By Thom Van Vleck
David Rigert, one of the top lifters of the 70s.
I grew up in a weight lifting family. My Uncles were state champs and my Uncle Wayne won the Teenage Nationals in Olympic style weightlifting. By the time I started lifting regularly it was 1977.
The 60’s were a great time to be a fan of USA weightlifting. With stars like Tommy Kono, Bob Bednarski, Joe Dube, and Norb Schemansky. Just to name a few. Then came the 70’s.
The 70’s were a tough time to be a fan of USA Weightlifting. Sure, there were a few bright spots. Ken Patera placing 2nd at the 1970 world’s. Lee James winning a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics. But other than that USA Weightlifters weren’t even in the same zip code as the top lifters. I know because I perused every weightlifting magazine of the era over and over. We didn’t have any other source of news and these magazines would get read over and over. It was depressing.
Lessor known but perhaps the thickest and strongest looking Olympic lifter of all time was Sultan Rakhmanov. He was the world champ in 1979 and the Olympic champ in 1980.
There hasn’t been much to brag about since then. Except 1984. Which didn’t really count because the Eastern Bloc of communist countries boycotted the Olympics that year. I came up with a list of reasons for the fall of the USA in weightlifting.
First, money. Many lifters in the Eastern Bloc made money lifting. USA lifters were true amateurs with the exception of the lifters working for York Barbell. But they really did work and I’m sure the pay wasn’t great. Eastern Bloc lifters were officers in the military for the most part and could make handsome bonuses and perks by winning. There was no money in weightlifting in the USA.
Second, the rise of team sports. In 1969 Nolan Ryan, the great baseball pitcher, I think made $15,000. By 1980 he was making a million dollars a year! That’s where the talent went. Weightlifting was getting the leftover talent. I’m sure Norbert Schemansky would have made top money playing football but didn’t because there was no money in it when he was at the top!
Third, the rise or powerlifting. My Uncle Phil hated powerlifting. He called powerlifters “Olympic Lifting Rejects”. For this reason I initially focused only on Olympic lifting. But increasingly as the USA dominated powerlifting I transitioned to powerlifting exclusively in the early 80s. Much to the chagrin of Uncle Phil!
The greatest lifter of the 70s and perhaps all time: Vasily Alexeev.
As a result I idolized Communist lifters in the 70s. I was a big fan of David Rigert and Vassily Alexeev. Then Sultan Rakhmanov and Anatoly Pisarenko in the early 80s. It was tough being an American rooting for Russians and the height of the Cold War! I felt like a traitor and I think that is also what led me to powerlifting.
So it was tough being an Olympic lifting fan in the 70s. I would add that I lifted in my first “odd lift” (what became the USAWA) meet in 1979. I still catch myself pulling up old videos of lifters from the 70’s. It was an amazing time….if you were from the Eastern Bloc!
