Weightlifting refers to the sport of Olympic weightlifting, although it’s often confused en masse, and used to refer to the act of simply lifting weights. Weightlifting is not a blanket term, so to clear up the confusion, weightlifters usually refer to their sport as Olympic weightlifting or “Oly” for short.
Oly distinguishes itself in 2 ways. First is by the use of overhead lifts. The 2 main lifts are the snatch and the clean and jerk. After these lifts are completed, lifters drop the barbell and weights to the ground, which brings us to the second difference. Oly lifting requires the use of “bumper plates” which are weights made out of rubber. Dropping iron plates to the ground from overhead maybe lasted a minute in this sport.
The sport relies heavily on explosive and powerful movements that other strength sports lack to a degree. All lifts solely employ a olympic barbell. The most recognizable face of Oly weightlifting is former world champion and Olympian, Russian Dmitry Klokov.