Weightlifting

 

 

Some of the disabilities that participate in this sport are:

 

• Amputees
• Dwarf
• Hearing Impairment
• Learning Disabilities
• Cerebral Palsy
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Spina bifida
• Full use of their upper limbs
• Limited mobility in their lower limbs
• Visual Impairment

 

Powerlifting is open to male and female athletes with a physical disability. It has no classification system as long as athletes meet the minimal disability criteria and, like its able bodied counterpart, is divided into weight categories.

 

For men the weight bands start at 48kg and go up to +100kg and for women they start at 40kg and go up to +82.5kg.

 

Men and women compete in a horizontal lying position (on their backs) on a specially designed bench. An assistant gives the bar to the competitor at the level of his/her outstretched arms. The athlete then lowers the bar to their chest, holds it immobile for a short period and then lifts and holds it with locked elbows. The athlete must complete this sequence within 2 minutes for the lift to be valid.

 

This mean that as long as you can lay on a bench and lower a bar to your chest and extend so your elbows are locked you can take part.