1960 Olympic Games Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

The Iron Cross

Posted on Sunday, November 27th, 2016 by John Wood

Much of the origins of strength training and physical culture come from gymnastics. The Iron Cross as performed on gymnastic rings, is one of the most impressive gymnastic feats. It takes a great deal of strength and plenty of skill to perform The Iron Cross properly.

The fellow above, Albert Azaryan was a Armenian gymnast who competed internationally for the Soviet Union. Azaryan is the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Champion on the still rings and the first ever gymnast to become an Olympic Champion in Rings twice. Azaryan actually originated a variation of the Iron Cross which was eventually named for him, which incorporates a very difficult quarter turn to the side, a simply mind boggling display of shoulder strength.

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.

Louis Martin

Posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2014 by John Wood

Louis Martin was an excellent British weightlifter who competed in the 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, winning Bronze and Silver respectively. Martin won the 90kg Middle-Heavyweight class at the 1959 World Weightlifting Championships held in Warsaw, Poland. Above you’ll see his winning Press of 303 lbs.

Valeriy Brumel

Posted on Friday, March 7th, 2014 by John Wood

Valeriy Brumel

Yes, that is a man jump-kicking a regulation basketball hoop, a simply unbelievable 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.