Lightweight (≤67½ kilograms), Men

Armenian Israel Militosyan had won the silver medal in this class at Seoul in 1988 but had since struggled to beat Bulgarian Yoto Yotov. Yotov won the European Championships in 1990-92 and the World Championships in 1991 and came in as the favorite. However, Militosyan outlifted him in both the snatch and the clean & jerk to win the gold medal. Militosyan’s brother, Vardan, was his coach, and he had also won a silver medal in the 1976 middleweight class. They embraced tearfully after the gold medal, in memory of their sister, brother, and uncle, who had recently been killed in an earthquake that had destroyed their hometown of Gumari shortly after the 1988 Olympics. Israel Militosyan would return in 1996, placing sixth in this class at Atlanta. Yotov would compete in Atlanta as well, winning another silver medal in the middleweight division.