Weightlifting at the 1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Olympic weightlifting competition was held at the Messuhalli II, or Exhibition Hall II, in Helsinki. The biggest news was the first appearance of the Soviet Union in Olympic weightlifting and they would soon become the dominant nation, but in 1952 the battle for supremacy was quite close between the United States and the Soviet Union. The two nations ended up winning all seven events and 13 of the 21 medals, with the Soviets leading in medals won, 7-6, but the United States winning 4 events to the Soviet’s 3. Also new in 1952 was the addition of the middle-heavyweight class, for those weighing between 82.5 and 90.0 kg. The class had been added at the 1951 World Championships and would herald the forthcoming inflation in the number of heavier weight classes in international weightlifting.