| Weightlifting at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Venue | Royal Exhibition Building |
| Dates | 23–26 November 1956 |
| Competitors | 105 from 34 nations |
The weightlifting competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne consisted of seven weight classes, all for men only. [1]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bantamweight | Charles Vinci  United States | Vladimir Stogov  Soviet Union | Mahmoud Namjoo  Iran |
| Featherweight | Isaac Berger United States | Yevgeni Minaev Soviet Union | Marian Zieliński  Poland |
| Lightweight | Igor Rybak Soviet Union | Ravil Khabutdinov Soviet Union | Kim Chang-Hee  South Korea |
| Middleweight | Fyodor Bogdanovsky Soviet Union | Pete George United States | Ermanno Pignatti  Italy |
| Light-heavyweight | Tommy Kono United States | Vasili Stepanov Soviet Union | James George United States |
| Middle-heavyweight | Arkadi Vorobyev Soviet Union | David Sheppard United States | Jean Debuf  France |
| Heavyweight | Paul Anderson United States | Humberto Selvetti  Argentina | Alberto Pigaiani Italy |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 |  Argentina (ARG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 |  Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Iran (IRI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (8 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1956.
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held in Melbourne, Australia between 15 and 26 March 2006. It was the fourth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games. It was also the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.
The United States competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 297 competitors, 251 men and 46 women, took part in 139 events in 18 sports.
Isaac "Ike" Berger was an American weightlifter, in the featherweight division, who competed for the United States at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won one gold and two silver medals. He held eight world records, and won the United States national title eight times. In the highest level international competition, he was world featherweight (60 kg) champion in 1958 and 1961, and was the runner-up for that title in 1957, 1959, and 1963.
Italy competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 129 competitors, 114 men and 15 women, took part in 76 events in 13 sports. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Rome, the flag of Italy was hoisted at the closing ceremony.
Poland first participated at the Olympic Games in 1924, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984 Games, when they were forced to be part of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics. Poland has also participated in every Winter Olympic Games.
Charles Thomas Vinci Jr. was an American weightlifter and Olympic champion. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Vinci was the United States Senior National Champion from 1954 to 1956 and from 1958 to 1961. He received silver medals in the 1955 and 1958 world championships. He won gold medals at the 1955 and 1959 Pan American games. He won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, with a world-record three-lift total of 342.5 kilograms (755.1 lb). Just prior to weighing-in, Vinci was 1.5 pounds overweight. After an hour of running and sweating, he was still seven ounces over the limit, but a severe last-minute haircut saw him make the weight limit. He won gold again at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
David Joseph Sheppard was an American weightlifter and Olympic medalist.
Peter T. George was an American weightlifter and Olympic and World champion. He was later an assistant professor of stomatology. George was the first weightlifter of Bulgarian descent to win Olympic gold, which has since been achieved by other Bulgarian Olympians.
Vladimir Stepanovich Stogov was a former Russian weightlifter, World champion, and Olympic medalist, who competed for the Soviet Union.
Rodney Adolphus Wilkes was a weightlifter from Trinidad and Tobago. Nicknamed "The Mighty Midget" he remained relatively unknown outside of local competition until he won the gold medal at the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia. His performance included record lifts of 205 pounds (93 kg) in the press, 210 pounds (95 kg) in the snatch and 275 pounds (125 kg) in the clean and jerk.
Verdi "Vern" Barberis was an Australian lightweight weightlifter.
Luciano De Genova was an Italian weightlifter. He represented Italy at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympic Games, competing in the Lightweight (67.5 kg) category.
The men's 56 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 23 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the third appearance of the bantamweight class.
The men's 60 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 23 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the eighth appearance of the featherweight class, and the third time the weight class featured weightlifters between 56 and 60 kg.
The men's 67.5 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 24 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the eighth appearance of the lightweight class.
The men's 75 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 24 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the eighth appearance of the middleweight class.
The men's 82.5 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 26 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the eighth appearance of the light heavyweight class.
The men's 90 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 26 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the second appearance of the middle heavyweight class.
The men's +90 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 26 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the eighth appearance of the heavyweight class, and second time at the above-90 kg weight. Previously, all weightlifters above 82.5 kg were included in the heavyweight class.
