Hans Zdražila

Hans Zdražila at the 1964 Olympic Games

Hans Zdražila (born October 3, 1941 in Ostrau , Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ) is a former Czechoslovak weightlifter .

Career

Hans Zdražila started lifting weights at the age of 16 . As a budding athlete, he wanted to improve his physical strength by training with weights and ended up sticking to weightlifting. At the end of 1958 he reached 300 kg for the first time in the Olympic three-way fight and in 1959 he was Czechoslovak youth champion in the class up to 75 kg body weight with 317.5 kg. After he made further progress, he, who had completed his apprenticeship as a mechanic in a steel mill, was drafted into the military for two years. He also moved to the Prague sports club Ruda Hvezda . After being accepted into the national team, the national coach Antonin Dresl took care of him in the first place, after he had no special coach beforehand. The black-haired Hans soon achieved international success and the highlight of his career was the Olympic victory in Tokyo in 1964 in the middleweight division, where he managed to beat the Soviet athlete Viktor Kurenzow , which was a minor sensation at the time. After 1964 he moved up to the light heavyweight (up to 82.5 kg body weight) and continued his career with good success until 1968. But he didn't manage to achieve a very big victory. After the Olympic Games in 1968 he ended his career as a weightlifter.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, Wed = Middleweight, Ls = Light Heavyweight)

1962, 2nd place , Donaupokal, Wed, with 372.5 kg, behind Mihály Huszka , Hungary , 402.5 kg and in front of Albert Huser , Germany , 370 kg;
1963, 2nd place , Grand Prix of Moscow , Wed, with 412.5 kg, behind Vladimir Belyayev , USSR, 415 kg and in front of Huszka, 410 kg;
1963, 3rd place ( 3rd place ), WM + EM in Stockholm , Wed, with 422.5 kg, behind Alexander Kurynow , USSR, 437.5 kg and Huszka, 437.5 kg;
1964, 1st place , Danube Cup in Ljubljana , Wed, with 422.5 (125.0, 127.5, 170.0) kg;
1964, 2nd place , EM in Moscow, Wed, with 425 kg, behind Wiktor Kurenzow , USSR, 445 kg and in front of Werner Dittrich , GDR , 420 kg;
1964, gold medal (also world champion), OS in Tokyo , Wed, with 445 kg, in front of Kurenzow, 440 kg and Masushi Ōuchi , Japan , 437.5 kg;
1965, 2nd place , EM in Sofia , Ls, with 460 kg, behind Alexander Kidjajew , USSR, 467.5 kg and in front of Norbert Ozimek , Poland , 445 kg;
1966, 1st place , Danube Cup in Vienna , Ls, with 435.0 (130.0, 135.5, 170.0) kg;
1966, 3rd place ( 3rd place ), WM + EM in Berlin , Ls, with 465 kg, behind Wladimir Beljajew, USSR, 485 kg and Győző Veres , Hungary , 485 kg;
1967, 1st place , Danube Cup in Bratislava , Ls, with 442.5 kg, ahead of Aschenbrenner, Austria , 420 kg and Károly Bakos, Hungary, 417.5 kg;
1967, 3rd place , pre-Olymp. Games in Mexico City , Ls, with 470 kg, behind Norbert Ozimek , Poland, 475 kg and Joe Puleo , USA , 472.5 kg;
1968, 1st place , Danube Cup in Budapest , Ls, with 440.0 (130.0, 135.5, 175.0) kg;
1968, 4th place , EM in Leningrad , Ls, with 447.5 kg, behind Boris Selitski , USSR, 472.5 kg, Ozimek, 470 kg and Karl Arnold (weightlifter) , GDR, 465 kg;
1968, 6th place , OS in Mexico City , Ls, with 462.5 kg, behind Selitsky, 485 kg, Beljajew, 485 kg, Ozimek, 472.5 kg, Veres, 472.5 kg and Arnold, 467.5 kg.