The two lifts contested in Olympic weightlifting are the snatch and the clean and jerk.
The snatch moves a barbell from the floor to overhead in one continuous motion. The clean and jerk is a two-part lift: during the clean, the athlete brings the barbell from the floor to a racked position at the shoulders; during the jerk, the athlete drives it overhead and finishes with locked arms and stable feet.
Competition totals combine an athlete’s best successful snatch and best successful clean and jerk. Lifters normally receive three attempts in each event, with the snatch contested first. The combined result determines rankings within a bodyweight category, subject to the competition’s rules.
Olympic weightlifting once included additional lifts. The clean and press, for example, was removed after the 1972 Olympics because judging whether athletes used excessive leg drive or backward lean became increasingly difficult. Since the 1973 World Weightlifting Championships, the sport has been organized as a two-lift contest. The clean and jerk should also not be confused with the overhead press: the jerk uses a rapid dip and drive to propel the bar upward before the athlete catches it overhead.