# Weightlifting at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 56 kg

The men's 56 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place on 23 November at the Royal Exhibition Building. It was the third 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 | Vladimir Stogov (URS) | 107.5 kg | | 1956 |
| World record | Snatch | Charles Vinci (USA) | 102.5 kg | Munich, West Germany | 12 October 1955 |
| World record | Clean & Jerk | Chen Ching Kai (CHN) | 133 kg | | 1956 |
| World record | Total | Vladimir Stogov (URS) | 335 kg | Munich, West Germany | 12 October 1955 |
| Olympic record | Press | Joseph De Pietro (USA) | 105 kg | London, United Kingdom | 9 August 1948 |
| Olympic record | Snatch | Ivan Udodov (URS) | 97.5 kg | Helsinki, Finland | 25 July 1952 |
| Olympic record | Clean & Jerk | Ivan Udodov (URS) | 127.5 kg | Helsinki, Finland | 25 July 1952 |
| Olympic record | Total | Ivan Udodov (URS) | 315 kg | Helsinki, Finland | 25 July 1952 |

## 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 |
| | Charles Vinci | United States | 56.00 | 100 | 105 | 105 | 105 =OR | 100 | 105 | 107.5 | 105 OR | 127.5 | 132.5 | 135 | 132.5 | 342.5 WR |
| | Vladimir Stogov | Soviet Union | 56.00 | 100 | 105 | 107.5 | 105 =OR | 97.5 | 102.5 | 105 | 105 OR | 127.5 | 132.5 | 132.5 | 127.5 | 337.5 |
| | Mahmoud Namjoo | Iran | 56.00 | 95 | 100 | 105 | 100 | 95 | 100 | 102.5 | 102.5 | 125 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 332.5 |
| 4 | Yu In-ho | South Korea | 55.70 | 82.5 | 87.5 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 130 | 135 | 140 | 135 WR | 320 |
| 5 | Kim Hae-nam | South Korea | 55.70 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 95 | 120 | 125 | 127.5 | 127.5 | 307.5 |
| 6 | Yoshio Nanbu | Japan | 55.60 | 82.5 | 82.5 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 90 | 95 | 97.5 | 97.5 | 115 | 120 | 125 | 120 | 305 |
| 7 | Reg Gaffley | South Africa | 56.00 | 85 | 92.5 | 97.5 | 97.5 | 85 | 90 | 92.5 | 90 | 110 | 117.5 | 122.5 | 117.5 | 305 |
| 8 | Yukio Furuyama | Japan | 55.80 | 85 | 90 | 92.5 | 90 | 87.5 | 92.5 | 92.5 | 87.5 | 115 | 120 | 125 | 125 | 302.5 |
| 9 | Song Re-nado | Republic of China | 55.10 | 85 | 85 | 90 | 85 | 77.5 | 82.5 | 85 | 85 | 105 | 112.5 | 117.5 | 117.5 | 287.5 |
| 10 | Gaston Gaffney | South Africa | 55.70 | 82.5 | 87.5 | 92.5 | 87.5 | 80 | 85 | 87.5 | 85 | 112.5 | 117.5 | 117.5 | 112.5 | 285 |
| 11 | Aw Chu Kee | Burma | 56.00 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 80 | 85 | 85 | 80 | 110 | 110 | 115 | 110 | 275 |
| 12 | Valli Asari Mookan | India | 55.00 | 72.5 | 80 | 82.5 | 80 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 80 | 107.5 | 112.5 | 112.5 | 112.5 | 272.5 |
| 13 | Charles Henderson | Australia | 55.50 | 72.5 | 77.5 | 77.5 | 72.5 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 105 | 110 | 115 | 115 | 272.5 |
| 13 | Michael Swain | Guyana | 55.50 | 75 | 80 | 82.5 | 80 | 82.5 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 82.5 | 110 | 115 | 115 | 110 | 272.5 |
| 15 | Habib Rahman | Pakistan | 55.70 | 75 | 80 | 82.5 | 80 | 72.5 | 72.5 | 75 | – | 90 | 95 | 97.5 | 97.5 | 177.5 |
| 16 | Pedro Landero | Philippines | 55.70 | 95 | 95 | 95 | – | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired | – |
As weigh-in time approached, Vinci was one and a half pounds overweight. After an hour of running and sweating he was still seven ounces over the limit with 15 minutes to go. Fortunately, a severe last-minute haircut did the trick, and Vinci went on to win the gold medal.

## New records

| Press | 105 kg | Charles Vinci (USA) Vladimir Stogov (URS) | =OR |
| Snatch | 105 kg | Charles Vinci (USA) Vladimir Stogov (URS) | OR |
| Clean & Jerk | 135 kg | Yu In-ho (KOR) | OR |
| Total | 342.5 kg | Charles Vinci (USA) | WR |