Weightlifting at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 56 kg explained

Event:	Men's 56 kg
Games:	1948 Summer
Venue:	Empress Hall (Earls Court Exhibition Centre)
Date:	9 August 1948
Competitors:	19
Nations:	14
Win Label:	Winning total
Win Value:	307.5 kg WR
Gold:	Joseph De Pietro
Goldnoc:	USA
Silver:	Julian Creus
Silvernoc:	GBR
Bronze:	Richard Tom
Bronzenoc:	USA
Next:	1952

The men's 56 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place on 9 August at the Empress Hall of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre.^[1] It was the first appearance of the bantamweight class, which was split off the featherweight (60 kg) class that had previously been the lightest. This was the first change in weight classes since their introduction in the 1920 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Each weightlifter had three attempts at each of the three lifts. The best score for each lift was summed to give a total. The weightlifter could increase the weight between attempts (minimum of 5 kg between first and second attempts, 2.5 kg between second and third attempts) but could not decrease weight. If two or more weightlifters finished with the same total, the competitors' body weights were used as the tie-breaker (lighter athlete wins).^[3]

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record	Press		106.5 kg		1948
	Snatch		91 kg		1948
	Clean & Jerk		122.5 kg		1948
	Total		300 kg	Philadelphia, United States	1947
Olympic record	Press	New event	–	–	–
	Snatch	New event	–	–	–
	Clean & Jerk	New event	–	–	–
	Total	New event	–	–	–

Results

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Body weight	Press (kg)				Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total
				1	2	3	Result	1	2	3	Result	1	2	3	Result
			55.90	100	105	107.5	105	85	90	90	90	105	110	112.5	112.5
			55.85	77.5	82.5	85	82.5	90	95	97.5	95	115	120	122.5	120	297.5
			55.25	82.5	87.5	87.5	87.5	85	90	92.5	90	112.5	117.5	117.5	117.5	295
			55.78	77.5	77.5	82.5	77.5	87.5	92.5	95	92.5	115	120	125	120	290
			55.75	82.5	82.5	85	82.5	82.5	87.5	87.5	82.5	112.5	117.5	122.5	122.5	287.5
			55.92	85	90	92.5	90	75	80	82.5	80	100	105	110	110	280
			55.87	77.5	82.5	85	82.5	80	85	87.5	85	110	115	115	110	277.5
			55.10	77.5	82.5	82.5	77.5	77.5	82.5	85	85	102.5	107.5	110	110	272.5
			55.16	77.5	77.5	77.5	77.5	77.5	82.5	85	85	100	110	112.5	110	272.5
10			55.80	80	80	85	80	80	80	85	85	107.5	107.5	112.5	107.5	272.5
11			55.95	75	80	80	75	80	85	87.5	85	105	110	112.5	112.5	272.5
12			56.00	67.5	72.5	75	72.5	80	85	87.5	87.5	102.5	107.5	110	110	270
13			55.90	85	90	92.5	92.5	75	75	77.5	75	95	100	105	100	267.5
14			56.00	70	75	77.5	77.5	80	85	87.5	85	105	110	110	105	267.5
15			55.91	77.5	82.5	–	82.5	77.5	82.5	85	82.5	100	105	105	100	265
16			55.97	75	80	82.5	80	75	80	80	80	100	105	105	100	260
17			55.64	75	80	82.5	80	75	75	80	75	100	105	105	100	255
18			55.85	65	70	70	65	75	80	80	80	95	102.5	105	102.5	247.5
19			55.38	60	65	65	60	70	75	75	70	95	100	102.5	100	230

New records

Press	105 kg
Snatch	95 kg
Clean & Jerk	122.5 kg
Total	307.5 kg		,

Notes and References

1. Official Report, p. 476.
2. Web site: Weightlifting at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Bantamweight . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418132308/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1948/WLT/mens-bantamweight.html . dead . 18 April 2020 . Sports Reference . 22 December 2019.
3. Official Report, p. 481.