Olympic weightlifting guide: How to quickly convert kilograms to pounds

The first weightlifting event at the Paris Olympics started with a technical delay for about 20 minutes, but eventually, 12 men weighing under 61 kg from 12 countries stepped on the platform.

Team USA's Hampton Morris is among the medal favorites in the weight class. He weighs just under 134.5 lbs but he's able to lift nearly 280 lbs in the snatch, and he recently broke the world record for the clean & jerk at 388 lbs.

Why does weightlifting use kilograms?

Most gyms in the U.S. have all their weights in pounds, but the rest of the world uses kilograms as unit of measurement. So, in a global competition, kilogram is used.

How many pounds is in a kilo?

One kilogram is approximately 2.20462.

How to convert kilograms to pounds?

You can use a calculator, of course. But if you're watching the Olympics and you need to comprehend how heavy these athletes are lifting. There's a simple mental math you can do.

To figure out how much 61kg is in pounds, all you need to do is multiply it by 2.2.

To break it down further: 61x2 = 122.

61x0.2 = 12.2 (All you need to do is move the decimal point in 61 to make it 6.1, then multiply it by 2 to get to 12.2)

122+12.2 = 134.2

That's how you can easily convert kg to lbs in your head.

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