In the dramatic men's 89kg weightlifting session at the 2024 Paris Olympics, an Italian weightlifter nearly missed the bronze due to the sport's controversial press out rule.
The rule defined by the International Weightlifting Federation as "incorrect movement" applies to both Olympic weightlifting's two events, the snatch and the clean & jerk. The snatch involves lifting the bar from the floor to above the head in one fluid movement. The clean & jerk combines two lifts: cleaning the barbell off the floor onto the shoulders, and then lifting it from the shoulders to overhead.
What is a press out?
An athlete fails to properly perform the lifts if they "press-out" the bar while it is overhead.
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"Finishing with a press-out, defined as: continuing the extension of the arms after
the athlete has reached the lowest point of his / her position in the squat or split for
both the Snatch and the Jerk," the IWF rule states.
Simply, the weightlifter cannot actively press the bar overhead after they've already caught it.
Both lifts are highly technical and must be performed with power, which requires both strength and speed. The bar can some time crash down on the athlete in the catch, causing what appears to judges as a press out. Other times, there's an inefficiency in the movement that causes the athlete to have to push the bar.
There are two side judges and one front judge who will award the lifter with a red light for an improper or missed lift, and a white light for a good lift. Athletes need two white lights for their attempt to count.
The controversy lies in the judging, and many Olympic weightlifting fans who believe IWF should do away with the long-time rule say there's too much inconsistency. Still, there's a five-person jury panel that has the benefit of a video review to ensure the judges' decisions are accurate. All jury members must agree for the decision to be reversed.
What happened with Italy's Antonino Pizzolato?
In the men's 89kg session on Friday, Italian weightlifter Antonino Pizzalato only made one of his three snatch attempts at 172kg and he needed to perform his best in the clean & jerk to still be in medal contention.
He decided to open at 212kg, just 5kg shy of his world record. He couldn't complete the clean on the first attempt, but he came back to successfully lift the bar overhead on the second and third attempts. However, he was red-lighted for both due to the press out rule.
Pizzalato thought his second Olympic bronze was out of reach but the jury overturned the decision for his final clean & jerk attempt, which lifted him to third place.
