Section 6: Scoring
6.1 The Total
The Total is the sum of the athlete's best successful snatch and best successful clean & jerk. The athlete with the highest Total in their weight category wins. An athlete who fails to record a valid attempt in either lift (three consecutive misses) is eliminated and receives no Total ("bombed out").
6.2 Tiebreakers
If two or more athletes achieve the same Total:
- The athlete with the lighter bodyweight at weigh-in wins.
- If bodyweight is also identical, the athlete who achieved the Total first (earlier in the session) wins.
6.3 Records
The IWF recognises three categories of records: Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and Total. Records are kept at world, Olympic, continental, and national levels. A record is valid only if the athlete passes all anti-doping controls at the competition. The IWF periodically resets records when weight categories are restructured.
6.4 Sinclair Coefficient
To compare performances across weight categories, the IWF uses the Sinclair coefficient — a mathematical formula that normalises an athlete's total relative to bodyweight. The highest Sinclair total is used to determine "pound-for-pound" rankings and for events like the IWF Grand Prix where athletes from different weight classes compete for an overall title.