1948 Olympic Games Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Schemansky Stalks The Bar…

Posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 by John Wood

From the late 1940’s to mid-1960’s, 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? That’s from the 1964 Olympic tryouts. Here’s a look at Norb Schemansky’s achievements over the course of his amazing 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, Norb also famously cleaned, then thrice jerked the Apollon Wheels.

John Davis and BAWLA Plates

Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2015 by John Wood

Here’s a rare look at the great John Davis. Hard to tell were this shot is from though. This image was actually from a German tobacco card from 1952. If you take a close look, those are BAWLA (British Amateur Weight Lifting Association) Plates so it may be from the 1948 Olympics, held in London, where Davis took home the gold medal. Problem is, it doesn’t match up to any other shots we have seen from that time period. Either way, another look at Mr. Davis in action is always a good thing.

1948 Olympic Heavyweights

Posted on Friday, September 26th, 2014 by John Wood

A look at the medal stand for the heavyweight class at the 1948 London Olympic Games: John Davis of the USA took the Gold Medal with a 452.5 kg. total while his team mate, Norb Schemansky won the Silver medal with a 425 kg. total. The Bronze Medal winner was Abraham Charité of the Netherlands, who totaled 412.5 kg.

Richard Rieder

Posted on Monday, August 11th, 2014 by John Wood

Richard Rieder was a Swiss weightlifter who competed in the 60kg class at the 1948 London Olympic games where he totaled 255 kg.

Henry Wittenberg

Posted on Saturday, November 30th, 2013 by John Wood

Jersey City, New Jersey born Henry Wittenberg was one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived. Unbelievably, he never even wrestled until he got to college but by his junior year, he was doing very well in many prestigious tournaments.

After college, he entered eight AAU tournaments – and won all of them. In an era where many people inflate their numbers, Wittenberg legitimately won over 300 straight matches. He won a Gold medal at the 1948 London Olympics and came back to win Silver in 1952 at Helsinki. He doesn’t have any World Championships to his credit because his employer, The New York Police Department, would not allow him the time off.

One of the notable things about Wittenberg is that he was one of the few athletes at the time who actively lifted weights. His coaches at the time forbade him to do so, but Wittenberg understood how important it was and would not hear of it. They gave in and allowed him to keep lifting weights so as long as he didn’t let it be known.

Later on, he wrote this book on Isometrics which has gone through five printings.

Stan Stanczyk

Posted on Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 by John Wood

Stan Stanczyk

The great Olympic weightlifter Stan Stanczyk was the first man to win three successive World titles in three different weight classes. Lifting for the York Barbell Club, he won five in all. He also won six Senior National titles, a Gold Medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England, a Gold at the 1951 Pan-American Games and a Silver Medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games.

Stanczyk set eight word records during his lifting career. He was also a fairly good bodybuilder, placing very respectably in the few contests he entered.