Men Middle Heaviweight 90kg XXI Olympic Games Montreal 1976 - 25th July - Gold Medal: David Rigert, Soviet Union
Venue: St. Michel Arena, Montreal, Quebec. Ties broken by lightest bodyweight.
Final Ranking
Total
Snatch
Cl&Jk
Weight
Gr.
Age
1. David Rigert
URS
382.5kg OR
170.0 OR
212.5 OR
89.35
A
29
2. Lee James
USA
362.5kg
165.0
197.5
88.50
A
22
3. Atanas Shopov
BUL
360.0kg
155.0
205.0
89.70
A
24
4. Gyorgy Rehus
HUN
350.0kg
157.5
192.5
89.10
A
30
5. Peter Petzold
GDR
345.0kg
152.5
192.5
89.25
A
27
6. Alberto Blanco
CUB
345.0kg
152.5
192.5
90.00
A
26
7. Ivon Coussin
FRA
332.5kg
152.5
180.0
89.80
B
26
8. Gudmundur Sigurdson
ISL
332.5kg
145.0
187.5
89.80
B
30
9. Gary Langford
GBR
327.5kg
147.5
180.0
89.05
B
23
10.Jean-Pierre van Lerberghe
BEL
327.5kg
150.0
177.5
89.45
B
29
11.Brian Marsden
NZL
322.5kg
137.5
185.0
89.80
B
28
12.Rudolf Hill
AUT
320.0kg
140.0
180.0
89.75
B
28
13.Kenneth Price
GBR
307.5kg
137.5
170.0
89.15
B
35
-. Michel Broillet
SUI
NM
165.0
NM
89.90
A
32
-. Christos Jakovou
GRE
NM
155.0
NM
89.55
A
28
-. Jaakko Kailajarvi
FIN
NM
145.0
-
88.90
A
35
-. Rolf Larsen
NOR
NM
140.0
NM
89.35
B
27
-. Sergey Poltoratsky
URS
NM
NM
-
89.60
A
28
DQ Philip Grippaldi
USA
355.0kg
150.0
205.0
88.80
A
29
In 1972 David Rigert (URS) had been a huge favorite in this class but failed to make a valid lift in the snatch and was eliminated, after which he went berserk backstage.
He came to Montrel as even a heavier favorite, having won the World Championships in 1973-75, and had won the last six European Championships. This time there was no need to restrain him after the event, as Rigert had the best snatch and clean & jerk and won the gold medal with a 20 kg margin over Lee James (USA).
Rigert would continue to dominate this class and in 1980 in Moskva, was again the clear favorite, but again failed to make a lift in the snatch and did not finish.
James`s silver medal was the last Olympic medal won by an American male weightlifter through 2012, save for two at the 1984 Olympics, which were strongly affected by the Eastern Bloc boycott.
URS
USA
BUL
HUN
GDR
CUB
FRA
ISL
GBR
BEL
NZL
AUT
SUI
GRE
FIN
NOR