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.

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.

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Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Manfred Rieger

Posted on Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 by John Wood
Manfred Rieger
German weightlifter Manfred Rieger, competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, as heavyweight in 1964 and 1968 and super heavyweight in 1972. Rieger never finished higher than fourth at the Olympics, but he did win seven German weightlifting championships. Above is a snap from the 1967 championship where Rieger set a new German record with a 520 kg total (which surpassed his previous best by 15 kilograms.)