Light-Heavyweight (≤85 kilograms), Men

Greek Pyrros Dimas and German Marc Huster were expected to resume their battle for the gold medal in this class. They had placed 1-2 in 1996 and at the 1998 World Championships, and were 2-3 at the 1999 Worlds, when they were upset by Iranian Shahin Nassiri Nia. Dimas had won this gold medal in both 1992 and 1996.

Nassiri Nia went out early in Sydney when he dislocated his shoulder on his first snatch attempt. Dimas missed his first two snatch attempts, but then succeeded on 175.0 kg, below his goal of 185, which left him trailing Huster, who had lifted 177.5 kg. The leader after the snatch was Georgian Giorgi Asanidze with 180.0 kg. When Dimas lifted 215.0 kg in the clean & jerk, this gave him 390.0 kg, a total matched by Huster and Asanidze. The medals were decided on bodyweight, with Dimas weighting 84.06 kg, Huster 84.22 kg, and Asanidze 84.70 kg.

Dimas’ third Olympic weightlifting gold medal equalled the mark set by Turkey’s Naim Süleymanoğlu in 1988-96, although it would later be equalled in Sydney by Dimas’ teammate Akakios Kakiasvili, and in 2004 by Turkey’s Halil Mutlu. Only Dimas and Süleymanoğlu won their three gold medals in the same class. Dimas returned in 2004 and won a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight class, his fourth Olympic weightlifting medal equalling the mark set by American Norb Schemansky (1948-64) and German Ronny Weller in Sydney (1988-2000), but Dimas is the only Olympic weightlifter to win four medals in the same class.