Weightlifting at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 56 kg

The men's 56 kg weightlifting competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place on 9 August at the Empress Hall of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre.[1] It was the first appearance of the bantamweight class, which was split off the featherweight (60 kg) class that had previously been the lightest. This was the first change in weight classes since their introduction in the 1920 Summer Olympics.[2]

Men's 56 kg at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Venue	Empress Hall (Earls Court Exhibition Centre)
Date	9 August 1948
Competitors	19 from 14 nations
Winning total	307.5 kg WR
Medalists
Joseph De Pietro  United States Julian Creus  Great Britain Richard Tom  United States

Weightlifting at the 1948 Summer Olympics
	Men
	56 kg
	60 kg
	67.5 kg
	75 kg
	82.5 kg
	+82.5 kg

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).[3]