1976 Olympics Revisited (Weightlifting Medal Winners)

The 1976 Olympics were in Montreal, and the weightlifting started on July 18 and ended on July 27. The weight classes remained the same as they had at the 1972 Olympics. The clean & press was eliminated as a competition lift following the 1972 Olympics. These would be the first Olympics where athletes would get tested for anabolic steroids.

52-kilo / 114.6 lbs. Weight Class

In the 52-kilo weight class, the Soviet Aleksandr Voronin (silver medalist at the 1975 Worlds) won the gold with a World Record total of 242.5. Voronin also took first place at the 1977 and 1979 Worlds. György Kőszegi of Hungary, who placed second at the 1974 Worlds, equaled his performance, winning the Olympic silver medal.

He placed second again at the 1977 Worlds. Iran’s Mohammad Nassiri, who won the Worlds in 1973 and 1974, won the bronze. It had been quite an impressive career for Nassiri, who broke eighteen World Records, won three Olympic medals, and five World Championships.

56-kilo / 123.4 lbs. Weight Class

In the 56-kilo class, Norair Nurikyan of Bulgaria, who won the gold in the 1972 Olympics in the 60-kilo class, won the gold again with a World Record total of 262.5. Norair also won a bronze medal at the 1971 and 1974 Worlds and a silver medal at the 1973 Worlds.

Poland’s Grzegorz Cziura won the silver medal and repeated the feat at the 1977 Worlds. Kenkichi Ando of Japan, who won a silver medal at the 1970 and 1971 Worlds, had to settle for the bronze this time. Ando won another bronze medal at the 1978 Worlds.

60-kilo / 132.3 lbs. Weight Class

After placing second at the 1974 and 1975 Worlds, the Soviet Union’s Nikolay Kolesnikov won the gold medal in the 60-kilo class with an Olympic Record of 285 total. He also broke the World Record in the clean & jerk, lifting 161.5 kg/356 lbs. Nikolay repeated as World Champion in 1977 and 1978.

After winning a silver medal at the 1973 Worlds, Bulgaria’s Georgi Todorov won the gold at the 1974 and 1975 Worlds and was ready to defend his title, but he had to settle for second place this time. He won the silver again at the 1977 and 1979 Worlds. Taking the bronze was Japan’s Kazumasa Hirai.

67.5 kilo / 148.8 lbs. Weight Class

Pyotr Korol of the Soviet team, who won gold in the 1974 and 1975 Worlds, defended his title in the 67.5 class with a total of 305. Daniel Senet of France won the silver medal. Senet also won bronze at the 1979 and 1981 Worlds. Kazimierz Czarnecki of Poland won the bronze medal and broke a World Record in the snatch.

75 kilo / 165.3 lbs. Weight Class

Yordan Mitkov of Bulgaria, who placed second at the 1975 Worlds, won the 75-kilo class with an Olympic Record of 335 total. Vardan Militosyan of the Soviet Union won the silver medal. Vardan won gold at the 1978 Worlds and broke nine World Records.

Peter Wenzel of East Germany, who had placed second in the 1973 Worlds, third in the 1974 Worlds, and first in 1975, was unable to defend his title but won the bronze. He won the silver medal at the 1977 Worlds and bronze at the 1978 and 1979 Worlds.

82.5 kilo / 181.9 lbs. Weight Class

1975 World Champion Valery Shary of the Soviet Union was expected to win the gold in the 82.5-kilo class, and he did just that, with a 365 Olympic Record total. Shary also won a silver medal at the 1979 Worlds and broke fourteen World Records during his career.

Trendafil Stoychev of Bulgaria, who won the gold at the 1974 Worlds and silver in 1975, won the silver again. Péter Baczakó of Hungary won the bronze medal and went on to win the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics, only the second Hungarian lifter to do so.

90-kilo / 198.4 lbs. Weight Class

The heavy favorite in the 90-kilo class was David Rigert of the Soviet Union. After failing to post a total at the 1972 Olympics, Rigert won the World Championships in 1973, 1974, and 1975. This time, there would not be a failure as Rigert won easily with an Olympic Record 382.5 total. Rigert would win the Worlds again in 1978, and before his career was over, he had broken an astounding sixty-eight World Records.

American Lee James won the silver medal, the last male American weightlifter to win an Olympic medal in a non-boycotted Olympics. While preparing for the 1978 World Championships, Lee had to undergo a second knee operation, which did not go well, and he was forced to retire at only 24 years old. Third place went to Atanas Shopov of Bulgaria, who won a silver medal at the 1972 Olympics.

110-kilo / 242.5 Weight Class

In the 110-kilo class, Soviet Yury Zaytsev, who placed third at the 1974 Worlds, won the gold medal with a 385 total. Zaytsev won the silver medal at the 1977 Worlds and gold at the 1978 Worlds. Krastyu Semerdzhiev of Bulgaria won the silver medal with the exact same total as Zaytsev.

At the time, ties were broken by whoever weighed in at a lighter body weight. Third place went to Tadeusz Rutkowski of Poland, who placed third again at the 1980 Olympics and the 1981 Worlds, lifting in those competitions as a superheavyweight.

Over 110-kilo / 243 lb Weight Class

Soviet strongman Vasily Alekseyev was heavily favored to win the superheavyweight class and he did not disappoint, winning easily with a 440 Olympic Record total. Alekseyev was the World Champion in his weight class for eight years in a row, 1970–1977. He broke an incredible eighty World Records during his career.

Second place went to Gerd Bonk of East Germany, who placed third at the 1972 Olympics, second at the 1974 and 1975 Worlds, and third at the 1978 and 1979 Worlds. Bonk’s teammate Helmut Losch, who won silver at the 1973 Worlds, won the bronze medal. He won silver again at the 1977 Worlds.

The team’s title went to the Soviet Union, which won seven of the nine weight classes and one silver medal. Bulgaria placed second with two golds, three silvers, and one bronze. East Germany and Poland tied for third, each winning one silver and two bronze.

Please Share If You Liked This Article

Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)