Olympic Weightlifting 2024: Where to Watch, Full Schedule

Five American weightlifters will be trying to earn glory at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The sport is a classic at the Olympics, first appearing at the 1896 Athens games. Women’s weightlifting is a much newer addition, first happening at the 2000 Sydney games. But the first versions of weightlifting date back to ancient Egypt and Greece, with people lifting heavy stones as part of feats of strength.

The dominant country in weightlifting has evolved and varied over time, with Europeans, especially those from Germany, Austria and France, winning the Olympic sport at the beginning of the 20^th century. Soviet athletes also reigned supreme from the 1950s to 1990s. Since then, athletes from China, Greece and Iran have won most of the medals.

Team USA has struggled to get on the medal podium in weightlifting in recent games, snagging only one medal between the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Americans have only won three medals in weightlifting since 2016, but will be looking to change that narrative in Paris.

RELATED: Where To Watch 2024 Paris Olympics: Complete Schedule

Olivia Reeves, 21, is poised to be a breakout star for her first Olympic games. She’s currently the top-ranked lifter in the women’s 71kg weight class, and is a “legitimate gold medal favorite,” according to NBC Sports.

She won bronze in the 71kg at the 2023 World Championships and set new junior world records in the clean & jerk and total in the process.

US' Olivia Reeves poses with the gold medal during the podium ceremony of the women's 81kg total weightlifting event of the Pan American Games Santiago 2023, at the Chimkowe Gymnasium in Santiago on October 23, 2023. Photo: ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images

But that’s not all: at the IWF Grand Prix II in December 2023, she achieved a 115kg snatch, 147 kg clean & jerk, and a total of 262 kg—breaking all three junior world records in the span of an hour. The 147 kg jerk is the heaviest in U.S. weightlifting history by any non-superheavyweight female.

Wes Kitts is returning for his second Olympics and will be competing in the 102kg weight class. He’s a 2018 and 2019 Pan American champion, and most recently placed 9^th at the 2023 World Championship in the 109kg men’s snatch. Although he’s now a two-time Olympic weightlifter, his career as an athlete began on the football field, where he was a running back for Austin Peay State University.

“I just stumbled into [weightlifting],” he told NBC Sports. “I was actually still training for football when I showed up at this CrossFit gym. … They had a weightlifting team that was going to a local meet, and I just signed up for it.”

Jourdan Delacruz is other Olympic veteran on the Team USA weightlifting roster. After coming up short for a medal in Tokyo, she’s one of the U.S.’s best shots to medal in Paris. She qualified for the games as the four-ranked lifter in the women’s 49kg weight class. She’s also a two-time world medalist and holds eight American records across three weight classes.

Every day during the Summer Olympics, NBC will offer fans at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage of swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and more. Considering the time difference (Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S.’s eastern time zone), fans will be able to watch the day’s most popular events live on NBC in the morning and afternoon. NBC will also deliver an enhanced Olympics primetime show each night, providing three hours of must-see entertainment.

 In addition, every event from the Summer Olympics will be broadcast live on Peacock, which will be home to an innovative Olympics hub that will include "curated rails of live and upcoming events, dedicated in-depth hubs for nearly 40 sports, medal standings and an interactive schedule."

Wednesday, August 7
9:00 a.m. ET: Men’s 61kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk
1:30 p.m. ET: Women’s 49kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk

Thursday, August 8
9:00 a.m. ET: Women’s 59kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk
1:30 p.m. ET: Men’s 73kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk

Friday, August 9
9:00 a.m. ET: Men’s 89kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk
1:30 p.m. ET: Women’s 71kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk

Saturday, August 10
5:30 a.m. ET: Men’s 102kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk
10:00 a.m. ET: Women’s 81kg Snatch / Clean & Jerk
2:30 p.m. ET: Men’s 102+kg: Snatch / Clean & Jerk

Sunday, August 11
5:30 a.m. ET: Women’s 81+kg: Snatch: Clean & Jerk

Don't Miss

The drama and good vibes in Paris aren't over yet. The 2024 Paralympic Games kick off August 28 and run through September 8. Stay up to date with a comprehensive schedule of events, including where to watch. All events will be broadcast live on Peacock.