Charles Rigoulot’s One-Arm Snatch

Posted on Monday, June 20th, 2016 by John Wood
The great French Strongman Charles Rigoulot snatches 242 pounds with one arm in old, Old, OLD Vienna, circa 1929.
Note the continued use of globed barbells and dumbbells long after they went out of style.

Just a few years earlier at the 1924 Olympic Games, the athletes still had a choice of either using a solid, revolving, plate-loaded barbell like you would see these days, or the archaic shot-loaded globe barbells of year’s past.

All the members of the French weightlifting team, including Rigoulot, chose to lift with the oldtime globe barbells instead of the modern plate-loaded ones… Interestingly, Rigoulot won the gold medal in the light-heavyweight class while his teammate Edmond Decottignies also took home the gold in the light-weight Class.

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Alfred Decottignies

Posted on Monday, February 25th, 2013 by John Wood

Alfred Decottignies

Alfred Decottignies, shown here ‘muscling out’ a block weight whilst simultaneously pressing a heavy globe barbell overhead, established the Comines Weightlifting Club in northern France in 1892. The club is still going strong today making it the oldest ongoing weightlifting club in existence. Alfred’s son, Edmond Decottignies went on to win the gold medal in the lightweight class in the 1924 Paris Olympic games.