Bruce Wilhelm (born July 13, 1945) is a former

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

and

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is a two-time winner of the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decemb ...

competition in 1977 and 1978 and the author of numerous strength-related articles and books. He was a member of the executive board of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

. He was also on the Athletes Advisory Council for 8 years as well as the Substance and Drug Abuse Committee, the Sports Medicine Committee, and the Games Preparation Committee.

Athletics

Wilhelm was a high school

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

star for

Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, California) Fremont High School is a 4-year public high school in Sunnyvale, California, United States. Fremont is currently the only open public high school located in the city of Sunnyvale and is part of the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD). His ...

, and was the 1963

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

champion as well as runner up in the discus competition. He won the Golden West Invitational high school shot put. He continued his athletic development at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, competing in

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

, discus and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. He was the 1965 AAWU Wrestling Champion and finished the season undefeated with 21 victories. He finished 4th in the 1966 AAU National Freestyle Wrestling and Greco Roman Championships (unlimited weight class). After one year at Stanford, Wilhelm transferred to Oklahoma State University, where, in addition to competing in the shot put, he was also a member of the varsity wrestling team. He placed in the top 10 US Men's

Shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

rankings for 1967 (9th), 1969 (5th), 1970 (3rd), 1971 (4th), 1972 (8th), and 1973 (3rd). Wilhelm is still is #251 on the all-time world

records, with a mark of 20.12m (66'-1/4") set on July 8, 1972, during the Olympic trials.

Weightlifting

Wilhelm became a

, and was the US National AAU Super Heavyweight

Weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

Champion for both 1975 and 1976. He won a silver medal for the

at the 1975

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in the +110 kg division, and placed 5th at the 1976

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, QC,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

World's Strongest Man

Wilhelm won the inaugural

competition in 1977, and returned to win again in 1978.http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/planet28.htm bodybuilding He then spent several years helping to organize and officiate further contests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Bruce 1945 births Living people American male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for the United States American strength athletes Weightlifters at the 1976 Summer Olympics Strength training writers Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California Track and field athletes from California Weightlifters at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in weightlifting 20th-century American sportsmen