The practice of lifting heavy stones to determine one's strength commenced in ancient times. This practice has continued down through the ages and in many strongman contests today heavy stones are lifted, or attempted to be lifted. Modern weightlifting started in Germany in the mid-1800s and quickly spread through the rest of Continental Europe and beyond. The International Weightlifting Federation was founded in 1905.

Weightlifting featured in the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. The two events in 1896 were the one-handed lift and the two-handed lift and they were open to all competitors regardless of their weight. The sport appeared again at St Louis 1904 (and in the Intercalated Olympics in Athens in 1906) and then at Antwerp 1920 after which it commenced an unbroken run on the Olympic program. Women’s weightlifting was added to the Olympic program in Sydney in 2000.