Abstract
The purpose of this study was to write a history of women's weightlifting in the United States. At the same time, this study has addressed the social constraints which prohibited purposely and/or inadvertently the inclusion of women in the sport of weightlifting in the Olympic Games. There have been few published accounts about the history of women's weightlifting and its development in the United States. Therefore, this study used newspaper articles and periodicals to review the important figures and events in American history which lead up to the first competition and women's weightlifting admittances into the Olympic Games. This study contributed to the breadth of historical knowledge of obstacles women weightlifters faced in trying to compete in the United States and the Olympic Games.