Joseph Di Pietro

Joseph Di Pietro medal table
Weightlifter
United States
Olympic games
gold	1948 London	Bantam
World Championship
gold	1947 Philadelphia	Bantam
bronze	1949 Scheveningen	Bantam
Pan American Games
gold	1951 Buenos Aires	Bantam

Joseph Nicholas "Joe" Di Pietro (born June 10, 1914 in Paterson, New Jersey , † March 19, 1999 in Fair Lawn, New Jersey ) was an American weightlifter .

Career

Di Pietro was descended from Italian immigrants and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey . He was over 20 years old when he started lifting weights and when he first started at the US Championships in 1942, he wasn't a member of a club. He had excellent physical conditions for this sport: he was small and light, but very strong. Joe's arms were so short that he had to grab the dumbbell when pulling with both arms, where it is usually very wide, as when pushing with both arms to bring it over his head. His strength was the two-armed pushing, in which he also set world records.

successes

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, Ba = bantamweight, Fe = featherweight)

• 1947, 1st place , World Championships in Philadelphia , Ba, with 300 kg, in front of Richard Tom , USA , 287.5 kg and Rosario Smith, Canada , 277.5 kg;
• 1948, Olympic Champion , OS in London , Ba, with 307.5 kg, ahead of Julian Creus , Great Britain , 297.5 kg and Tom, 295 kg;
• 1949, 3rd place , World Championships in Scheveningen , Ba, with 295 kg, behind Mahmoud Namdjou , Iran , 312.5 kg and Kemal Mahgoub, Egypt , 295 kg;
• 1951, 1st place , PanAm Games, in Buenos Aires , Ba, with 282.5 kg, in front of Rodriguez, Cuba , 262.5 kg and Salas, Mexico , 257.5 kg.

USA championships

Joe Di Pietro won the championship in the following years: 1942 with 257.5 kg, 1943 with 265 kg, 1945 with 280 kg, 1946 with 290 kg, 1947 with 280 kg, 1948 with 307.5 kg, 1949 with 282.5 kg , 1950 with 287.5 kg and 1951 with 290 kg.

World records

when pressing with both arms:

• 102.5 kg, 1947 in Philadelphia, Ba,
• 105 kg, 1948 in London, Ba,
• 106.5 kg, 1948 in Philadelphia, Fe

in the Olympic three-way battle:

• 300 kg, 1947 in Philadelphia, Ba,
• 312.5 kg, 1948 in Philadelphia, Ba

Web links

• Joseph Di Pietro Top Lifters of the 20th Century
• Joseph Di Pietro in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )