What always interests me about the Weighlifting tournament at any Olympic Games is which nations are going forwards and which are going backwards, and why. The question is what are the factors that contribute to the achievement of high performance in a sport by any nation.
Let's start by reviewing modern Weightlifting history, at least in terms of medal winners at the Olympic Games .
52 years ago at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, the Weightlifting tournament was dominated by two countries the USSR and the USA, with a good showing also from Poland and Iran. Medals were also won by Great Britain, Italy, Hungary and Singapore.
32 years ago at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Weightlifting was mostly an east European affair. The USSR again took most medals but Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany and Poland also figured in the medal count. The only nations outside of East Europe to win medals were Cuba and North Korea.
By 12 years ago at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Weightlifting saw an extraordinary change in the leading nations. The USSR had broken apart and its main constituent, Russia, could only manage two Bronze medals. The new power in Weightlifting was Greece, a nation that rose meteorically from complete obscurity in Weightlifting and won two Gold and two Silver medals. A significant aspect of this achievement was the defection of Pyrros Dimas from Albania and Kakhi Kakhiashvilis from Georgia. By 2000, Bulgaria was not as strong as it had been in the 70's and 80's but still strong enough to take 1 gold and 2 silver. It would have been stronger except for defections of athletes to other countries (former Bulgarians Peshalov won a gold for Croatia, and Popov won a bronze for Qatar). Other nations that won medals in 2000 were Turkey, Poland, Germany, China and former constituent states of the USSR, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus.
In the 2012 London Olympics, it is now China that tops the medal tally but stalwart weightlifting nations such as Russia, Poland, Iran, Cuba and North Korea are still doing well. The major upstart of these games was Kazakstan with 4 Gold medals. However, Kazakstan was no stranger to producing Weightlifting Olympic Champions when it was part of the old USSR. Previous champions include Victor Mazin, Anatoly Khrapati and even David Rigert was born and started his Weightlifting career there. What is also interesting in these games is that Bulgaria failed to take a medal of any colour, and there are several other upstart nations such as Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand and Moldova ( the small former state of the USSR that has only 3½million population).
It would be nice to have some real research on the factors that contribute to the success of nations in Weightlifting but alas all I can do is ponder the history and speculate .
The first factor to speculate is the influence of POLITICAL structure of the nation. The further a nation is from being a liberal democracy, the more likely it is to producing excellence in Weightlifting. This is not a nice thought but certainly this factor may be an underpinning reason behind the success of nations such as USSR (exists no longer), China, Cuba, Korea, Bulgaria (in its heyday), Iran, North Korea and Kazakstan. One may assume that the organisation of sport in such countries is radically different to the liberal democracies such as Australia. Resources are channelled into producing high performance rather than distributed across anyone who might show interest in sport merely as a form of recreation and fitness. Importantly this channelling of resources includes Human Resource. In a country like China, if you show genetic tendencies to be good at Weightlifting then there is every likelihood that you will be 'requested' to take up that sport.
The second factor is TRADITION and this factor accounts for why Australians do well and expect to do well at Swimming. Tradition sets the standard high and demands dedication of participants. Poland, for example, has been a leading Weightlifting nation since winning its first Olympic medal in the sport in 1956. Tradition may also be a reason behind the ongoing success of Iran and Cuba. Tradition very much helps in the recruitment of talented youth into the sport, in the development of knowledgeable coaches and in the allocation of government funds to sport bodies.
The third factor is HOSTING the OLYMPIC GAMES. Usually when nations bid for and win the right to host the Olympic Games, their national governments allocate phenomenal sums of money to developing the very best national representative team. This factor explains the success of China at the 2008 Games and may partially explain Greece's rise to fame in the 2000 Olympics, as Greece was to host the Games in 2004. Certainly the USSR did very well in Weightlifting in the lead up to the Moscow 1980 Olympics but then again, the USSR has been strong for the previous 30 years. In the 200o Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia did not manage to win a medal in Weightlifting but it did benefit similarly to Greece with 1 Bronze in the 1996 Olympics, with Bulgarian born Stefan Botev.
The fourth factor is CLIMATE and it may have only a marginal effect. In nations such as Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cuba, you would expect climate to have no effect. But in countries such as China, Russia, Kazakstan and possibly Poland, you might expect that people would be more keen on Indoor Sports in the Winter when day-time temperatures remain well below freezing for many weeks of the year. On the otherhand, in Australia the climate is conducive to people taking up outside sports of tennis, golf, cricket, surf life saving, etc. In this respect there might be a close tie between CLIMATE and TRADITION.
The fifth factor is the WEALTH of the NATION. Prominent among the rising nations in Weightlifting is Colombia and Kazakstan. Both nations enjoy high rates of economic growth, and for both nations OIL is the largest export. Other nations that are major Oil Exporters and successful in winning medals in the 2012 Olympic Games are Iran, Russia and Azerbadjian. The Wealth of the Nation quite obviously does not account for the success of North Korea, Cuba or Moldova (Europe's poorest nation). Australia, by international standards is a wealthy country but other factors intervene.
The sixth and last factor CULTURE is the most hindering for Australia. In liberal democracies such as Australia, there are major issues in regard to the lifestyle of the population, and in particular the Youth. Obesity among children is reaching extremely worrying levels. This is partly due to diet, and partly due to the existence of many forms of inactive recreation. Obesity and low levels of fitness is having a major effect on the recruitment of children into sport and their opportunities for success. However, although Australia has an early lead in obesity in children, there are signs that other nations are also experiencing the same issue as their national prosperity increases. The lifestyle of average Australians is comfortable and, for Australian sports men and women, this may reduce their willingness to submit to harsh training regimes that are necessary to be successful in sport. In nations were lifestyle is less easy, achievement in sport can make a substantial difference to the chance of obtaining better housing, jobs, income and consumer goods that in Australia people take for granted. The absence of an easy lifestyle would be a compeling reason for people of North Korea to work very hard to be successful in sport.
It is not that any one of these factors dictates whether a nation will be more or less successful at the Sport of Olympic Weightlifting. In reality, it is a combination of factors. If a strong TRADITION in Weightlifting exists and the national is WEALTHY, then the POLITICAL system of that country is more likely to direct resources to that sport.
The two factors that I don't believe have any bearing on which nation does well, may be a surprise to some. I do not believe that DOPING is a factor. The reason for this is that athletes in any nation can acquire performance enhancing substances. I also do not believe that some nations possess a population that has better GENETICS. The average Kazakstani is not stronger than the average Australian.
If you would like to debate any of the above or put your points forward as to how a nation like Australia can be more competitive at Weightlifting, please email: teacher@leoisaac.com
If you would like to see the funding that Weightlifting gets in Australia compared to other sports, visit http://www.leoisaac.com/sportman/sportman03.htm
