Sunday, July 12, 2009

  • Paul Anderson: Behind The Iron Curtain


    • In 1955, a group of U.S. weightlifting champs traveled to Russia - the first U.S. athletic team to be invited behind the Iron Curtain - for a series of exhibitions with the Soviet national team.

    After everyone else had finished their lifting, Paul Anderson astounded their hosts by pressing 402-1/2 lbs., snatching 314-1/4 lbs. and the lift shown here: a clean & jerk of 424-1/2 lbs. Big Paul so astounded the Russians that they did not even bother to enter a heavyweight lifter at the upcoming 1956 Olympics - they figured that he was simply unbeatable.

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    Posted by John Wood @ Sunday, July 12, 2009

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    Friday, March 21, 2008

  • Paul Anderson "A Wonder of Nature"

    • Paul Anderson RussiaPaul Anderson "A Wonder of Nature"

    The great Paul Anderson warms up before a weightlifting exhibition at Dynamo Stadium in Russia, circa 1955 (at the height of the Cold War), as Bob Hoffman, Tommy Kono and other members of the York Gang look on.

    At the time, the World record in the Olympic press was 330-1/2 pounds, set by the Russian champion, Medvedev. In front of a crowd of 15,000 people on a rainy day, Paul Anderson pressed 402-1/2 pounds.

    The Russian crowd gave Anderson a standing ovation and rightfully began calling him "Chudo Prirody," which means "a wonder of nature."

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    Posted by John Wood @ Friday, March 21, 2008

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    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved

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