokyo when American lifters Kate Vibert (née Nye) and Sarah Robles took home silver and bronze, respectively, but things hit a new level in Paris thanks to a pair of exciting young guns.

First 20-year-old Hampton Morris claimed bronze in the men’s 61kg (164 lbs.) weight class, becoming the first American man to win a weightlifting medal at the Olympics since 1984, ending a drought that predated the “Back to the Future” movies.

Two days later, 21-year-old Olivia Reeves became the first U.S. weightlifter since 2000 — and just the second American woman ever — to win an Olympic gold medal when she topped the women’s 71kg (156 lbs.) competition.

It was the first time ever that the U.S. won medals in both men’s and women’s weightlifting at the same Olympics, and an exciting launching pad towards Los Angeles 2028.

Entering Paris, you could already make a convincing argument crowning Lasha Talakhadze as the greatest weightlifter of all time. The Georgian superheavyweight arrived at the 2024 Games as the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist, as well as the all-time world record holder for total weight, regardless of weight class.

The only thing Talakhadze lacked was a third gold medal in the sport, to match the record shared by five other weightlifting greats.

It wasn’t easy, as Talakhadze faced a legitimate challenge from two of his rivals in South Paris Arena, but the great one would simply not be denied his third gold medal, and with it, his place atop the sport’s pantheon of greats.

For the seventh consecutive Olympics, China led the way in weightlifting. Of the 10 total events at the Paris Games, Chinese lifters won gold in half of them.

They did so across the gambit of weight classes, from the smallest (Hou Zhihui in the women’s 49kg and Li Fabin in the men’s 61kg) to the largest (Li Wenwen in the women’s 81+kg class).

Apart from China, no other nation won multiple gold medals on the Paris platform.