Featherweight (≤60 kilograms), Men

Yoshinobu Miyake had won the silver medal in this class at Rome. In 1962 he was World Champion as a bantamweight while in 1963 he moved up to featherweight and won the World Championships in this class. Miyake held the world record in the class and with the Japanese fans backing him, was a clear favorite. He would be challenged by American Isaac Berger, the 1956 gold medalist and silver medalist in this class at Rome in 1960. The two tied with 122.5 in the press, but Miyake took a huge lead with 122.5 in the snatch, as Berger snatched only 107.5 kg, missing his second and third attempts at 112.5 kg, and dropping to third, behind Miyake’s teammate Hiroshi Fukuda. Miyake and Berger both set world records in the clean & jerk, lifting 152.5 kg, which gave Miyake the overall gold medal and a total world record of 397.5 kg, while Berger moved back up to a silver medal position. Poland’s Mieczysław Novak took bronze after lifting 150.0 kg in the clean & jerk.

Berger retired after the 1964 Olympics while Miyake continued to dominate the class, winning the 1965-66 World Championships, and repeating as gold medalist at Mexico City in 1968. He also competed in 1972 at München, placing fourth. Novak competed at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, without medalling, but won the European Championships in this class in 1965-66 and 1968.