Rodney Wilkes
Rodney Adolphus Wilkes (born March 11, 1925 in San Fernando ; † March 24, 2014 there ) was a Trinidadian weightlifter .
Career
Rodney Wilkes began lifting weights in 1942 and soon achieved good results nationally. His trainers were Lionel Seemungal and Freddy Mendes. In 1946 he represented Trinidad at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla , where he won the gold medal in the featherweight division with the then world class performance of 312.5 kg in the Olympic three-way fight. At the Olympic Games in 1948 and 1952 he won medals and in Melbourne in 1956 he again achieved an excellent fourth place in the featherweight division. His medal win in 1948 was the first of a Trinidad and Tobago athlete in an Olympic competition. He was unable to compete in any world championships between the Olympics, as they all took place in Europe and the Trinidad Weightlifting Association could not afford to send athletes to these events. In 1951 he won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Buenos Aires .
In 1960 Rodney Wilkes ended his active career and worked as an electrician in his birthplace. He died there on March 24, 2014.
International success
(OS = Olympic Games, Fe = featherweight, Le = lightweight)
- 1946, 1st place , Central America and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla , Fe, with 312.5 kg;
- 1948, silver medal , OS in London , Fe, with 317.5 kg, behind Mahmoud Fayad , Egypt , 327.5 kg and in front of Mohammad Jafar Salmasi , Iran , 312.5 kg;
- 1949, 1st place , West Indian Championships, Le, at 335 kg;
- 1951, 1st place , Pan American Games in Buenos Aires , Fe, with 325 kg, ahead of Greenawalt, USA , 300 kg and Charlot, Haiti , 285 kg;
- 1952, bronze medal , OS in Helsinki , Fe, with 322.5 kg, behind Rafael Tschimischkian , USSR , 337.5 kg and Nikolai Saksonow , USSR, 332.5 kg;
- 1956, 4th place , OS in Melbourne , Fe, with 330 kg, behind Isaac Berger , USA, 352.5 kg, Jewgeni Minajew , USSR, 342.5 kg and Marian Zielinski , Poland , 335 kg;
- 1958, 3rd place , British Empire and Commonwealth Games , Fe, with 305 kg behind Tan Ser Cher, Singapore , 310 kg and Chung, Malaya , 305 kg
National championships
Rodney Wilkes was a multiple champion of Trinidad in feather and lightweight. He achieved a performance of 300 kg in the championships of 1953 and 320 kg in the championships of 1956.
Web links
- Profile of Rodney Wilkes in the lift-up project at chidlovski.net (English)
- Rodney Wilkes in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Minister Roberts' saddened 'by Rodney Wilkes' passing . In: Trinidad Express . March 25, 2014.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilkes, Rodney |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilkes, Rodney Adolphus (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Weightlifter from Trinidad and Tobago |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 11, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | San Fernando |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 24, 2014 |
| Place of death | San Fernando |