Light-Heavyweight (≤82½ kilograms), Men

The two Soviet lifters in this class, Boris Pavlov, the 1971 World Champion, and Valery Shary, both went out when they started at too high a weight in the press and missed all three lifts. Without them the gold medal was won in an upset by Norwegian Leif Jenssen. Jenssen had only recently moved up from the middleweight class, where he was the World Championship silver medalist in both 1970-71. Jenssen was followed by Poland’s Norbert Ozimek, the 1968 Olympic and 1970 World silver medalist in this class. Jenssen’s gold medal is the only Olympic medal won a Norwegian weightlifter, through 2012. Israeli David Berger was 18th after the snatch but failed to make a valid lift in the clean & jerk. Three days later, Berger was one of the 11 Israelis killed by Black September Arab terrorists after their attack on the Israeli quarters at the Olympic Village.