Grigory Irmowitsch Nowak

Nowak's grave bust in the Wostryakovo cemetery in Moscow

Grigori Irmowitsch Novak ( Russian Григорий Ирмович Новак ; born March 5, 1919 in Chornobyl , Ukraine ; † July 10, 1980 ) was a Soviet weightlifter .

Career

Grigory Nowak was born in a small Ukrainian town and began doing gymnastics and acrobatics as a child. To get the strength he needed, he began lifting weights and sticking to it. He was one of the best weightlifters in the world between 1940 and 1952. In total, he set 71 world records and 111 Soviet records in his career.

After the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 , where he won the silver medal in the middle heavyweight division, he ended his weightlifting career and became a professional artist. Together with his sons he formed a breathtaking power number with which he performed in circuses and variety theaters for years.

Grigori Nowak was short and stocky, which was particularly useful for his achievements in pushing with both arms. A picture of the award ceremony at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki shows him together with Norbert Schemansky , the gold medalist. He was a full head shorter than Schemansky.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, HS = light heavyweight, MS = middle heavyweight)

• 1946, 1st place , World Championships in Paris , HS, with 425 kg, ahead of Kay, USA , 390 kg and Henri Ferrari , France , 390 kg;
• 1947, 1st place , EM in Helsinki , HS, with 407.5 kg, ahead of Vellamo, Finland , 365 kg and Kassajev, USSR , 360 kg;
• 1952, silver medal , OS in Helsinki, MS, with 410 kg, behind Norbert Schemansky , USA, 445 kg and in front of Lennox Kilgour , Trinidad and Tobago , 402.5 kg.

USSR championships

• 1939, 2nd place, Wed, with 360 (117.5, 110.0, 132.5) kg, behind Konstantin Mileev, 362.5 kg;
• 1940, 1st place, Wed, with 377.5 (125.0, 117.5, 135.0) kg;
• 1943, 1st place, Wed, with 372.5 (120.0, 115.0, 137.5) kg;
• 1944, 1st place, Hs, with 405 (130.0, 122.5, 152.5) ​​kg;
• 1945, 1st place, Hs, with 400 (133.0, 117.0, 150.0) kg;
• 1946, 1st place, Hs, with 432.5 (137.5, 130.0, 165.0) kg;
• 1948, 1st place, Hs, with 402.5 (130.0, 122.5, 150.0) kg;
• 1949, 1st place, Hs, with 422.5 (142.5, 130.0, 150.0) kg;
• 1951, 1st place, Ms, with 425 (140.0, 130.0, 155.0) kg.

World records

• 11 world records in two-armed pushing, middle weight, from 120.5 kg to 129.5 kg;
• 25 world records in pushing the light (semi) heavy weight with both arms from 128.5 kg to 143 kg;
• 7 world records in pushing middle-heavy weights with both arms from 133 kg to 143.5 kg;
• 2 world records in the two-armed middleweight snatch, 122.5 kg and 123 kg;
• 9 world records in both armed tearing of the light heavyweight from 126.5 kg to 131.5 kg;
• 4 world records in two-armed tearing of the middle-heavy weight from 123 kg to 133 kg;
• 2 world records in the two-armed jerk of the middleweight, 155.5 and 156 kg;
• 2 world records in the Olympic triathlon of the middleweight, 390 kg and 400 kg;
• 5 world records in the Olympic three-way competition of light heavyweight, from 400 kg to 432.5 kg;
• 4 world records in the Olympic three-way competition of the middle heavyweight, from 400 kg to 425 kg.

Some of these world records have not been recognized by the International Weightlifting Association (IAAF) because the Soviet Union was not a member of the IAAF at the time the world records were set.

Web links

• Grigori Nowak Top Olympic Lifters of the 20th Century (accessed December 1, 2009).