Ok, let's try this again.
First, the belt doesn't wrap around itself. I can't remember the last time I fastened a belt without my body in it, and laid it next to me, expecting a better lift. No, I wrap it around myself, not itself.
2nd, there were plenty of OLers using belts at the last olympics, both American women included. Pyrros did not. I can see where a thick, stiff, belt like that of a powrlifter would hinder an olympic lifter's ability to perform. It gets in the way of the proper lean, which affects depth, prevents a full rotation of the pelvis, which is required for reversal strength, etc... None of that is of much concen to a powerlifter though, unless they are in a fed that requires an ATF squat.
I think anyone would be a fool to try to tell you that core strength isn't superior, and for the most part sufficient. However, you'd also be a fool to think a tight, stiff, belt won't help someone in a 1 rep max attempt on certain lifts (particularly powerlifting). It's like icing on the cake, even though the cake is really good all on its own. This is best evidenced by the fact that we routinely make 1RM attempts, and then fail, put on a belt, and hit it. No, that is not psychosomatic. It's the use of IAP. A belt is NOT necessary to become bigger or stronger, but just like a bench shirt, it's an allowable piece of equipment that allows you to "use your air" for a bigger lift when that's what the game calls for. I don't train in one, and wouldn't encourage anyone to either. I know my max without a belt and my max with a belt...and I can assure you, for the purposes of numbers only, IT HELPS.
There's also a difference in the KIND of belt. The flimsy leather piece of junk hanging on your gym wall, vs a stiff, thick belt that a powerlifter would use:
"The only way for the belts to work—mechanically speaking—would be if they were very stiff and custom-made and essentially covered the entire area from the pelvis to the ribs. It’s a great leap of faith to believe that the soft, pliable belts currently on the market will do much to reduce back stress."
-John Chaffin, Ph.D., professor of ergonomics at the Center for Ergonomics at the University of Michigan
Lyn Jones, national coaching director for USA Weightlifting at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, calls the belts "essentially cosmetic" and recommends instead that you develop your own musculature around the waist:
"If you have a superstiff, customized weight belt, use it for heavy lifting, like squats, power cleans and dead lifts—and not for the lighter part of your weight routine."
Additionally, the super-stiff, thick belts used by most PLers weren't allowed in the Olympic games, or perhaps someone would have actually used one. The thin leather belts that were allowed are truly "largely cosmetic."
There's a reason the thick, heavy, powerlifting belts aren't allowed at the Olympic Games....
THEY HELP! 
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