# Weightlifting at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 56 kg

The men's 56 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki took place on 25 July at Messuhalli. It was the second appearance of the bantamweight class.
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).

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | Press | Joseph De Pietro (USA) | 106.5 kg | | 1948 |
| World record | Snatch | Ivan Udodov (URS) | 98 kg | | 1952 |
| World record | Clean & Jerk | Mahmoud Namdjou (IRI) | 128 kg | Scheveningen, Netherlands | 1949 |
| World record | Total | Mahmoud Namdjou (IRI) | 315 kg | Scheveningen, Netherlands | 1949 |
| Olympic record | Press | Joseph De Pietro (USA) | 105 kg | London, United Kingdom | 9 August 1948 |
| Olympic record | Snatch | Julian Creus (GBR) | 95 kg | London, United Kingdom | 9 August 1948 |
| Olympic record | Clean & Jerk | Mahmoud Namdjou (IRI) | 122.5 kg | London, United Kingdom | 9 August 1948 |
| Olympic record | Total | Joseph De Pietro (USA) | 307.5 kg | London, United Kingdom | 9 August 1948 |

## Results

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Body weight | Press (kg) | Press (kg) | Press (kg) | Press (kg) | Snatch (kg) | Snatch (kg) | Snatch (kg) | Snatch (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Total |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Body weight | 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | Total |
| | Ivan Udodov | Soviet Union | 55.85 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 92.5 | 97.5 | 97.5 | 97.5 OR | 122.5 | 127.5 | 130 | 127.5 OR | 315 =WR |
| | Mahmoud Namjoo | Iran | 56.00 | 85 | 90 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 97.5 | 95 | 122.5 | 122.5 | 132.5 | 122.5 | 307.5 |
| | Ali Mirzaei | Iran | 56.00 | 87.5 | 92.5 | 95 | 95 | 87.5 | 92.5 | 92.5 | 92.5 | 112.5 | 117.5 | 117.5 | 112.5 | 300 |
| 4 | Kim Hae-nam | South Korea | 55.75 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 120 | 125 | 125 | 120 | 295 |
| 5 | Kamal Mahgoub | Egypt | 55.20 | 75 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 90 | 95 | 97.5 | 95 | 115 | 122.5 | 122.5 | 122.5 | 292.5 |
| 6 | Pedro Landero | Philippines | 55.70 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 87.5 | 92.5 | 92.5 | 87.5 | 115 | 120 | 120 | 115 | 292.5 |
| 7 | Maurice Megennis | Great Britain | 56.00 | 77.5 | 82.5 | 85 | 82.5 | 77.5 | 85 | 87.5 | 85 | 105 | 110 | 112.5 | 112.5 | 280 |
| 8 | Lon bin Mohamed Noor | Singapore | 54.55 | 77.5 | 82.5 | 82.5 | 77.5 | 80 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 107.5 | 112.5 | 115 | 112.5 | 275 |
| 9 | Rosaire Smith | Canada | 55.80 | 75 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 107.5 | 112.5 | 115 | 115 | 275 |
| 10 | Karel Saitl | Czechoslovakia | 55.75 | 75 | 80 | 82.5 | 80 | 80 | 85 | 85 | 80 | 105 | 110 | 112.5 | 112.5 | 272.5 |
| 11 | Nils Jacobsson | Sweden | 55.75 | 75 | 80 | 82.5 | 80 | 80 | 87.5 | 90 | 87.5 | 105 | 110 | 110 | 105 | 272.5 |
| 12 | Marcel Thévenet | France | 55.80 | 85 | 85 | 90 | 85 | 72.5 | 77.5 | 82.5 | 77.5 | 100 | 105 | 107.5 | 107.5 | 270 |
| 13 | Aarne Vehkonen | Finland | 55.45 | 67.5 | 72.5 | — | 72.5 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 105 | 110 | 112.5 | 110 | 267.5 |
| 14 | Josef Schuster | Germany | 55.55 | 85 | 90 | 92.5 | 90 | 70 | 75 | 77.5 | 75 | 95 | 95 | 102.5 | 102.5 | 267.5 |
| 15 | Nicolas Vivas | Puerto Rico | 55.70 | 75 | 82.5 | 82.5 | 75 | 80 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 102.5 | 110 | 110 | 102.5 | 265 |
| 16 | Roland Magnenat | Switzerland | 55.60 | 65 | 70 | 72.5 | 70 | 72.5 | 72.5 | 77.5 | 77.5 | 95 | 100 | 102.5 | 102.5 | 250 |
| 17 | Augustyn Dziedzic | Poland | 55.70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 82.5 | 80 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 95 | 245 |
| 18 | Alexandru Cosma | Romania | 55.95 | 70 | 70 | 70 | — | 70 | 77.5 | — | 70 | 100 | 105 | — | — | 70 |
| 19 | Isamu Shiraishi | Japan | 56.00 | — | — | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## New records

| Snatch | 97.5 kg | Ivan Udodov (URS) | OR |
| Clean & Jerk | 127.5 kg | Ivan Udodov (URS) | OR |
| Total | 315 kg | Ivan Udodov (URS) | OR, =WR |