Powerlifting is the ultimate test of upper body strength and can sometimes see athletes lift more than three times their own body weight! It is open to male and female athletes with the following eight (8) eligible physical impairments (impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, and athetosis) with a range o
f physical disabilities, including (Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord injuries, Lower Limb Amputation, poliomyelitis), who meet the current minimal eligibility criteria and can perform, safely and appropriately, according to the IPC Powerlifting rules. All eligible athletes compete in one sport class, but in different weight categories. The bench press is the sport’s single discipline, with 10 different categories based on body weight. Competitors must lower the bar to the chest, hold it motionless on the chest and then press it upwards to arms length with locked elbows. Athletes are given three attempts and the winner is the athlete who lifts the highest number of kilograms. In 1964 “Weightlifting” made its debut at the Tokyo Paralympic Games and featured just men with spinal cord injuries. Over the following years the sport and began to include other disability groups and incorporate rules similar to those of Powerlifting competitions for able bodied athletes. In 1992 it was decided that the Paralympics should only feature powerlifting as opposed to weightlifting. The resulting Barcelona Games saw athletes from 25 countries compete for medals. By the 1996 Atlanta Games this number had increased to 58, and by 2000, the year women first competed in Paralympic Powerlifting, the sport was practiced on all five continents. Today the sport boasts hundreds of athletes from more than 110 countries. At the Rio 2016 Games, 180 athletes will compete in 20 medal events.
