Weightlifting at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 90 kg

The men's 90 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki took place on 27 July at Messuhalli.[1] It was the first appearance of the middle heavyweight class (or, as it was listed in the 1952 Official Report, the "heavy lightweight" class). Previously all weightlifters above the light heavyweight (82.5 kg) class competed together in the heavyweight class; this new middle heavyweight class featured weightlifters between 82.5 kg and 90 kg.[2]

Men's 90 kg
at the Games of the XV Olympiad
VenueMessuhalli
Date27 July 1952
Competitors20 from 20 nations
Winning total445 kg WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Norbert Schemansky  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Grigory Novak  Soviet Union
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Lennox Kilgour  Trinidad and Tobago
1956 →

Each weightlifter had three attempts at each of the three lifts. The best score for each lift was summed to give a total. The weightlifter could increase the weight between attempts (minimum of 5 kg between first and second attempts, 2.5 kg between second and third attempts) but could not decrease weight. If two or more weightlifters finished with the same total, the competitors' body weights were used as the tie-breaker (lighter athlete wins).[1]

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record Press   Grigory Novak (URS) 143 kg 1952
Snatch   Norbert Schemansky (USA) 133.5 kg Milan, Italy 28 October 1951
Clean & Jerk   Norbert Schemansky (USA) 175 kg Milan, Italy 28 October 1951
Total   Norbert Schemansky (USA) 427.5 kg Milan, Italy 28 October 1951
Olympic record Press New event
Snatch New event
Clean & Jerk New event
Total New event

Results

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Rank Athlete Nation Body
weight
Press (kg) Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total
1 2 3 Result 1 2 3 Result 1 2 3 Result
  Norbert Schemansky   United States 90.00 122.5 127.5 130 127.5 130 135 140
142.5[note 1]
140 WR 165 172.5 177.5
182.5[note 1]
177.5 WR 445 WR
  Grigory Novak   Soviet Union 87.95 140 145 145 140 OR 125 125 125 125 145 150 145 410
  Lennox Kilgour   Trinidad and Tobago 89.40 120 125 130 125 112.5 120 122.5 120 147.5 155 157.5 157.5 402.5
4 Mohamed Ibrahim Saleh   Egypt 89.25 110 115 115 110 117.5 122.5 125 125 150 160 162.5 162.5 397.5
5 Firouz Pojhan   Iran 87.95 112.5 117.5 117.5 112.5 120 120 125 120 150 155 160 155 387.5
6 Ken McDonald   Australia 88.75 107.5 112.5 112.5 107.5 115 120 125 125 152.5 170 170 152.5 385
7 Héctor Rensonnet   Argentina 87.35 102.5 107.5 107.5 107.5 112.5 117.5 117.5 112.5 145 150 152.5 150 370
8 Theunis Jonck   South Africa 89.30 112.5 117.5 117.5 112.5 105 110 115 110 140 145 150 145 367.5
9 Luciano Zardi   Italy 89.75 95 100 105 100 110 115 117.5 117.5 140 145 150 150 367.5
10 Kai Outa   Finland 87.45 102.5 107.5 110 107.5 110 115 115 110 132.5 142.5 147.5 147.5 365
11 Börje Jeppsson   Sweden 89.70 107.5 112.5 115 112.5 102.5 107.5 107.5 107.5 137.5 142.5 147.5 142.5 362.5
12 Jorge Soto   Puerto Rico 89.05 107.5 112.5 112.5 107.5 102.5 110 110 110 140 145 145 140 357.5
13 Jørgen Barth-Jørgensen   Norway 89.80 100 105 105 100 112.5 120 120 112.5 135 142.5 145 142.5 355
14 Bruno Barabani   Brazil 89.95 92.5 97.5 102.5 97.5 107.5 112.5 112.5 112.5 140 145 150 145 355
15 Jens Jørn Mortensen   Denmark 89.55 95 100 102.5 102.5 100 107.5 107.5 100 135 142.5 147.5 142.5 345
16 Gheorghe Piţicaru   Romania 89.95 90 95 97.5 95 97.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 127.5 132.5 135 132.5 330
17 Melville Barnett   Great Britain 89.55 117.5 117.5 117.5 117.5 110 115 115 110 142.5 142.5 142.5 227.5
18 László Buronyi   Hungary 89.10 105 105 110 110 110 115 115 110 220
19 Kamineni Eswara Rao   India 89.40 107.5 112.5 112.5 107.5 97.5 97.5 105 105 130 130 130 212.5
20 Robert Allart   Belgium 90.00 110 115 115 110 110

New records

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Because the weight class was new to the Olympics, there was certain to be an initial Olympic record in each lift as well as the total. Schemansky, however, broke his own world records from the 1951 World Weightlifting Championships in two of the lifts as well as the combined score. Novak, who had set the world record in the press earlier in the year at 143 kg, was not able to match that score but still led handily in that lift at 140 kg (12.5 kg over Schemansky's second-place 127.5 kg).

Press 140 kg   Grigory Novak (URS) OR
Snatch 140 kg   Norbert Schemansky (USA) WR
Clean & Jerk 177.5 kg   Norbert Schemansky (USA) WR
Total 445 kg   Norbert Schemansky (USA) WR

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Schemansky was allowed to attempt to extend his world records in the snatch and clean & jerk

References

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  1. ^ a b Official Report, p. 392.
  2. ^ "Weightlifting at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games: Men's Middle-Heavyweight". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2019.