Heavyweight (>90 kilograms), Men

Soviet Aleksey Medvedev was World Champion in 1957-58, but was surpassed in 1959 by his teammate Yury Vlasov, who was World and European Champion that year. Vlasov came to Rome as the favorite, where he was challenged by American Jim Bradford, the 1952 heavyweight silver medalist, and Norb Schemansky, the 1952 middle-heavyweight gold medalist. Bradford and Vlasov tied in the press with 180.0 kg, with Schemansky at 170.0 kg. Everyone else was well behind and the medals were settled if all three made a lift in the remaining two phases. Vlasov moved ahead after the snatch, lifting 155.0 kg, with both Bradford and Schemansky snatching 150.0 kg. Vlasov opened with a clean & jerk of 185.0 kg on his first attempt, but then improved to 195.0 kg and finally a stunning world record of 202.5 kg, the first legal lift over 200 kg. This lift world record gave him a world record total of 537.5 kg for the gold medal.

Vlasov returned in 1964 at Tokyo where he was upset by his teammate, Leonid Zhabotinsky. Schemansky competed at four Olympics, winning a medal each time – heavyweight silver in 1948, middle-heavyweight gold in 1952, and heavyweight bronzes in 1960-64, which made him the first weightlifter to win four Olympic medals.