Norbert Schemansky (May 30, 1924 – September 7, 2016) was an American

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 ...

. He was the first weightlifter to win four Olympic medals, despite missing the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

due to back problems. He won a silver medal in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games, a gold in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

and bronzes in the 1960 and

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

Biography

Schemansky was a three-time world champion and a Pan American and Olympic games gold medalist. During his long weightlifting career (1947–1972) he set 13 official and 11 unofficial world records.Norbert Schemansky @ Lift Up Hall of Fame
Chidlovski.net. Retrieved August 2, 2012. On April 28, 1962, at the age of 37 years and 333 days, Schemansky became the oldest man in the history of weightlifting to set an official world record, when he snatched 164 kg. In 1997 Schemansky was inducted into the International Weightlifting Federation

Hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. In 1979, he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. He was born and raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and from 1959 until his death in 2016 lived in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

, where a city park was named for him. Prior to his years of Olympic weightlifting competition, Schemansky served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the 184th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion and fought at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. Schemansky died in Dearborn on September 7, 2016, at the age of 92, while in hospice care.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schemansky, Norbert 1924 births 2016 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American strength athletes American male weightlifters Weightlifters at the 1948 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1952 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in weightlifting Olympic silver medalists for the United States in weightlifting Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in weightlifting Sportspeople from Detroit American people of Polish descent Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in weightlifting People associated with physical culture Weightlifters at the 1955 Pan American Games World Weightlifting Championships medalists Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportsmen