| Date | 24 September 1988 — 17:00 (B) (A) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Olympic Weightlifting Gymnasium, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul | |
| Participants | 22 from 20 countries | |
| Format | Total of best lifts in snatch and clean & jerk determined placement. Ties broken by lightest bodyweight. | |
Israil Arsamakov was an Ingush from Chechnya, a native Caucasus ethnic group. He was not a dominant lifter, but had won a silver medal in this class at the 1986 World Championships and was the 1986 European Champion. However, there was no favorite at all in this class and Arsamakov’s clean & jerk of 210.0 kg brought him the gold medal with a total of 377.5 kg. The silver medal went to Hungarian István Messzi while the bronze was won by Korean Lee Hyeong-Geun. This was the only Olympic appearance for all three medalists, and the final competition of Arsamakov’s career.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Kilograms | Bodyweight | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israil Arsamakov |  URS | 377.5 | 82.15 | 167.5 (2) | 210.0 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | István Messzi |  HUN | 370.0 | 81.85 | 170.0 (1) | 200.0 (=3) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Lee Hyeong-Geun |  KOR | 367.5 | 81.65 | 160.0 (6) | 207.5 (2) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Dave Morgan |  GBR | 365.0 | 80.45 | 165.0 (3) | 200.0 (=3) | |||
| 5 | Krzysztof Siemion |  POL | 357.5 | 81.50 | 162.5 (=4) | 195.0 (=5) | |||
| 6 | Ryoji Isaoka |  JPN | 350.0 | 81.10 | 155.0 (=7) | 195.0 (=5) | |||
| 7 | Fausto Tosi |  ITA | 340.0 | 80.50 | 155.0 (=7) | 185.0 (=7) | |||
| 8 | Ali Eroğlu |  TUR | 330.0 | 82.15 | 145.0 (=10) | 185.0 (=7) | |||
| 9 | Muyiwa Odusanya |  NGR | 320.0 | 80.95 | 150.0 (9) | 170.0 (=11) | |||
| 10 | Frank Pérez |  DOM | 317.5 | 81.90 | 145.0 (=10) | 172.5 (10) | |||
| 11 | Derrick Crass |  USA | 315.0 | 82.30 | 140.0 (=14) | 175.0 (9) | |||
| 12 | Cheng Chia-Tso |  TPE | 310.0 | 81.65 | 140.0 (=14) | 170.0 (=11) | |||
| 13 | William Letriz |  PUR | 307.5 | 82.30 | 142.5 (13) | 165.0 (=13) | |||
| 14 | Curt White | USA | 305.0 | 81.95 | 140.0 (=14) | 165.0 (=13) | |||
| 15 | Jhon Sichel |  ECU | 282.5 | 82.00 | 125.0 (17) | 157.5 (15) | |||
| 16 | Rafael Elizondo |  CRC | 265.0 | 81.80 | 117.5 (18) | 147.5 (16) | |||
| 17 | José Moirt |  MRI | 240.0 | 79.80 | 110.0 (19) | 130.0 (=17) | |||
| 18 | Lopesi Faagu |  ASA | 220.0 | 80.95 | 90.0 (20) | 130.0 (=17) | |||
| 19 | Percy Doherty |  SLE | 165.0 | 78.70 | 65.0 (21) | 100.0 (19) | |||
| Charalampos Sfakianakis |  GRE | 145.0 | 81.35 | 145.0 (=10) | – ( | ||||
| László Barsi | HUN | 162.5 | 81.60 | 162.5 (=4) | – | ||||
| Absalom Shabangu |  SWZ | – | 81.40 | – ( | – |
