Powerlifting today is one of the world’s most popular sports, and is one of the biggest sports that involves several nations. The sport hosts some of the most astounding feats of strength, and some of the most amazing physical specimen. From the big burly men that resemble giants, to the much more aesthetic athletes, Powerlifters are some of the most varied group of people. However, this grand sport has not always been at the level that it is now. It took Powerlifting many decades before it was even close to organized enough to reach the greatness it has. Modern day Powerlifting originates from what were called the “odd lifts” at the time; which were any lifts that were not Olympic Lifts. These lifts were often performed by athletes that lacked the dexterity to perform Olympic Lifts at world-class level, yet still had the strength and dedication. According to Titan Support (a blog sponsored by the International Powerlifting Federation), it was not until the mid-1950’s that a Powerlifting set, or Strength Set, was chosen from the “odd lifts.”…show more content… Prior to any Powerlifting organizations, there lacked rules that held across the competitions. Unlike other sports, there was no governing body that made rules. It was not until November 1972, that the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) was founded. According to the IPF, the creation of an international governing body opened doors for more countries to compete in Powerlifting. Up until this point, the sport was largely dominated by Americans, both in terms of competitors and winners. When the IPF was founded, the judges became people from more international diversity. As a matter of fact, Powerlifting progressed more in the few years after the IPF was founded than ever before; it saw an increase in international competitors, it added women's competitions, as well as more weight classes to make it more fair for lighter
