Isaac Berger

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Isaac Berger (left) at the 1964 Olympic Games

Isaac Berger (born November 16, 1936 in Jerusalem ) is a retired American weightlifter .

Career

Isaac Berger grew up in Palestine and emigrated with his parents, his father was a rabbi , to the United States after the Israeli War of Independence in 1949. The family settled in New York . After a few attempts in other sports, the youngster, who weighed only 50 kg, discovered bodybuilding and weightlifting . He joined the Adonis Health Club in Brooklyn and later the famous York Barbell Club. In 1955 he won the first American featherweight championship . Supported by Bob Hoffman , the multi-million dollar American weightlifting mentor at the time, he made such rapid progress in a short time that he could soon be used internationally and won the gold medal at his first international start at the 1956 Summer Olympics . A year later he took part in the 5th Maccabiade .

In 1964 he ended his active career after many successes. He became a cantor at the College of Music in New York. In 1965, Isaac Berger was inducted into the United States Weightlifters Hall of Fame . In 1980 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame .

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championships, Fe = featherweight)

  • 1956, gold medal , OS in Melbourne , Fe, with 352.5 kg, ahead of Yevgeni Minajew , USSR , 342.5 kg and Marian Zieliński , Poland , 335 kg
  • 1957, 3rd place, World Championships in Tehran , Fe, with 350 kg, behind Minajew, 362.5 kg and Sebastiano Mannironi , Italy , 352.5 kg
  • 1958, 1st place, World Championships in Stockholm , Fe, with 372.5 kg, ahead of Minajew, 362.5 kg and Mannironi, 342.5 kg
  • 1959, 2nd place, World Championship in Warsaw , with 362.5 kg, behind Zieliński, 365 kg and in front of Mannironi, 350 kg
  • 1960, silver medal, OS in Rome , Fe, with 362.5 kg, behind Minajew, 372.5 kg and in front of Mannironi, 352.5 kg
  • 1961, 1st place, World Championships in Vienna , Fe, with 367.5 kg, ahead of Minajew, 357.5 kg and Mannironi, 357.5 kg
  • 1963, 1st place, PanAm Games, Fe, with 362.5 kg, ahead of Serrano, Puerto Rico , 335 kg and Lee, Panama , 327.5 kg
  • 1963, 2nd place, World Championships in Warsaw , Fe, with 367.5 kg, behind Yoshinobu Miyake , Japan , 375 kg and in front of Imre Földi , Hungary , 365 kg
  • 1964, silver medal, OS in Tokyo , Fe, with 382.5 kg, behind Yoshinobu Miyake, 397.5 kg and in front of Mieczysław Nowak , Poland , 377.5 kg

USA championships

  • 1955, 1st place, Fe, with 320 kg
  • 1956, 1st place, Fe, with 327.5 kg, ahead of Chaves, 307.5 kg
  • 1957, 1st place, Fe, with 345 kg, ahead of Alvarez, 290 kg
  • 1958, 1st place, Fe, with 362.5 kg
  • 1959, 1st place, Fe, with 335 kg, ahead of Imahara, 317.5 kg
  • 1960, 1st place, Fe, with 367.5 kg
  • 1961, 1st place, Fe, with 360 kg
  • 1964, 1st place, Fe, with 362.5 kg, ahead of Imahara, 340 kg

World records

(all scored at featherweight)

When pressing with both arms:

In two-armed thrusting:

  • 145 kg, 1958 in New York
  • 147.5 kg, 1959 in Moscow
  • 148.5 kg, 1961 in Tel Aviv
  • 152.5 kg, 1964 in Tokyo

In the Olympic three-way battle:

  • 362.5 kg, 1958 in Chicago
  • 372.5 kg, 1958 in Stockholm

Web links

Commons : Isaac Berger  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ profile in the IJshof
personal data
SURNAME Berger, Isaac
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American weightlifter
DATE OF BIRTH November 16, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Jerusalem