Weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

This article details the qualifying phase for weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The competition at these Games includes 260 athletes. Each competing nation is allowed to enter a maximum of 10 competitors, 6 men and 4 women.2014 and 2015 World Weightlifting Championships are the main qualifying events for the 2016 Olympic games. NOCs achieve qualification places according to their position in the joint team classification by points adding those scored in the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. One continental qualification event is held for each continent in 2016. Only NOCs which have not gained quota places in the Main Qualification Events may obtain quota places.

On November 19, 2015, the International Weightlifting Federation banned Bulgaria from competing at the Rio Olympics due to doping, and took one Olympic entry place from Romania and Uzbekistan because of "multiple positive cases" of doping.

On 22 June 2016, the International Weightlifting Federation announced that a number of countries would lose quota places in weightlifting at the Games because of doping violations. IWF then went on to state that if the testing of 'B' samples confirmed any country had three or more violations in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic retesting programme, that country would be suspended from international weightlifting for one year, and would thereby be excluded from the Games in Rio, alongside the already suspended Bulgaria.

IWF clarified that after retesting of 'A' samples from 2008 and 2012 that the three countries therefore scheduled for suspension were Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus. Russia is appealing this decision also to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 6 July 2016. In addition, quota places have been removed from Azerbaijan (2),Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), Moldova (2), North Korea (2), Russia (2), Romania (1) and Uzbekistan (1).

* The International Olympic Committee and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) have decided to remove one quota place from Romania (men) and Uzbekistan (women) due to "multiple positive cases" of doping.
** On June 22, 2016, IWF further removed 11 quotas from 6 NOCs:

...
Wikipedia