Light-Heavyweight (≤82½ kilograms), Men

Israil Arsamakov was an Ingush from Chechnya, a native Caucasus ethnic group. He was not a dominant lifter, but had won a silver medal in this class at the 1986 World Championships and was the 1986 European Champion. However, there was no favorite at all in this class and Arsamakov’s clean & jerk of 210.0 kg brought him the gold medal with a total of 377.5 kg. The silver medal went to Hungarian István Messzi while the bronze was won by Korean Lee Hyeong-Geun. This was the only Olympic appearance for all three medalists, and the final competition of Arsamakov’s career.