Pete George Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Fyodor Bogdanovsky

Posted on Monday, December 26th, 2016 by John Wood

The great soviet Fyodor Bogdanovsky graces the cover of the November, 6, 1957 issue of Health and Strength Magazine above. At the time of this publication, the 1957 World Weightlifting Championships were just about to commence in Tehran, Iran.

The above shot is actually from the 1955 World Championships held in Munich, Germany where Bogdanovsky finished with the Silver medal behind the America, Pete George in the middle weight class. In Tehran, Bogdanovsky again finished second, this time behind Tommy Kono (it was an epic battle: both lifters finished with an identical 420 kg total with Kono ultimately taking the Gold on bodyweight.)

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.

Pete George’s Press

Posted on Friday, May 31st, 2013 by John Wood

How outstanding is this picture? Shown here is Pete George’s final press of 122.5 kg at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic game… enough to put him in the lead, at least temporarily. George had to settle for silver though as a few minutes later he was overtaken by Fyodor Bogdanovsky of the Soviet Union who eventually took the gold with a 420 kg total (75kg weight class.) If you look very closely, you can see Bob Hoffman in the crowd.

Secrets of the Squat Snatch by Larry Barnholth

Posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012 by John Wood

Secrets of the Squat Snatch by Larry Barnholth

Weightlifting was changed forever in a two-car garage gym in Akron, Ohio. It was there, at the American College of Modern
Weight Lifting (ACMWL) that Lawrence “Larry” Barnholth essentially invented the “squat” style of snatching — a technique which became the standard, and which has gone on to help lifters who used it to set hundreds of National and World Records since then. In 1950, Barnholth, along with his top student Pete George, put together this nifty course “Secrets of the Squat Snatch” which outlined the necessary training for learning the method. This booklet is incredibly rare since only a limited number of copies were printed.