Heavyweight I (≤100 kilograms), Men

This class was wide open as nobody had been able dominate since the 1988 Olympics. The gold medal eventually went to Russian Viktor Tregubov, competing for the Unified Team. Tregubov had the best lift in both the snatch and clean & jerk, defeating his Unified teamate Tymur Taimazov by 7.5 kg. Tregubov had no previous international reputation but did win the 1993 World Championships for Russia as a middle-heavyweight. Taimazov was also an international newcomer but won the World Championships in this class in 1993-94. The bronze medal went to Poland’s Waldemar Malak, who sadly died in an automobile accident only three months after the Barcelona Olympics ended.