Sinclair Coefficients


The Sinclair Coefficients are a method to compare different weight classes in Olympic weightlifting. It replaced Hoffman's formula, which was the first statistical analysis of this type.
The method provides the answer to the question "What would be the total of an athlete weighing kg if he/she were an athlete in the heaviest class of the same level of ability?", given by the formula:
× = SINCLAIR TOTAL.
Since 1 November 2018, there are ten bodyweight categories for each gender. For men, they are 55 kg, 61 kg, 67 kg, 73 kg, 81 kg, 89 kg, 96 kg, 102 kg, 109 kg, and +109 kg, and for women: 45 kg, 49 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 64 kg, 71 kg, 76 kg, 81 kg, 87 kg and +87 kg.
There are two types of lifts: snatch, and clean and jerk. However, at most championships, medals are presented for both lifts and the total.
To compare and rank the results, especially between bodyweight categories, the International Weightlifting Federation uses the Sinclair Coefficients which are derived statistically and calculated for one Olympic cycle.
The total for each bodyweight category is a projection of the Total for that weightlifter if he/she were a competitor in the heaviest bodyweight category with the same level of ability.
The Sinclair Coefficient is if x<b where x is the weightlifter's bodyweight, b is the world record holder's bodyweight and A is the coefficient for this Olympic cycle, or 1.0 if xb.
Then, the Sinclair Total is simply the obtained total multiplied by the Sinclair Coefficient.
For example, from 2017 to 2020, a calculation of the Sinclair Coefficient is as follows given A=0.751945030 and b=175.508 kg for men and A=0.783497476 and b=153.655 kg for women.
Assume that we are assessing a male weightlifter weighing 61.9 kg with a total of 320 kg.
Then, x = 61.9 kg, and we have
X = log10 = log10 = −0.4526062683
A = 0.751945030 × ^ 2 = 0.751945030 × 0.204852431 = 0.1540377697
10^ = 10^0.1540377697 = 1.4257315812
Sinclair Total = Actual Total × S.C. = 320 kg × 1.4257315812 = 456.234

Men's Sinclair chart

To understand the whole idea, here is the chart with the men's bodyweight categories and their world record Totals, Sinclair Coefficients, and Sinclair Total. By looking at the Sinclair Total, we can determine the RANK.
#Weight Class World Record Sinclair CoefficientSinclair TotalRank
1552931.552231454.8038
2613181.440117457.9527
3673391.353700458.9046
4733631.285695466.7074
5813781.215696459.5335
6893871.162510449.89110
7964161.126229468.5112
81024121.100963453.5979
91094351.076911468.4563
10+10948414841

Women's Sinclair chart

#Weight Class World Record Sinclair CoefficientSinclair TotalRank
1451911.670561319.07710
2492121.573211333.5213
3552271.432118325.0909
4592461.365809335.9902
5642611.298241338.8411
6712671.224840327.0327
7762781.183684329.0645
8812831.149684325.3618
9872941.116377328.2146
10+8733213325

Notable Sinclair Totals throughout the history of modern weightlifting

Men

The highest men's Sinclair Total was set by Naim Süleymanoğlu at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, with 500.705.
Yurik Vardanyan set a 490.823 Sinclair Total at the 1982 USSR Championships in Dnepropetrovsk, Soviet Union.
Viktor Solodov set a 489.331 Sinclair Total at the 1984 Friendship Games in Varna, Bulgaria.
Yury Zakharevich set a 489.232 Sinclair Total at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Individual lifts

The highest men's Sinclair Snatch is 226.156 set by Blagoy Blagoev in 1983 in Varna, Bulgaria.
The highest men's Sinclair Clean and Jerk is 277.763 set by Naim Süleymanoğlu at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
As of 2020, there are only four other men to have set a Sinclair Clean and Jerk of 272.159 or higher:
The highest women's Sinclair Total was set by Tatiana Kashirina at the 2014 World Championships in Almaty, Khazakstan, with 364.529.
Natalia Zabolotnaya set a Sinclair Total of 352.622 at the 2011 President's Cup in Belgorod, Russia.
Svetlana Podobedova set a Sinclair Total of 352.190 at the 2010 World Championships in Antanlya, Turkey.
Nadezhda Evstyukhina set a Sinclair Total of 350.940 at the 2011 World Championships in Paris, France.

Individual lifts

The highest women's Sinclair Snatch is 162.362, set by Tatiana Kashirina at the 2014 World Championships.
As of 2020, there are only two other women to have set a Sinclair Snatch of 158.757 or higher:
The highest women's Sinclair Clean and Jerk is 202.167, also set by Tatiana Kashirina at the 2014 World Championships. As of 2020, Kashirina is the only woman to set a Sinclair Clean and Jerk of 200 or higher.