The snatch is very dependent on joint mobility and precise technique. However, people of many different body types have been successful with variances in that technique. Differences in limb length and hip anatomy call for slight changes in coaching cues.
 
The snatch is defined by the International Weightlifting Federation as, “The barbell is placed horizontally in front of the lifter’s legs. It is gripped, palms downwards and pulled in a single movement from the platform to the full extent of both arms above the head, while either splitting or bending the legs.” There is a lot of room for variances in a “legal” snatch, and I would like to highlight some of my weightlifting friends to point out those variances.
 
I have two tall, friends that have a noticeably different snatch technique than mine, or some of my shorter lifters. The main difference is in the back angle. Long femur-ed lifters have to be able to stand up with maximum power in the posterior chain without hitting their knees with the bar during the first pull. Therefore, they have to lean their shoulders over the bar farther than is normally taught, with the back and thighs at a more acute angle. In this photo, we see Jennifer on the left with a deeper angled torso than Liz, on the right.
 
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Beyond the setup, you can watch three differently proportioned lifters here. What you will see is that Jennifer and Jana (the first two videos in the clip, respectively) must start with that more acute back angle than Liz (third video in the clip). Jennifer and Jana also have slightly different setups as well, as Jana’s torso is longer than Jennifer’s. Jana can afford to sit up a little higher and still create tension in her posterior chain and move the knees out of the way of the bar. The second difference to be noticed is with the second pull to the hips. This takes longer, obviously since the femur is longer, so the snatch can look segmented or slow compared to a shorter-limbed athlete.
 
In the receiving position, longer femurs mean that the torso must lean forward more to have the bar balanced over the center of mass.
 
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This is, of course, if the athlete isn’t better suited to receiving the bar in a split snatch. My adaptive athlete recently discovered that if she splits, she can receive the bar lower and with more stability, as her narrow hips and use of only one arm make it difficult to get low enough in an overhead squat position.

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Arm length variations are simply addressed by adjusting the grip width on the bar. As long as the barbell makes contact on the hips when fully upright, a successful second pull can be achieved.
 
For most athletes, a little trick I learned for optimal snatch set-up is to first, find the appropriate grip width by standing upright and making sure the bar makes contact with the hip, so that if bent forward, the barbell sits in the hip crease. Next, with the barbell on the floor, place the feet hip-width under the bar so that the large joint of the big toes (or first laces of the shoes) are directly under the barbell. Without moving the feet from that position, lower into a squat straight down, placing the hands in the grip position found earlier. If this procedure is followed, the knees should be at or past the elbows and the athlete’s back angle will be appropriate for his or her limb length and center of mass. If the athlete executes the first pull by exerting force through the feet, pushing against the floor, without changing the back angle, the knees will stay back out of the way of the upward trajectory of the bar, no matter the femur length of the athlete.
 
While there is no argument that some body types are better suited to snatching, athletes with long femurs, long torsos, long arms, or the opposite can find success with the snatch by making small adjustments to the grip and back angle. The key to efficient performance is first, to exert the most force possible against the ground.  Finding the position of the back relative to the thighs in order to fully activate the hamstring and gluteal muscles is paramount. Second, the grip needs to be such that continued upward force can be exerted on the bar at full hip extension, so not too high or too low as to miss the hips in the second pull. Finally, a balanced catch position relies on the torso to thigh angle once again, making sure the barbell is directly over the athlete’s center of mass. This may mean a more forward leaning torso for taller athletes. With appropriate coaching and maybe even video analysis, any body type can find the positioning for a successful snatch.