| Host city | Havana, Cuba |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 August-6 September 1972 |
The 1972 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Munich, West Germany from August 27 to September 6, 1972. There were 188 men in action from 54 nations.
This tournament was a part of 1972 Summer Olympics but counted as World Weightlifting Championships too. Only total medals counted for Olympic Games while Snatch and Clean & Jerk medals counted for the World Weightlifting Championships.
Ranking by Big (Total result) medals
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 |  Hungary | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 |  Poland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 |  Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 |  Iran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Lebanon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 West Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 |  East Germany | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 |  Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (11 entries) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | |
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Press, Snatch and Clean & Jerk)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 11 | 4 | 6 | 21 |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 7 | 5 | 4 | 16 |
| 3 | Hungary | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Poland | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | Norway | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | East Germany | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| West Germany | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
| 8 |  Japan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 United States | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 10 |  Albania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Burma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Czechoslovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 North Korea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Iran | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 |  Finland | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Lebanon | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 17 |  France | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 19 |  Greece | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 21 |  South Korea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (21 entries) | 36 | 36 | 36 | 108 | |
Weightlifting is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead. The snatch is a wide-grip lift, in which the weighted barbell is lifted overhead in one motion. The clean and jerk is a combination lift, in which the weight is first taken from the ground to the front of the shoulders, and then from the shoulders to over the head. The sport formerly included a third lift/event known as clean and press.
The World Weightlifting Championships is an international weightlifting competition, currently held annually by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The predecessor organization of the IWF was founded in 1905, but World Championship events began before its foundation. The first recognized World Championship event was held in 1891, and was won by Edward Lawrence Levy of England.
The 1992 Women's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Varna, Bulgaria from May 16 to May 24, 1992. There were 110 women in action from 25 nations.
The 1988 Women's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Jakarta, Indonesia from December 2 to December 4, 1988. There were 103 women in action from 23 nations.
The following is the final results of the 1987 World Weightlifting Championships. The men's competition was held in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia and the women's competition was held in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The women's competition was the first women's world championship in weightlifting.
The 1986 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria from November 8 to November 15, 1986. There were 193 men in action from 41 nations.
The 1984 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Los Angeles, United States from July 29 to August 8, 1984. There were 187 men in action from 48 nations.
The 1983 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held at the Izmailovo Sports Palace in Moscow, Soviet Union from October 22 to October 31, 1983. There were 187 men in action from 32 nations.
The 1982 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Hala Tivoli, Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia from September 18 to September 26, 1982. There were 205 men in action from 38 nations. These world championships were combined with European championships.
The 1981 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Lille, France, from September 13 to September 20, 1981. There were 194 men in action from 35 nations.
The 1980 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Moscow, Soviet Union from July 20 to July 30, 1980. There were 173 men in action from 40 nations.
The 1978 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States from October 4 to October 8, 1978. There were 185 men in action from 35 nations.
The 1977 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Stuttgart, West Germany from September 17 to September 25, 1977. There were 186 men in action from 44 nations.
The 1976 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 18 to July 27, 1976. There were 173 men in action from 46 nations.
The 1975 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held at the Luzhniki Sports Palace in Moscow, Soviet Union from September 15 to September 23, 1975. There were 169 men in action from 33 nations.
The 1973 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Havana, Cuba from September 15 to September 23, 1973. There were 189 men from 39 nations in the competition. These were the first championships held since the elimination of the clean and press from competition.
The 1970 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Columbus, Ohio, United States from September 12 to September 20, 1970. There were 129 men from 28 nations in the competition.
The 1969 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Warsaw, Poland from September 20 to September 28, 1969. There were 166 men from 37 nations in the competition.
Simon Martirosyan is an Armenian weightlifter, Olympian, two time World Champion, and two time European Champion competing in the 105 kg category until 2018 and 109 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories.
Akbar Djuraev is an Uzbekistani weightlifter, Olympic Champion and Junior World Champion. He won the gold medal in the men's 109 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He also won the gold medal in the men's 109 kg event at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
