Norbert (Norb) Schemansky

Norbert Schemansky

Weightlifter (1946 – 1972)

Norbert Schemansky was born in Detroit, Michigan and began lifting weight at age 15 with an older brother who was national junior champion. He took time away to serve in the U.S. Army Anti-aircraft artillery unit that defended many key installations including the city of London.  During his career, Schemansky won three world championships, nine national heavyweight championships and a collection of 300 titles enroute to 26 world records. He competed in four separate Olympiads, beginning with the 1948 London Olympics where he won a silver medal in the super heavyweight class.  In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics he won the gold medal in the middle-heavyweight class. He won bronze medals in both the 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the super heavyweight class. Admired internationally, in 1954 he was voted as the fifth greatest athlete in the world.  Norbert Schemansky was inducted into the National Weightlifting Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. He passed away on September 7, 2016 at 92 years of age.