Athens

Two weightlifting events are contested; the men's one hand lift and men's two hand lift. The top two places are won by the same two men in each event, though their order is reversed for the two events. Great Britain's Launceston Elliot claims gold in the one hand lift ahead of Denmark's Viggo Jensen, who takes top honours in the two hand lift.

1896

Paris

No weightlifting event.

1900

St Louis

Two weightlifting events are contested; the men's two hand lift and men's all-around dumbbell. Greece's Perikles Kakousis tops the podium in the two hand lift ahead of the United States' Oscar Osthoff, who wins the all-around dumbbell event.

1904

London

Omitted from the Games

1908

Stockholm

Omitted from the Games

1912

Antwerp

Weightlifting returns to the Olympic programme with competition in five men's weight classes. France top the medals table with two golds thanks to winning performances from Henri Gance at middleweight and Ernest Cadine at light heavyweight.

1920

Paris

Competition again consists of five weight classes and, despite hosts France winning two gold medals once again, it is Italy who top the overall standings with three. Pierino Gabetti takes the featherweight crown, while Carlo Galimberti and Giuseppe Tonani come away with the middleweight and heavyweight titles respectively.

1924

Amsterdam

Germany are the strongest performers on this occasion, claiming two gold medals and a bronze. Kurt Helbig shares the lightweight title with Austria's Hans Haas, while Josef Strassberger triumphs in the heavyweight division. Hans Wölpert finishes third at featherweight.

1928

Los Angeles

France return to the top of the overall medals standings courtesy of success for Raymond Suvigny, René Duverger and Louis Hostin in the featherweight, lightweight and light heavyweight categories respectively.

1932

Berlin

Egypt end Europe's domination by heading the medals table with two gold medals. Anwar Mesbah shares the top of the lightweight podium with Austria's Robert Fein, while Khadr El Touni wins the middleweight crown.

1936

London

The bantamweight division is added, marking the first change to the Olympic programme since 1920. The United States' Joseph De Pietro claims the inaugural crown, while compatriots Frank Spellman, Stanley Stanczyk and John Davis win the middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight gold medals respectively. Egypt win the two other titles available.

1948

Helsinki

The middle-heavyweight division is added, moving the heavyweight class up from 82.5 kilograms to 90kg. Victory for Norbert Schemansky in the newly-created category is one of four for the United States, who top the medals table once more, this time ahead of the Soviet Union.

1952

Melbourne

Another triumph for the United States with gold medals being won by bantamweight Charles Vinci, featherweight Isaac Berger, light heavyweight Tommy Kono and heavyweight Paul Anderson. The Soviet Union have to settle for the runners-up spot again with three golds.

1956

Rome

The Soviet Union get the better of the United States on this occasion, winning five gold medals and three directly at the expense of their rivals. Featherweight Yevgeny Minayev, middleweight Aleksandr Kurynov and heavyweight Yury Vlasov all beat American opposition in their respective finals.

1960

Tokyo

The Soviet Union prevail for a second successive Games, winning four gold medals through bantamweight Aleksey Vakhonin, light heavyweight Rudolf Plyukfelder, middle-heavyweight Vladimir Golovanov and heavyweight Leonid Zhabotinsky.

1964

Mexico City

Leonid Zhabotinsky successfully defends his heavyweight crown as the Soviet Union finish top of the medals table for the third consecutive Games with three golds. Viktor Kurentsov and Boris Selitsky claim the middleweight and light heavyweight titles respectively.

1968

Munich

The flyweight and super heavyweight classes are introduced, marking the first changes to the Olympic programme since 1952. It is also the last year that the clean and press features as one of the lifts due to difficulties in judging proper technique. Bulgaria end the Soviet Union's supremacy, topping the medals table with three golds and three silvers.

1972

Montreal

The Soviet Union bounce back in emphatic fashion, claiming seven gold medals. Two of their gold medals are originally won by other lifters, but they are disqualified after testing positive for anabolic steroids. Pyotr Korol replaced Poland's Zbigniew Kaczmarek as the lightweight champion, while heavyweight Yuri Zaitsev benefitted from the expulsion of Bulgaria's Valentin Hristov.

1976

Moscow

The men's heavyweight division is divided into two - under 100kg and under 110kg - increasing the number of categories to 10. Light heavyweight Yurik Vardanyan and heavyweight Leonid Taranenko both set world records to secure two of the Soviet Union's unrivalled total of five gold medals.

1980

Los Angeles

The Eastern Bloc boycott of the Games means that the most dominant forces in weightlifting at the time, the Soviet Union and Bulgaria, did not take part. China emerge as a powerhouse of the sport, winning gold medals through flyweight Zeng Guoqiang, bantamweight Wu Shude, featherweight Chen Weiqiang and lightweight Yao Jingyuan.

1984

Seoul

The Soviet Union return to Olympic weightlifting action to devastating effect, topping the medals table with six gold medals. Bulgaria's Mitko Grabnev and Angel Guenchev originally win the bantamweight and lightweight classes but are both disqualified after testing positive for Furosemide.

1988

Barcelona

The Unified Team, who replaced the Soviet Union following the break-up of the Eastern Bloc, finish top the medal standings with five gold medals. Light heavyweight bronze medallist Ibragim Samadov is disqualified after he throws his medal onto the podium and walks out of the medal ceremony. The International Olympic Committee decides not to award the medal to fourth-place finisher Chon Chol Ho of North Korea as Samadov's offence had not been committed in the context of the competition. Ho becomes angry with officials for not handing the medal to him, abusing and attempting to attack them before being restrained by security. Samadov is banned for life.

1992

Atlanta

The range of each weight class is adjusted by one kilogram to 4 kg for these Games, marking the first redefinition since they were introduced in 1920. Greece, China, Russia and Turkey all win two gold medals each. Greece's three silvers see them come out on top, however.

1996

Sydney

Competition at these Games sees the introduction of women's weightlifting across seven weight categories, and a reduction in the men's classes to eight. China win four of the women's titles and add another gold medal in the men's middleweight division, through Zhan Xugang, to top the standings with five. Bulgaria's team are stripped of three gold medals and sent home in shame for doping violations.

2000

Athens

China top the medals table for a second successive Olympics, with two golds in men's competition and three in women's. Shi Zhiyong beats Le Maosheng in an all-Chinese men's featherweight final.

2004

Beijing

Chen Yanqing and Liu Chunhong successfully defend their women's lightweight and light heavyweight titles respectively as hosts China come out on top once more with eight gold medals.

2008

London

Kazakhstan push China close with four gold medals, but end up one behind in the final standings. Lightweight Lin Qingfeng and middleweight Lü Xiaojun both win men's gold for China, while flyweight Wang Mingjuan, lightweight Li Xueying and super heavyweight Zhou Lulu take top honours in women's competition.

2012

Rio

China dominate the medal standings, winning five golds and two silvers in their haul of seven. Thailand and Iran both win two gold medals each. North Korea, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Georgia and Uzbekistan each claim one gold apiece, with 21 countries making it onto the podium in all.

2016