IWF establishes World Standards for the new bodyweight categories
Following the introduction of the new IWF bodyweight categories, effective 1 August 2026, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is pleased to announce the new World Standards for the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and Total across all bodyweight categories, genders and age groups.
The methodology applied follows the same principles used for the establishment of the World Standards after the previous bodyweight category revision on 1 June 2025. To ensure consistency, fairness and credibility, the new standards have been calculated using the existing World Records and World Standards from the previous bodyweight categories as the reference.
For those bodyweight categories that remain unchanged from the previous revision—Men: 60 kg, 65 kg, 110 kg and +110 kg; Women: 53 kg, 69 kg, 77 kg, +77 kg (Youth), 86 kg and +86 kg—the existing World Records and World Standards have been retained. This approach reflects the fact that these categories and their corresponding World Records and World Standards were established within the last 14 months, ensuring continuity and fairness for the athletes.
For the newly introduced bodyweight categories, the same mathematical model adopted in 2025 has been applied. The current World Records and World Standards were used to establish a performance trendline, from which the corresponding reference values for the new categories were determined. To create realistic and achievable World Standards while maintaining their prestige, the calculated reference values were adjusted to 98%. This methodology ensures consistency across all bodyweight categories while preserving the integrity of the sport.
The complete list of World Records & World Standards for the new bodyweight categories is available HERE.
