ike berger rip

[funk51]

 

    Weightlifter Isaac “Ike” Berger, Winner Of 3 Olympic Medals, Dies At 85
American weightlifting has lost one of its greats.
Written by Jake DicksonLast updated on June 7th, 2022
The sport of weightlifting in America has suffered a tremendous blow. On Jun. 7, 2022, USA Weightlifting (USAW) published a press release revealing that retired weightlifter and Olympian Isaac “Ike” Berger has passed away. USAW didn’t specify Berger’s cause and date of death, but said he was formally laid to rest on the 7th of June.

Berger was a mainstay athlete in American weightlifting during the mid-20th century. As one of the country’s top lightweight athletes, he competed on behalf of the United States across no fewer than six different World Weightlifting Championships, as well as medaling in three different Olympic Games.




[Related: Louie Simmons’ Greatest Achievements and Contributions to Strength Sports]

Per USAW’s press release, Berger is survived by one sister, two brothers, as well as 13 nieces and nephews. According to the book, Jewish Sports Legends: The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Berger was also an ordained Cantor.

Isaac “Ike” Berger’s Weightlifting Career
Born to a rabbi in Jerusalem, Israel in 1936, Berger immigrated to the United States during his teenage years before formally becoming a naturalized citizen in 1955. Shortly thereafter, he rapidly became one of the country’s most successful lightweight athletes.

Standing at just 5’2″, Berger competed as a 60-kilogram athlete. During his tenure in the States, he won multiple international medals:

Pan-American Games: Gold (1959, 1963)
World Weightlifting Championships: Gold (1958, 1961), Silver (1959, 1963, 1964), Bronze (1957)
Olympic Games: Gold (1956), Silver (1960, 1964)


In addition to his medal-winning career for the United States that spanned nearly an entire decade, Berger also racked up several tremendous feats of strength of his own. USAW’s release mentioned that Berger was the first athlete to set a World Record in Israel when he strict pressed 117 kilograms, or 257.9 pounds, at the 1957 Maccabiah Games.

Further, he was the first American lightweight to press double his own body’s weight, and Berger was also the first to Total 360 kilograms (793.6 pounds) or more.

The Loss of a Legend
Berger broke down cultural barriers for the Jewish community through his athletic pursuits and added more than his share of international medals to the United States’ Olympic resume.

BarBend will update this article with more specifics regarding Berger’s passing if and when that information is made public.

Editor’s Note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. The two organizations maintain editorial independence unless otherwise noted on specific content projects.

Featured Image: @usa_weightlifting on Instagram

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[funk51]

  Isaac Berger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Isaac Berger
Yoshinobu Miyake and Isaac Berger 1964.jpg
Berger (right) and Yoshinobu Miyake at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Born   November 16, 1936
Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine[1]
Died   June 7, 2022 (aged 85)
Height   157 cm (5 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight   59–60 kg (130–132 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport   Weightlifting
Club   York Barbell Club
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place   1956 Melbourne   -60 kg
Silver medal – second place   1960 Rome   -60 kg
Silver medal – second place   1964 Tokyo   -60 kg
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place   1957 Teheran   -60 kg
Gold medal – first place   1958 Stockholm   -60 kg
Silver medal – second place   1959 Warsaw   -60 kg
Gold medal – first place   1961 Vienna   -60 kg
Silver medal – second place   1963 Stockholm   -60 kg
Silver medal – second place   1964 Tokyo   -60 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place   1959 Chicago   -60 kg
Gold medal – first place   1963 Săo Paulo   -60 kg
Isaac "Ike" Berger (November 16, 1936 – June 7, 2022)[2] was an American weightlifter, who competed for the United States at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won one gold and two silver medals. He held eight world records (four official and four unofficial), and won the United States national title eight times.[1][3]

Berger was born to a rabbi in Jerusalem.[4] He immigrated to the United States when he was in his teens,[5] and became a naturalized American citizen in December 1955.[1]

Berger was the first featherweight in history to lift more than 800 pounds (360 kg), and the first to press double his body weight.[6] He twice won the world championships and the Pan American Games.[5] In his gold medal performance at the 1957 Maccabiah Games, Berger was the first (and only one until 1998) athlete to set a world record on Israeli land in any sport. He pressed 117 kilograms (258 lb).[6]

Berger was named to the United States Weightlifters Hall of Fame in 1965,[6] and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.[4]

See also
List of select Jewish weightlifters
References
 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ike Berger". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
 Legendary Weightlifter Isaac ‘Ike’ Berger Has Passed Away At 85
 Isaac Berger. chidlovski.net
 "Isaac "Ike" Berger". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
 "Berger, Isaac: Weightlifting". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
 "Berger, Isaac 'Ike'". Jews in Sports. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
External links
 Media related to Isaac Berger at Wikimedia Commons

Isaac Berger at Lift Up
Isaac Berger at the International Olympic Committee
Isaac Berger at Olympics.com

[Gym-Rat]

"Suffered a tremendous blow"

Really??  Is death at 85 shocking??  More like "succumbed expectedly at 85". 

[wes]

Great lifter.

RIP

[Cook]

R.I.P. I trained at a gym that was almost all competitive powerlifters the Metro Athletic Club and we had one guy who did Olympic lifting.He would enter a meet and sometimes he was the only one in his weight class.Power meets back then would have 300 lifters sometimes. One time he talked me into training with him and it was not pretty.Those Olympic lifts especially the Snatch take some real athletic ability.Anyway Rest In Peace Mr.Berger

[IroNat]

Berger had a great build.

RIP.

[epic is back]

rip

jesus

[funk51]

   

   Jesus is still alive Matty is the one who died.

[funk51]

   Olympian Dr. James George
Dentist Dr. James George with Olympic Medals
Dr. James George is an Olympian who competed and medaled in weightlifting during the 1956 Olympics in Australia and the 1960 Olympics in Rome.  The following is an article written by Kathleen Folkerth about Dr. George's Olympic experience. It was published in the West Side Leader on August 1, 2013:

Dentist Dr. James George is marking 50 years in his chosen profession this week, and he's still putting in 40-hour work weeks at the age of 78.

The Akron native credits his immigrant parents with instill­ing the value of hard work, an ethic he said helped him earn two Olympic medals in his youth in weightlifting.

George got a bronze medal in the sport in the 1956 Olym­pics in Australia and followed that four years later at the 1960 Rome Olympics with a silver medal. "It was absolutely a thrilling experience -just the chance to travel to Australia from Akron," he said. "I am living part of the American Dream."

George said he grew up in East Akron. His parents were both of Bulgarian descent and immigrated to the United States from Macedonia as teens. "They became naturalized citizens and taught themselves to read and write English," he said. "It starts there. They instilled very much of a work ethic. That work is a value unto itself, not for what it accomplishes, but what you get out of it." He added.
He began lifting weights after his brother started going to a weightlifting club started by two brothers in their neighborhood. "I was born in the middle of the Depression, in 1935," he said. "There weren't too many things you could do other than what was free. I started at 9 years of age, and by the time I was 16 I was a state champion in the AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] open division. I found I really enjoyed lifting weights."

George lifted competitively at East High School and then in college and as a graduate student at The Ohio State Uni­versity, Kent State University and the University of Hawaii. He said his Olympic expe­rience is something that has stayed with him.

His wife of 42 years, Gerri, had his medals framed, and they hang in their home today, he said. "I still think about it quite a bit," he said, adding he also earned five world champion­ship titles. At one point, he said he held the world record of almost 400 pounds for the clean and jerk lift, in which the weights are lifted from the ground to the shoulders and over the head. He also enjoyed the friend­ships he made through the sport. "This was the era when the U.S. and U.S.S.R. dominated weightlifting competition, but interestingly enough, there was also friendship," he said. "This was the height of the Cold War, but we competed against the same individuals."

In August of 1963, George completed his dentistry train­ing and began practicing -50 years ago this week, he noted. Once he took on his pro­fessional duties, he turned his ambition to his practice, he said.

"I was fortunate in as much as going from the thrilling aspects of being a weightlift­er to going into a profession that gave me a great sense of accomplishment," he said.

Today, his practice has three locations and he works with his son-in-law, Dr. Mark Grucella, who will take over the practice eventually.

George still works out, but the heavy weights of his youth have been replaced by lighter ones. He also does squats, bench presses and sit-ups and rides a stationary bicycle. In addition, he said he keeps his mind sharp by continuing to maintain a 40-hour work week, filled with administrative duties and seeing patients, though he does plan to wind down in the coming years.   THE LAST OF A DYING BREED. LAST AMERICAN WEIGHTLIFTER LEFT FROM 1956 OLYMPICS.    https://www.akronbestdentist.com/olympian-dr-james-george

[funk51]

   Olympian Dr. James George
Dentist Dr. James George with Olympic Medals
Dr. James George is an Olympian who competed and medaled in weightlifting during the 1956 Olympics in Australia and the 1960 Olympics in Rome.  The following is an article written by Kathleen Folkerth about Dr. George's Olympic experience. It was published in the West Side Leader on August 1, 2013:

Dentist Dr. James George is marking 50 years in his chosen profession this week, and he's still putting in 40-hour work weeks at the age of 78.

The Akron native credits his immigrant parents with instill­ing the value of hard work, an ethic he said helped him earn two Olympic medals in his youth in weightlifting.

George got a bronze medal in the sport in the 1956 Olym­pics in Australia and followed that four years later at the 1960 Rome Olympics with a silver medal. "It was absolutely a thrilling experience -just the chance to travel to Australia from Akron," he said. "I am living part of the American Dream."

George said he grew up in East Akron. His parents were both of Bulgarian descent and immigrated to the United States from Macedonia as teens. "They became naturalized citizens and taught themselves to read and write English," he said. "It starts there. They instilled very much of a work ethic. That work is a value unto itself, not for what it accomplishes, but what you get out of it." He added.
He began lifting weights after his brother started going to a weightlifting club started by two brothers in their neighborhood. "I was born in the middle of the Depression, in 1935," he said. "There weren't too many things you could do other than what was free. I started at 9 years of age, and by the time I was 16 I was a state champion in the AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] open division. I found I really enjoyed lifting weights."

George lifted competitively at East High School and then in college and as a graduate student at The Ohio State Uni­versity, Kent State University and the University of Hawaii. He said his Olympic expe­rience is something that has stayed with him.

His wife of 42 years, Gerri, had his medals framed, and they hang in their home today, he said. "I still think about it quite a bit," he said, adding he also earned five world champion­ship titles. At one point, he said he held the world record of almost 400 pounds for the clean and jerk lift, in which the weights are lifted from the ground to the shoulders and over the head. He also enjoyed the friend­ships he made through the sport. "This was the era when the U.S. and U.S.S.R. dominated weightlifting competition, but interestingly enough, there was also friendship," he said. "This was the height of the Cold War, but we competed against the same individuals."

In August of 1963, George completed his dentistry train­ing and began practicing -50 years ago this week, he noted. Once he took on his pro­fessional duties, he turned his ambition to his practice, he said.

"I was fortunate in as much as going from the thrilling aspects of being a weightlift­er to going into a profession that gave me a great sense of accomplishment," he said.

Today, his practice has three locations and he works with his son-in-law, Dr. Mark Grucella, who will take over the practice eventually.

George still works out, but the heavy weights of his youth have been replaced by lighter ones. He also does squats, bench presses and sit-ups and rides a stationary bicycle. In addition, he said he keeps his mind sharp by continuing to maintain a 40-hour work week, filled with administrative duties and seeing patients, though he does plan to wind down in the coming years.   THE LAST OF A DYING BREED. LAST AMERICAN WEIGHTLIFTER LEFT FROM 1956 OLYMPICS.    https://www.akronbestdentist.com/olympian-dr-james-george

   

[jude2]

RIP brother of iron.

[Fortress]

Hail

[BB]

What happens to his power shaper ?

.

Here at 45 sec in, setting records -

.

[Stephano]

What happens to his power shaper ?

.

As somebody who travels a lot, this thing unironically looks great.   

[oldgolds]

Friend of mine said he say Berger pick up 3 car batteries and hold them on his chest with the middle battery only being supported by being pinched by the 2 outer batteries....This is a 145 lb. guy...try it sometime...