Revised 2026 Qualifying Totals Released Following IWF’s Adjusted Bodyweight Categories

Share:

COLORADO SPRINGS - USA Weightlifting has released updated 2026 national event qualifying totals following the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) announcement of new 2026 bodyweight categories. The IWF’s new categories take effect on Aug. 1, 2026, and all IWF competitions after that date will be contested under the new categories. USAW is aligned with adopting the new categories for all domestic competitions effective August 1 as well, and today is releasing qualifying totals that will be used for all national competitions operating after Aug.1, 2026—the first two being Virus Weightlifting Series 2 and Virus Weightlifting Finals.

 

For purposes of understanding the rest of this release, the originally released qualifying totals from October 10th, 2025 will be referred to as “2026a” totals. The new qualifying totals that are being shared with the community for the first time today will be referred to as “2026b” totals. All qualifying totals and the below explanation are also available on the 2026 Qualifying Totals page of our website.

 

Qualifying for USAW National Competitions in 2026

For national competitions occurring BEFORE AUGUST 1, 2026 (Series 1, Masters Nationals, University Nationals, and National Championships Week): Athletes will compete and qualify using the 2026a qualifying totals – nothing will change for these competitions. 2026b qualifying totals CANNOT be used to qualify for these events.


For national competitions occurring ON OR AFTER AUGUST 1, 2026 (Series 2, Finals), athletes have multiple options:

  • 2026a QTs recorded at qualifying events held before August 1, 2026 will remain active in our system (Sport 80) and can be used to qualify for Series 2 and/or Finals.
    • IE: The 2026a men’s open 94 kg “Series” qualifying total is 214 kg. Competing as a M94 kg lifter before Aug .1 and recording a 214 kg total qualifies this lifter for Series 2.
    • IE: The 2026a men’s open 94 kg “Finals” qualifying total is 288 kg. Competing as a M94 kg lifter before Aug .1 (like at Series 1) and recording a 288 kg total qualifies this lifter for Finals.
    • In both of these scenarios, once an athlete is qualified, they may enter any available category to be contested at the event. 

  • Athletes can qualify using the 2026b QTs BEFORE AUGUST 1 if they 1) weigh within one of the 2026b bodyweight category limits and 2) lift the 2026b QT while at that bodyweight
    • IE: It’s March 6, 2026 and James is preparing to weigh in at Virus Series 1 for his men’s open 79 kg competition. James wants to qualify for the Virus Weightlifting Finals today. James knows that the 2026a open M79 QT for Finals is 264 kg. He’s also aware that the 2026b open M75 QT for Finals is 260 kg – four kilos lighter! If James weighs in at 74 kg and then goes on to lift 260 kg or better, our system will qualify him for Finals because the system compares the actual bodyweight of the athlete to the set qualifying total. If James does not weigh in at or below 75 kg, then he’ll need to lift 264 kg today to qualify for Finals. 

 


Athletes looking to qualify for Series 2 or Finals at a qualifying competition occurring ON OR AFTER AUGUST 1 will need to lift the 2026b qualifying total for their desired weight class. 

  • Note: All local meets after August 1 must use the 2026b bodyweight categories.2026a categories and QTs will be retired in the system on August 1, 2026. 

 

For National Team-Focused Athletes:

Impacts to national team-focused athletes, selection procedures, and/or all information related to qualifying for national teams and the National Team Program will be communicated publicly by USAW’s Sport Performance Department in the coming weeks. Please reach out to Senior Director of Sport Performance Mike Gattone at mike.gattone@usaweightlifting.org or National Teams Operations Lead Jenna Bohanski at jenna.bohanski@usaweightlifting.org with specific questions about how this change impacts National Team Program athletes and opportunities. 

 

 

For any question related to the above information, please contact USA Weightlifting at usaw@usaweightlifting.org