# 1978 World Weightlifting Championships

The 1978 Men's World Weightlifting Championships were held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States from October 4 to October 8, 1978. There were 185 men in action from 35 nations.

## Medal summary

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 52 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Kanybek Osmonaliyev Soviet Union | 105.0 kg | Tadeusz Golik Poland | 105.0 kg | Francisco Casamayor Cuba | 102.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Kanybek Osmonaliyev Soviet Union | 135.0 kg | Tadeusz Golik Poland | 132.5 kg | Masatomo Takeuchi Japan | 130.0 kg |
| Total | Kanybek Osmonaliyev Soviet Union | 240.0 kg | Tadeusz Golik Poland | 237.5 kg | Francisco Casamayor Cuba | 230.0 kg |
| 56 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Daniel Núñez Cuba | 117.5 kg | Marek Seweryn Poland | 115.0 kg | Stefan Dimitrov Bulgaria | 110.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Kenkichi Ando Japan | 145.0 kg | Tadeusz Dembończyk Poland | 142.5 kg | Daniel Núñez Cuba | 142.5 kg |
| Total | Daniel Núñez Cuba | 260.0 kg | Marek Seweryn Poland | 252.5 kg | Kenkichi Ando Japan | 252.5 kg |
| 60 kg |||||||
| Snatch | István Lénárt Hungary | 122.5 kg | László Száraz Hungary | 122.5 kg | Tan Hanyong China | 120.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Takashi Saito Japan | 157.5 kg | Marek Sachmaciński Poland | 155.0 kg | Nikolay Kolesnikov Soviet Union | 152.5 kg |
| Total | Nikolay Kolesnikov Soviet Union | 270.0 kg | Takashi Saito Japan | 267.5 kg | Valentin Todorov Bulgaria | 267.5 kg |
| 67.5 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Mario Villalobo Cuba | 135.0 kg | Yanko Rusev Bulgaria | 135.0 kg | Virgil Dociu Romania | 132.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Yanko Rusev Bulgaria | 175.0 kg | Zbigniew Kaczmarek Poland | 172.5 kg | Günter Ambraß East Germany | 170.0 kg |
| Total | Yanko Rusev Bulgaria | 310.0 kg | Zbigniew Kaczmarek Poland | 302.5 kg | Günter Ambraß East Germany | 300.0 kg |
| 75 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Roberto Urrutia Cuba | 155.0 kg | Julio Echenique Cuba | 147.5 kg | Vardan Militosyan Soviet Union | 147.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Roberto Urrutia Cuba | 192.5 kg | Peter Wenzel East Germany | 190.0 kg | Vardan Militosyan Soviet Union | 190.0 kg |
| Total | Roberto Urrutia Cuba | 347.5 kg | Vardan Militosyan Soviet Union | 337.5 kg | Peter Wenzel East Germany | 335.0 kg |
| 82.5 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Yurik Vardanyan Soviet Union | 170.0 kg | Péter Baczakó Hungary | 157.5 kg | Paweł Rabczewski Poland | 150.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Yurik Vardanyan Soviet Union | 207.5 kg | Daniel Zayas Cuba | 195.0 kg | Péter Baczakó Hungary | 195.0 kg |
| Total | Yurik Vardanyan Soviet Union | 377.5 kg WR | Péter Baczakó Hungary | 352.5 kg | Paweł Rabczewski Poland | 345.0 kg |
| 90 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Andon Nikolov Bulgaria | 170.0 kg | György Rehus-Uzor Hungary | 165.0 kg | Ferenc Antalovics Hungary | 165.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Rolf Milser West Germany | 215.0 kg | Gennady Bessonov Soviet Union | 210.0 kg | Ferenc Antalovics Hungary | 202.5 kg |
| Total | Rolf Milser West Germany | 377.5 kg | Gennady Bessonov Soviet Union | 375.0 kg | Ferenc Antalovics Hungary | 367.5 kg |
| 100 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Sergey Arakelov Soviet Union | 172.5 kg | David Rigert Soviet Union | 170.0 kg | Manfred Funke East Germany | 167.5 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | David Rigert Soviet Union | 220.0 kg | Sergey Arakelov Soviet Union | 217.5 kg | Anton Baraniak Czechoslovakia | 205.0 kg |
| Total | David Rigert Soviet Union | 390.0 kg | Sergey Arakelov Soviet Union | 390.0 kg | Manfred Funke East Germany | 367.5 kg |
| 110 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Leif Nilsson Sweden | 175.0 kg | Yury Zaitsev Soviet Union | 172.5 kg | Jürgen Ciezki East Germany | 170.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Yury Zaitsev Soviet Union | 230.0 kg | Jürgen Ciezki East Germany | 215.0 kg | György Szalai Hungary | 210.0 kg |
| Total | Yury Zaitsev Soviet Union | 402.5 kg | Jürgen Ciezki East Germany | 385.0 kg | Leif Nilsson Sweden | 385.0 kg |
| +110 kg |||||||
| Snatch | Sultan Rakhmanov Soviet Union | 187.5 kg | Hristo Plachkov Bulgaria | 187.5 kg | Jürgen Heuser East Germany | 185.0 kg |
| Clean & Jerk | Gerd Bonk East Germany | 235.0 kg | Jürgen Heuser East Germany | 232.5 kg | Sultan Rakhmanov Soviet Union | 230.0 kg |
| Total | Jürgen Heuser East Germany | 417.5 kg | Sultan Rakhmanov Soviet Union | 417.5 kg | Gerd Bonk East Germany | 410.0 kg |

## Medal table

Ranking by Big (Total result) medals
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Cuba | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | East Germany | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | West Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Poland | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (9 entries) | Totals (9 entries) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 13 | 8 | 4 | 25 |
| 2 | Cuba | 6 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 | East Germany | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| 5 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | West Germany | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Hungary | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 8 | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Poland | 0 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 10 | China | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Czechoslovakia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Romania | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (12 entries) | Totals (12 entries) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 90 |