Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Tug O' War at the 1906 Olympic GamesHere's a rare look at the Tug O' War event at the 1906 Olympic Games held in Athens Greece. It looks like the Gold Medal -winning German team is on the right - notable because several of its members were also champion weightlifters, namely Heinrich Rondi and Heinrich Schneidereit. The Greek team took Silver while Sweden took Bronze. Joseph Steinbach was also a member of the Austrian team which finished was fourth.
Labels: 1906 Olympics, Gold Medal, Heinrich Rondi, Heinrich Schneidereit, Joseph Steinbach, Tug O Wa
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Thursday, January 07, 2010
Josef StrassbergerAs a super-heavyweight, the great German Weightlifter Josef Strassberger won the Gold Medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympc Games. He came back four years later to beat his winning total although it was only good enough for Bronze at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Strassberger set six World Records during his career including his best press of 300 pounds which he accomplished in 1935.
Labels: 1928 Olympics, 1932 Olympics, Bronze Medal, German Weightlifter, Gold Medal, Josef Strassberger, olympic weightlifter, Press
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Monday, December 14, 2009
Louis HostinShown here is the French weightlifter Louis Hostin, who won the Gold Medal at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Hostin also won the Silver medal at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam (where the above photo was taken).
Labels: 1928 Olympics, 1932 Olympics, 1936 Olympics, Berg-Hantell, French Weightlifter, Gold Medal, Louis Hostin, olympic weightlifter
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Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Filippo BottinoItalian Weightlifter Filippo Bottino, was the Gold Medal winner in the Heavyweight class at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Two years later, Bottino broke the world record in the Press, becoming the first Italian lifter to ever set a world mark. He also won 11 Italian weightlifting titles and later finished 6th at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France.
Labels: 1920 Olympics, 1924 Olympics, Filippo Bottino, Gold Medal, Italian Weightlifter, Olympic Champion
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
1964 Tokyo Olympic StampHere's a stamp commemorating the weight lifting event at the 1964 Olympic Summer Games held in Tokyo, Japan.
Among the Medal winners featured on this site are Waldemar Baszanowski of Poland, who won Gold in the Lightweight Class, and Yoshinobu Miyake of Japan, who bested the field in the Featherweight division. Ike Berger took Silver behind Miyake, and Vlasov and Schemansky took Silver and Bronze behind the Russian Champion Zhabotinsky.
Labels: 1964 Olympics, Gold Medal, Ike Berger, Norb Schemansky, Olympics, Stamp, Tokyo, Waldemar Baszanowski, Yoshinobu Miyake, Yuri Vlasov
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Paul Anderson: Bringin' Home the Gold in '56Here's a rare shot of the great Paul Anderson at the moment he won the gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. The Russians, who had seen Big Paul in action previously figured he would run away with it... But It was no cakewalk, Anderson had developed an inner ear infection during the trip over which gave him trouble with his balance and caused him to miss lifts he ordinarily would have made with ease. Like a true champion though he fought through it and prevailed to take the gold medal.
Labels: 1956 Olympics, Gold Medal, Olympic Games, Paul Anderson
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Thursday, August 27, 2009
Viggo JensenViggo Jensen, the great Danish athlete, won the very first Gold medal ever awarded in the modern Olympics. At the 1896 games in Athens, Greece, Jensen, bested Launceston Elliott at the "Two-Hands" lifting event but injured his shoulder in doing so. This caused him to finish second to Elliott in the "One-Hand" event.
At the same Olympics, Jensen competed in Rope Climbing, shot put, discus and two rifle events (taking Bronze in the free rifle.)
Labels: 1896 Olympics, Danish weightlifter, Discus, Gold Medal, Launceston Elliott, Olympic Rope Climbing, Rope Climbing, Shot Put, Viggo Jensen, weightlifter
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Yoshinobu MiyakeThe great japanese lifter Yoshinobu Miyake is shown here at "the moment of truth" during the 1961 World championships where he won the Bronze Medal. It is not as evident in this picture but Miyake pioneered a unique technique known as "frog style" (or the Miyake pull), which involves a wide grip and where the legs are splayed to the side at the beginning of the lift.
His focus on this technique payed off as he took home Olympic Gold in the 1964 Tokyo Games and the 1968 Games in Mexico City, and set 29 World Records over the course of his career.
Labels: 1964 Olympics, 1968 Olympics, Gold Medal, Olympic Weightlifting, World Record, Yoshinobu Miyake
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Waldemar BaszanowskiWaldemar Baszanowski, the great Polish weightlifter, competed in four Olympic Games and took home Gold twice, at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He also won five Wold Championships: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1968, and 1969 and set twenty five World Records over the course of his career. Today, Baszanowski is the President of the European Weightlifting Federation.
Labels: 1964 Olympics, 1968 Olympics, Gold Medal, olympic weightlifter, Polish Weightlifter, Waldemar Baszanowski, World Record
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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Bringing Home the Gold: Melbourne 1956The date of this photo is November 26th, 1956 and it shows the results of the Men's Light-Heavyweight weightlifting event at the '56 Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia. On his way to the Gold Medal, Tommy Kono set Olympic records in the Press and Snatch and a World Record in the Clean & Jerk and overall total (447.5 kg).
The other American lifter Jim George, from Akron, Ohio, won the Bronze with a 417.5 kg total. Vasīlijs Stepanovs of the Soviet Union took the Silver Medal with a 427.5 total.
Labels: 100 Pound Total, 1956 Olympics, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Jim George, Melbourne Australia, Olympic Record, Olympic Weightlifting, Press, Snatch, Tommy Kono, Vasīlijs Stepanovs, World Record
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Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Paul Anderson's WheelsWhat do you do when you need to squat 600+ pounds but a normal barbell won't hold enough weight? (And they didnt have 100 lb. plates back then.) This was Paul Anderson's solution, a set of wheels he found in a junk yard in his native town of Toccoa, Georgia. At first, everybody thought he was crazy, of course, they changed their tune when he came home from the '56 Olympics with a shiny new Gold Medal. I don't know of anyone who looked as relaxed as Big Paul when handling such big weights.
Labels: 1956 Olympics, Barbell, Gold Medal, Paul Anderson, Paul Anderson's Wheels, Squatting, Unique Equipment
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Friday, May 01, 2009
Perikles KakousisShown is Greek Weightlifter Perikles Kakousis on his way to winning the "Two Hand Lift" Weightlifting competition at the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri. This lift of 246 pounds was good enough for the Gold Medal and set the world record at the time (breaking the old record by a mere four ounces.) The judge Dr. R. T. McKenzie looks on from the right.
At the same games Kakousis also competed in the Tug 'O War event although his team only finished tied for 5th place.
Labels: 1904 Olympics, Gold Medal, Greek Weightlifter, Overhead Lift, Perikles Kakousis, Tug O War, World Record
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
Valeriy BrumelYes, that is a man jump-kicking a regulation basketball hoop, a simply unbelieveable feat. In this case, that man is Valeriy Brumel, the great Soviet high jumper who is just doing a bit of showing off. Brumel won the Silver Medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics and took the Gold medal in Tokyo at the 1964 games.
Brumel broke the world record for high jump 6 times from 1961 to 1963. His personal best was 2.28 meters (about 7 feet 6 inches) In 1965 he was in a motorcycle accident which ruined his leg. After 29 operations he made a comeback in 1970 and was able to high jump 2.06 meters (about 6 feet 9 inches.) He was a true super human.
Labels: 1960 Olympics, 1964 Olympics, Gold Medal, High Jump, Olympic Athlete, Olympics
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Saturday, January 10, 2009
| Tony Terlazzo was one of America's greatest Olympic weight lifters. Lifting for the York Barbell Club, Terlazzo was a Gold medal winner in the 60 kg class at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, set seven world records, won two world championshios and achieved an unprecedented 13 Senior National weightlifting titles. His best clean and jerk was 144.5 kg in the lightweight class. |  Tony Terlazzo |
Labels: 1936 Olympics, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Muscletown USA, National Champion Weightlifter, olympic weightlifter, Tony Terlazzo, World Champion
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Thursday, December 18, 2008
| Another great shot of the champion French Weight lifter Ernest Cadine at the conclusion of a heavy one-arm snatch. Even though the quality of this old picture is not perfect, Cadine's incredible muscle density is evident. It's not hard to see why he won the gold medal at the 1920 Olympic Games, likely around the same time this picture was taken. Note the cannon on the wall behind him. Yes, it was used specifically for lifting purposes. |  Ernest Cadine |
Labels: 1920 Olympics, Cannon, Ernest Cadine, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Globe Barbell, Gold Medal, one arm snatch
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Sunday, September 07, 2008
Norb SchemanskyChampion Olympic Weightlifter Norb Schemansky as he looked pressing 160 kg at the 1960 Rome Olympics (where he won Bronze) and on the cover of the September, 1962 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.
Over his career Schemansky was an Olympic Champion in 1952 (Helsinki), Three time World Champion (1947, 1962, 1963) and set 26 World Records.
Labels: 1952 Olympics, Cover, Gold Medal, Norb Schemansky, Olympic lifter, Olympic Weightlifting, Press, Strength and Health Magazine
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Friday, September 05, 2008
The One-Arm SnatchThe one-arm snatch as demonstrated by Olympic Weightlifting Champion Tony Terlazzo. From left to right:
1. Setting up for the pull (Note position of off-hand)
2. Pulling the arm high enough to quickly drop under and begin the squat
3. The followthrough - stand up with the weight to complete the lift.
Labels: Gold Medal, Lift, Olympic lifter, one arm snatch, Tony Terlazzo
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Friday, August 01, 2008
Charles RigoulotIn July of 1924, Charles Rigoulot was crowned the light-heavyweight Champion at the Olympic Games held in Paris, France. Today there are only two Olympic lifts, but things were a little different back then when a variety of lifts were contested.
Here's a look at Rigoulot's championship numbers: One-Hand snatch: 197-1/2 pounds, One-Hand Clean and Jerk: 203-1/2 pounds, Two-Hands Military Press: 187 pounds, Two-Hands Snatch: 225-1/2 pounds, Two-Hands Clean and Jerk: 297 pounds.
As you can see, Rigoulot was a little low in the press at this time but more than made up for it with his snatching ability. Rigoulot's total of 1103-1/2 pounds was the third highest of the entire competition... and, interestingly enough he also used shot-loaded globes instead of normal plate-loaded equipment like his competitors.
Labels: 1924 Olympics, Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Gold Medal, Olympic Games, one arm snatch, Paris France, Press, Total
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Demetrius TofalosDemetrius Tofalos was a Greek weightlifter who survived a serious childhood injury and went on to defeat Josef Steinbach to win the Gold Medal at the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The winning lift for Tofalos in the "two-hand barbell lift" (i.e. clean and jerk) was 142.4 Kilograms.
It really was a "clean" and jerk - lifters were penalized if the barbell touched any other part of their body as they brough it to their chest..
Tofalos was also a very successful professional wrestler although a defeat and injury by American Champion Frank Gotch forced his retirement. Tofalos eventually went on to manage Jim Londos, "The Golden Greek."
Today, a sports arena is named in Tofalos' honor in his hometown of Patras, Greece.
Labels: 1906 Olympics, British Wrestler, Clean and Jerk, Demetrius Tofalos, Gold Medal, Greek Weightlifter, Jim Londos, Joseph Steinbach, Olympic Sport
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ernest CadineErnest Cadine was a French Weightlifter who won the Gold Medal at the 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp, Belgium. He set six World records over his competitive career.
In 1925, Cadine performed a one-arm swing with 90 kilos which was actually greater than his own bodyweight. He could also right hand snatch 211 pounds and one-hand deadlifted the famous Apollon Wheels.
Labels: 1920 Olympics, Apollon's Wheels, Ernest Cadine, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Gold Medal, Olympics
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Indian Club Swinging at the 1904 Summer OlympicsWhen you think of the Summer Olympics, the events that most immediately come to mind probably include track and field, weightlifting, swimming, and other popular forms of competition... but Olympic history is full of several unusual sports that garnered much less attention, and which existed as a competitive event for only a brief period.
You may be surprised to learn that at the 1904 Summer Olympics (held in St. Louis, Missouri) indian club swinging made its first (but not only) appearance as an Olympic contest.
Classified as a gymnastics event, the original competition featured only three athletes -- all from the United States: Edward Hennig of Cleveland, Ohio took home the Gold Medal, narrowly edging his countryman Emil Voigt by a score of 13-9. Ralph Wilson took Bronze with a score of "5."
Indian Club Swinging was again on the docket for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but that was its last moment in the spotlight, at least on the Olympic stage. We sure won't be seeing any late-night coverage of club swinging from Beijing this year.
Although no longer a competitive sport, club swinging still remains a great way to build upper body strength and stamina even a hundred years later.
Labels: 1904 Olympics, Edward Hennig, Emil Voight, Gold Medal, Gymnastics, Indian Club Swinging, Olympic Sport, Olympics
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Chuck VinciChuck Vinci was another great olympic weightlifter from York, Pennsylvania. Though he stood only 4'11" and weighed 123 pounds, he could clean & jerk well over 300 pounds and snatch 220+.
Vinci was a Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (1956 and 1960), Seven-time world Senior National Champion (1954-1956,1958-1961) and set Twelve World Records during his career.
Labels: 1956 Olympics, 1960 Olympics, Chuck Vinci, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Olympic Weightlifting, Snatch, weightlifter, weightlifting, York Pennsylvania
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Isaac "Ike" BergerIke Berger is one of America's most successful Olympic Weightlifters -- he was the first featherweight in history to lift more than 800 pounds and the first to press double body weight.
Over his career he was the owner of 23 world weightlifting records, a 12-time United States national titleholder, 2-time World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1956 Games in Melbourne Australia (along with two more Silver medals at the next two Olympic Games.)
At the 1964 Olympic games, he estabilished a record of 152.5 kg (336 lb) in the jerk, at a bodyweight of only 130 pounds (59 kg). This lift made him pound-for-pound the strongest man in the world, a record that stood for nine years.
Ike Berger was elected to the United States Weightlifter's Hall of Fame in 1965.
Labels: 1956 Olympics, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Ike Berger, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Press, weightlifter, weightlifting, World Champion
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Friday, February 08, 2008
Vasily Alexeev's Unusual TrainingThe Russian Champion Vasily Alexeev is one of the greatest weightlifters who ever lived.
One of Alexeyeev's most unusual training techniques was to practice his cleans in waist-deep water. This famous shot was taken of Alexeev as he trained in the Don River in Mother Russia.
Unconventional... but certainly effective:
Alexeev set the first of his 80 world records in 1970 and was undefeated for the remainder of his career which also included two Olympic Gold medal winning performances (1972, Munich and 1976, Montreal)
Labels: Barbell, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Mother Russia, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Russian Strongman, Unusual Training Equipment, Vasily Alexeev
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
Paul Anderson Winning the 1956 Melbourne OlympicsWith this lift, Paul Anderson won the Gold Medal in the heavyweight class at the 1956Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia.
It sure didn't come easy...
Big Paul was suffering from an ear infection at the time which caused him to lose his balance and stagger once he had the weight overhead, thus missing several lifts he would normally make with ease.
Here's how he ended the day:
Though he totaled, 1101 pounds, it was far from his best. Still, it was a gold medal winning performance, and one that cemented his name in the history books.
Labels: Bench Press, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Olympics, Paul Anderson, Snatch, Total, weightlifting
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Globe Barbells at the 1924 Olympic GamesHere's a look at the Globe Barbells that were lined up and ready to be used at the 1924 Olympic Games held in Paris France.
This was the last year that lifters were given the choice between lifting with shot-loaded globe barbells or barbells loaded with the iron disc plates that we use today.
The only lifters to choose the shot-loaded globes at the 1924 Olympic Games were the French Weightlifting team, of which great strongman Charles Rigoulot won the gold medal in the heavyweight class and his teammate Edmond Decottignies took home the gold in the light-weight Class.
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, Globe Barbell, Gold Medal, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Paris France, Shot Loaded Barbells, Strongman Equipment, weightlifting
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
Tommy Kono: Weightlifting and Bodybuilding ChampionWith thirteen Senior Nationals titles, eight consecutive World Championships (1952-1959) and two Olympic gold medals (1952, 1956), Tommy Kono is arguably America's greatest Olympic Weightlifter.
In addition to his weightlifting exploits, he was also a very successful bodybuilder, winning the Mr. Universe bodybuilding title in `1954, 1955, 1957 and 1961.
It is unlikely that the World will never see another champion Weightlifter and Bodybuilder who are one in the same.
Labels: Bodybuilding, Gold Medal, Olympic Weightlifting, Tommy Kono, weightlifting
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Friday, November 09, 2007
 Weightlifting ChampionJohn Davis | John Davis was one of America's greatest Olympic weightlifting champions. Throughout his career he won two gold medals: 1948(London) and 1952(Helsinki) He was also a Senior World Champion in 1938, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1951. His best Olympic lifts were: |
Labels: Apollon's Wheels, Clean and Jerk, Curl, Deadlift, Gold Medal, John Davis, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Press, Snatch, Squat, Weaver Stick
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Paul AndersonPaul Anderson began as a skinny teenager with a pair of dumbbells and a stack of Strength and Health Magazines.
Soon, he was scouting out junkyards for heavier weights to lift and by the time he went to college, his lifts were near the American Records. But it wasn't until Bob Peoples taught young Paul Anderson the value of the Squat and deadlift that his strength really took off.
Paul Anderson eventually squatted 1206 pounds, benchpressed 627 pounds, one-arm pressed 380 pounds, and push-pressed an incredible 600 pounds. His Guinness Book of World Records back lift of 6,270 pounds still stands.
He also won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in all, broke 18 American records, 8 world records, and retired unbeaten and unchallenged.
Labels: Backlift, Barbell, Bob Peoples, Dumbbells, Gold Medal, Paul Anderson, Squat, Strength and Health
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Friday, October 26, 2007
Charles RigoulotCharles Rigoulot was one of France's greatest weightlifters and easily one of the strongest men of all time. He won a Gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games, Cleaned and Jerked the famous Apollon Wheels and could snatch 255 pounds with one arm.
At 24 years of age, his measurements were as follows:
Weight: 230 pounds
Height: 5'7-3/4"
Chest: 49"
Waist: 37"
Thighs: 27-1/2"
Calf: 17-1/2"
Neck: 18-1/2"
Biceps: 17-1/2"
Forearm: 14-1/2"
Labels: Apollon's Wheels, Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Oldtime Strongman, Olympics, one arm snatch, Strongman Feat
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Olympic Champion John Davis - Squat!If you are truly interested in size and strength, you need to train your legs. -- and one of the best leg exercises is the barbell squat. In fact, heavy squats have built the foundation of some of the greatest strength athletes in history.
Here's a look at the great John Davis squatting at Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland, California in the 50s -- and that's how you should be squatting: full and deep.
No monkey business there, just pure power development.
I don't recommend squatting with a board under the heels but it seems to work for John Davis, who was Twice Olympic Weightlifting Champion (1948 and 1952) and Six Time Senior World Weightlifting Champion (1938, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951).
Labels: Ed Yarick's Gym, Gold Medal, John Davis, Leg Development, Olympics, Squat
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Monday, October 15, 2007
Tommy Kono and Classic Globe BarbellTommy Kono was one of the United States' greatest Olympic weightlifters and overall strength athletes.
He not only won two Gold Medals and a Silver over the course of three Olympic games, he also won the Mr. Universe title in Bodybuilding several times.
I'll cover that in more detail on another occasion.
Check out this classic shot from the early 1950's where Tommy Kono narrowly misses completing a jerk with this huge 374 pound globe barbell at Robert Cayeaux's gym in Lille, France. -- Kono had the barbell at arm's length but couldn't quite hold it.
(N.B. This was the same gym where Norb Schemansky lifted the famous Apollon Wheels in 1954.)
...I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Charles Rigoulot lifted with the very same globe barbell. - Rigoulot favored globe barbells long after they went out of style.
Labels: Bodybuilding, Charles Rigoulot, Classic Strongman Gyms, Globe Barbell, Gold Medal, Mr. Universe, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Tommy Kono
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
Schemansky Stalks the Bar...From the late 1940s to mid-1960s, Norb Schemansky was America's most successful Olympic Weightlifter and the first weightlifter to medal in four Olympic Games, (despite missing the 1956 games.)
Do you think he means business in the shot above?
Here's a look at Norb Schemansky's achievements over the course of his career:
And best career marks:Olympic Champion - 1952 Olympic Games, Helsinki Silver Medal - 1948 Olympic Games, London Bronze Medal - 1960, Rome, 1964, Tokyo World Champion (1951, 1953, and 1954) 1955 Pan American Games Heavyweight Champion Silver Medal - Senior World Championships (1947, 1962, 1963) Bronze Medal - Senior World Championships (1964)
Press - 415 lbs.
Snatch - 363 3/4 lbs.
Clean and Jerk - 445 lbs.
Total - 1200 lbs. (400-335-445)
In addition to his weightlifting exploits, he also famously cleaned, then thrice jerked the Apollon Wheels.
Labels: 1952 Olympics, 1960 Olympics, 1964 Olympics, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Norb Schemansky, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Press, Snatch, The 1947 U.S. World Weightlifting Team, weightlifting
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