Norb Schemansky

Norb Schemansky

Champion 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.

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Norb Schemansky

Norb Schemansky
A true Champion in every sense of the word - the Great Norb Schemansky lifting at the 1954 World Championships in Vienna. At this meet, Schemansky totaled 1074 pounds.

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Schemansky Stalks the Bar...

Norb Schemansky
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:

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)

And best career marks:

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.

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Norb Schemansky Lifts The Apollon Wheels

Norb Schemansky Lifts The Apollon Wheels
At the turn of the century, the French strongman Apollon introduced his famous challenge weight -- a pair of railcar wheels attached by a thick axle.

The whole affair weighed 366 lbs. but the real challenge laid in the 1.93 inch thick axle which meant that only the strongest pairs of hands would ever have a shot at breaking it free of the ground.

Apollon, who likely had the strongest grip in history, was the only man who ever lifted it for decades...

Many a strongman tried but all failed until the great french weight lifter Charles Rigoulot finally achieved the feat in 1930 after having trained for it over the course of several months.

Nearly two decades later the American weightlifting champion John Davis was able to lift the wheels on his second try (after passing out on his first attempt.)

On October 14th, 1954 another American weightlifting champion, Norbert Schemansky, "cleaned" the Apollon wheels and jerked them three times in succession, thus writing his name (again) in the record books.

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