| Weightlifting at the Games of the XVII Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Venue | Palazzetto dello Sport |
| Dates | 7–10 September 1960 |
| Competitors | 172 from 53 nations |
| Weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Men | |
| 56 kg | |
| 60 kg | |
| 67.5 kg | |
| 75 kg | |
| 82.5 kg | |
| 90 kg | |
| +90 kg | |
The weightlifting competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome consisted of seven weight classes, all for men only. [1]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 |  United States (USA) | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 |  Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  Japan (JPN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Singapore (SIN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Iran (IRI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Iraq (IRQ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (10 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad and commonly known as Rome 1960, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, the city had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London. The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals at the 1960 Games.
Tan Howe Liang, was a Singaporean weightlifter who was the first Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal. He did so in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where he won the silver medal in the lightweight category. Tan also broke the oldest-standing world record in the lightweight category in the clean and jerk in 1958. He was the only Singaporean Olympic medalist until the 2008 Summer Olympics.
New Zealand at the 1960 Summer Olympics was represented by a team of 37 competitors, 33 men and four women, who took part in 28 events across nine sports. Selection of the team for the Games in Rome, Italy, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Les Mills. Harold Austad was the team's Chef de Mission. The New Zealand team finished 14th on the medal table, winning a total of three medals, two of which were gold.
Poland competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 185 competitors, 156 men and 29 women, took part in 108 events in 17 sports.
Singapore competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Five competitors, all men, took part in three events in three sports. This marked the first and only time Singapore competed at the Olympics as a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom under what would later become the national flag. Tan Howe Liang won the territory's first ever Olympic medal, its only medal until 2008.
Iraq competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 21 competitors, all men, took part in 23 events in 5 sports. Abdul Wahid Aziz won the nation's only Olympic medal.
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.
Syria first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948. Syrian diver Zouheir Shourbagi, the sole competitor, placed 10th in the men's platform. Syria then missed the next four Olympiads. Syria returned to the Games in 1968, and has sent athletes to compete in all but one Summer Olympic Games, missing the 1976 Games. Syria has never participated in the Winter Olympic Games.
Iraq first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948. It was absent from the 1952 Summer Olympics and boycotted the 1956 games over opposition to the Suez Crisis. Iraq returned to win a Bronze medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. After participating in the next three games, it did not appear in the 1972 and 1976 games to boycott apartheid South Africa. Iraq is one of the non-African countries that joined the 1976 boycott, the others being Afghanistan, Albania, Burma (Myanmar), Guyana, Sri Lanka and Syria. Since 1980, Iraq has appeared in every game.
Turkmenistan has competed in seven Games of the Olympiad, first appearing in 1996. They have never competed in the Olympic Winter Games and are the only post-Soviet state not to have competed in them. Turkmenistan is also the northernmost country in the world to have never competed in the Winter Olympics. Turkmen athletes previously competed with the Soviet Union team and, in 1992, as part of the Unified Team.
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.
Alberto T. Nogar Sr was a former Olympic featherweight weightlifter for the Philippines, who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.
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 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 7 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the fourth appearance of the bantamweight class.
The men's 60 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 7 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the ninth appearance of the featherweight class.
The men's 67.5 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 8 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the ninth appearance of the lightweight class.
The men's 75 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 8 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the ninth appearance of the middleweight class.
The men's 82.5 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 9 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the ninth appearance of the light heavyweight class.
The men's 90 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 9 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the third appearance of the middle heavyweight class.
The men's +90 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome took place on 10 September at the Palazzetto dello Sport. It was the ninth appearance of the heavyweight class.
