Bantamweight (≤56 kilograms), Men

Vladimir Stogov of the Soviet Union had won the silver medal in 1956 at Melbourne, but had since won the World Championships in 1957-59, and was the world record holder. However, he was not present at Rome, presumably out with an injury. In his absence, the favorite was American Chuck Vinci, who was also the defending gold medalist, having beaten Stogov in 1956. Vinci defended his gold medal, which was the last Olympic gold medal won by an American in weightlifting through 2012. His total of 345.0 kg equalled Stogov’s world record, and defeated Japan’s Yoshinobu Miyake by 7.5 kg. Miyake would become one of the great lifters of the 1960s, winning Olympic gold as a featherweight in both 1964 and 1968.