# 1979 World Weightlifting Championships

The 1979 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Thessaloniki, Greece from November 3 to November 11, 1979. There were 189 men in action from 39 nations.

## Medal summary

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 52 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Wu Shude China | 110.0 kg | Aleksandr Voronin Soviet Union | 110.0 kg | Cai Juncheng China | 107.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Kanybek Osmonaliyev Soviet Union | 137.5 kg | Ferenc Hornyák Hungary | 135.0 kg | Aleksandr Voronin Soviet Union | 132.5 kg |
| Total | Kanybek Osmonaliyev Soviet Union | 242.5 kg | Ferenc Hornyák Hungary | 242.5 kg | Shared silver | |
| Total | Kanybek Osmonaliyev Soviet Union | 242.5 kg | Aleksandr Voronin Soviet Union | 242.5 kg | Shared silver | |
| 56 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Tadeusz Dembończyk Poland | 117.5 kg | Anton Kodzhabashev Bulgaria | 117.5 kg | Daniel Núñez Cuba | 115.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Viktor Veretennikov Soviet Union | 150.0 kg | Anton Kodzhabashev Bulgaria | 150.0 kg | Andreas Letz East Germany | 147.5 kg |
| Total | Anton Kodzhabashev Bulgaria | 267.5 kg | Viktor Veretennikov Soviet Union | 262.5 kg | Tadeusz Dembończyk Poland | 260.0 kg |
| 60 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Marek Seweryn Poland | 127.5 kg | Nikolay Kolesnikov Soviet Union | 125.0 kg | Zhang Zhifang China | 125.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Marek Seweryn Poland | 155.0 kg | Georgi Todorov Bulgaria | 155.0 kg | Setsuya Goto Japan | 150.0 kg |
| Total | Marek Seweryn Poland | 282.5 kg | Georgi Todorov Bulgaria | 275.0 kg | Setsuya Goto Japan | 270.0 kg |
| 67.5 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Yanko Rusev Bulgaria | 145.0 kg | Joachim Kunz East Germany | 145.0 kg | Daniel Senet France | 142.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Yanko Rusev Bulgaria | 187.5 kg WR | Joachim Kunz East Germany | 180.0 kg | Yao Jingyuan China | 172.5 kg |
| Total | Yanko Rusev Bulgaria | 332.5 kg WR | Joachim Kunz East Germany | 325.0 kg | Daniel Senet France | 312.5 kg |
| 75 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Roberto Urrutia Cuba | 155.0 kg | Nedelcho Kolev Bulgaria | 155.0 kg | Yordan Mitkov Bulgaria | 150.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Roberto Urrutia Cuba | 190.0 kg | Peter Wenzel East Germany | 190.0 kg | Jürgen Negwer West Germany | 187.5 kg |
| Total | Roberto Urrutia Cuba | 345.0 kg | Nedelcho Kolev Bulgaria | 342.5 kg | Peter Wenzel East Germany | 337.5 kg |
| 82.5 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Yurik Vardanyan Soviet Union | 170.0 kg | Blagoy Blagoev Bulgaria | 170.0 kg | Bertalan Mandzák Hungary | 155.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Yurik Vardanyan Soviet Union | 200.0 kg | András Stark Hungary | 195.0 kg | Norbert Bergmann West Germany | 195.0 kg |
| Total | Yurik Vardanyan Soviet Union | 370.0 kg | Blagoy Blagoev Bulgaria | 362.5 kg | Dušan Poliačik Czechoslovakia | 350.0 kg |
| 90 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Gennady Bessonov Soviet Union | 170.0 kg | Rolf Milser West Germany | 165.0 kg | Witold Walo Poland | 160.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Rolf Milser West Germany | 212.5 kg | Gennady Bessonov Soviet Union | 210.0 kg | Witold Walo Poland | 202.5 kg |
| Total | Gennady Bessonov Soviet Union | 380.0 kg | Rolf Milser West Germany | 377.5 kg | Witold Walo Poland | 362.5 kg |
| 100 kg |||||||
| Snatch | János Sólyomvári Hungary | 175.0 kg | Ota Zaremba Czechoslovakia | 172.5 kg | Plamen Asparukhov Bulgaria | 167.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Pavel Syrchin Soviet Union | 217.5 kg | Anton Baraniak Czechoslovakia | 210.0 kg | János Sólyomvári Hungary | 210.0 kg |
| Total | Pavel Syrchin Soviet Union | 385.0 kg | János Sólyomvári Hungary | 385.0 kg | Alberto Blanco Cuba | 372.5 kg |
| 110 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Sergey Arakelov Soviet Union | 185.0 kg | Leonid Taranenko Soviet Union | 182.5 kg | Valentin Hristov Bulgaria | 177.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Sergey Arakelov Soviet Union | 225.0 kg | Valentin Hristov Bulgaria | 225.0 kg | Leif Nilsson Sweden | 220.0 kg |
| Total | Sergey Arakelov Soviet Union | 410.0 kg | Valentin Hristov Bulgaria | 402.5 kg | Leonid Taranenko Soviet Union | 402.5 kg |
| +110 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Sultan Rakhmanov Soviet Union | 192.5 kg | Jürgen Heuser East Germany | 187.5 kg | Rudolf Strejček Czechoslovakia | 185.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Sultan Rakhmanov Soviet Union | 237.5 kg | Jürgen Heuser East Germany | 232.5 kg | Gerd Bonk East Germany | 230.0 kg |
| Total | Sultan Rakhmanov Soviet Union | 430.0 kg | Jürgen Heuser East Germany | 420.0 kg | Gerd Bonk East Germany | 412.5 kg |

## Medal table

Ranking by Big (Total result) medals
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Poland | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Cuba | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | East Germany | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Hungary | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | West Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Czechoslovakia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | France | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (10 entries) | Totals (10 entries) | 10 | 11 | 9 | 30 |
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 16 | 6 | 2 | 24 |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 4 | 10 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Poland | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Cuba | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Hungary | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 6 | West Germany | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | China | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | East Germany | 0 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 9 | Czechoslovakia | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | France | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (12 entries) | Totals (12 entries) | 30 | 31 | 29 | 90 |