1956 Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Marian Zieliński

Posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2016 by John Wood

Marian Zieliński, the Polish weightlifter who took part in four Olympic games, is shown here in mid-press. Zieliński was the first Polish athlete to win an Olympic weightlifting medal when he took Bronze as a featherweight at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia. At the 1960 Games in Rome he tried moving up to the lightweight class and finished fourth.

As a lightweight, he won two more Bronze medals, in Tokyo, 1964 and Mexico City, in 1968. Zieliński was also a three-time European champion and seven-time Polish Champion.

Tokyo Police Force Training

Posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2014 by John Wood

In 1956, 19-year old Kazuhiko Nakadaiji won the Mr. Japan title in a nationwide contest. Greatly impressed with his development, Tokyo police Chief Katsuki Takayanagi hired Nakadaiji to help train his officers and help to build strength for judo. Barbells were limited but calisthenics and bodyweight movements offered a way to allow a large group of people to train at once. Elevated pushups are also, of course, just as effective today as they are back then and a fine addition to any program.

Pete George, Fyodor Bogdanovsky and Ermanno Pignatti

Posted on Friday, October 31st, 2014 by John Wood

Pete George of the USA, Fyodor Bogdanovsky of the USSR and Ermanno Pignatti of Italy compare hardware at the conclusion of the middle-weight class weightlifting at the 1956 Melbourne, Australia Olympic games. Taking place on November 24, 1956, Bogdanovsky totaled 420 kg, (a world record) for the gold, George totaled 412 kg for the silver and Pignatti totaled 382.5 kg for the bronze.

Isaac “Ike” Berger

Posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2014 by John Wood

Ike 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 Ike’s 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 Tokyo Olympic games, he established a record of 152.5 kg (336-1/2 lbs.) in the jerk, at a bodyweight of only 130 pounds (59 kg). This lift bettered the world record by 11 lbs., and made Ike 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.

Humberto Selvetti

Posted on Monday, July 14th, 2014 by John Wood

The great Olympic Weightlifter Humberto Selvetti shows his stuff in his home land of Argentina. It was Selvetti who Paul Anderson defeated to win the Gold Medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Selvetti and Anderson both totaled 500 kg but Anderson beat him on lighter bodyweight)

Selvetti also competed at the at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki (where he took Bronze with a 432.5 kg total) and at the 1964 Tokyo games, (where he finished 17th with a 445 kg total ).

As a side note, I find two other items of interest in this phone, #1, that’s a pretty hefty weight to put overhead while going uphill, and #2, the barbell set in this picture is especially unique, I have never seen anything like it before or since.

Reg Park Kettlebell Handles

Posted on Friday, April 11th, 2014 by John Wood

You can count Reg Park among the many strength athletes who trained with kettlebells, in fact, Reg sold his own set of plate-loaded kettlebell handles through his equipment company. The above advertisement is from 1956.

It should be noted though that Reg et al, performed bodybuilding movements with kettlebells, (usually shoulder and arm work) and did not train with them in the kettlebell methods that are widely promoted today.

Ike Berger’s Press

Posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2014 by John Wood

October 27, 1956 was the date, and the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California was the place for the final Olympic tryouts, and the excellent lift shown above by Ike Berger. This was his second attempt, a press with 230 lbs. Ike was a featherweight but this lift would be impressive for a heavyweight these days, especially in that style.

A month later, Ike went on to win the gold medal at the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia. The Olympic finals were sponsored by Ray Van Cleef’s Gateway to Health gym, and a good time was had by all.