Verdi "Vern" Barberis (27 June 1928 – 6 January 2005) was an Australian lightweight

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 ...

. Barberis grew up in Melbourne and attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and studied science. He won a bronze medal at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, lifting a total of . This was the first time that weightlifting had been contested at the Games. He won another bronze medal at 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 ...

, becoming the first Australian to win a weightlifting medal at the Olympics. Later at the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war G ...

he became the first Australian to win a weightlifting gold medal at a major international competition. The seven-time national champion rounded out his career at 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 ...

in his home city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, where he finished 11th. Barberis was the first Australian lightweight to clean and jerk over which at the time exceeded the Victorian heavyweight record. His Australian records stood for many years and his Victorian snatch record lasted twenty years. Barberis was a highly respected teacher and trainer. Between 1969 and 1971, he served as President of the

Australian Weightlifting Federation The Australian Weightlifting Federation is the governing body for the sport of Weightlifting in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (c ...

. He was later inducted into the AWF Hall of Fame, and on 30 August 2000 awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

for his weightlifting achievements.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barberis, Vern 1928 births 2005 deaths Australian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Australia Weightlifters at the 1952 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1950 British Empire Games Weightlifters at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics University of Melbourne alumni Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Weightlifters from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in weightlifting Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in weightlifting