Arthur Drechsler © 2024
The cover of Strength & Health magazine celebrated one of Norb’s comebacks on its cover
The USA’s weightlifting history has been characterized by extraordinary heroes, men and women whose fighting spirit and indomitable will have led them to glorious success in our beloved sport. However, it would be hard to find a better example of such spirit and will than in the person of Norbert Schemansky.
“Ski”, as he has come to be known throughout the world, was an imposing figure on the national and international scenes for a longer period than any other athlete in the history of world weightlifting. He was on top for so long that he challenged the conventions regarding longevity in the game and had some of his competitors thinking that for some unknown reason he might never grow older, or at least succumb to the effects of aging that others experienced.
The story of his incredible battles against the odds, can never be recounted in a way that would truly him justice, but we will do our best here (more complete coverage of Norb’s life can be found in the now rare book “Mr. Weightlifting”, by Richard Bak – written with Norb’s oversight).
Norbert Schemansky, the 6th of 8 children of Joseph and Josephine Schemansky, was born on May 30, 1924. His birth took place in Detroit, MI, where he lived for the first 35 years of his life (he then moved the neighboring Dearborn, where he lived until his passing on September 7th, 2016).
Norb’s Beginnings
As a child, he participated in the sports and games that others his age did, and did better than most in those sports and games, but little in his early athletic career suggested the success that he would ultimately achieve as an athlete.
The first real evidence of his special athletic prowess was a victory in the Shot Put at the Detroit All City Track & Field championships while he was a teen.
Norb’s brother Dennis (10 years Norb’s senior) had taken up the sport of weightlifting years earlier and he trained in a friend’s garage with several others. Dennis, who went on to win the US Jr. Nationals in 1940, invited Norb to tag along on his trips to the garage gym.
At first, Norb just watched, but at around the age of 13 or 14, he began to try his hand at lifting weights, after his brother and his friends had finished their workouts. After several months the young Schemansky began to lift weights that were greater than many of the older boys and he realized that he had some aptitude for the sport, as well as a growing love for it.
He remembers making a sort of clean and press/jerk with 135 lb. at a bodyweight of 170 lb. very early in his training in 1940, and by year end he was able to C&J 195. By the spring of 1941, he had moved his C&J up to 235.
Around the time Ski had reached the age of 16, he began to focus more intently on weightlifting. Unfortunately, at about the same time Norb’s interest in weightlifting was growing, Dennis decided to retire. The void left by Dennis’ departure was soon to be at least partially filled however.
Norb and his friends learned that a man named George Yacos had opened a gym in the area. Unlike many gym owners, Yacos welcomed weightlifters to his gym, even though the gym’s primary customers were bodybuilders and people training for fitness purposes.
While the weightlifters had a rather limited space in which to train, and there were distractions from other gym members, Yacos’s offered a good facility and something more. Yacos himself sponsored official AAU weightlifting and bodybuilding competitions, which challenged the athletes who trained with him to display their talents publicly.
Norb remembers these competitions with great fondness “George’s meets were true events, with professional entertainment added to the competition. As many as 400-500 people would attend, audiences we never saw again in the Detroit area once George stopped holding competitions.”
George must have been a very astute judge of character, as he said of Schemansky, when Ski was still quite young, “He thrives on adversity”. Just how prescient a remark that was, we shall soon see (Norb, with his dry wit, has said of that remark “I wish it could have been different” – suggesting that a little less adversity might have been nice).
Norb’s first competition was the 1941 Michigan AAU Championships. He placed second in the heavyweight (over 181. 75 lb. or 82.5 kg.) category, with lifts in the Press, Snatch and C&J of (all lifts in pounds) 170-200-250, respectively.
The third meet of his Ski’s life was the 1942 National Championships, where he placed 5th as a heavyweight, with lifts of 190-220-265=675. He had not quite reached the age of 17.
He had intended to lift at 82.5 kg. but was late for the weigh-in, so drank several quarts of water in order to get his bodyweight high enough to compete as a heavyweight. By November of the same year, Norb had improved his total to 765 and won his first weightlifting competition, the Michigan State championships.
In 1943, Norb’s training was put on hold when he joined the US Army to serve in WWII. He served a total of 31 months, being discharged in December of 1945, after being in the thick of the war effort for nearly 27 months as an anti-aircraft gunner in the European theater of the war.
His unit, the Mobile 184th Gun Battalion, supported a number of army units during the course of the war (e.g., the 1st Army, the 9th Army, the 12th Army). Ski’s Battalion had one of the most outstanding records of the war, bringing down more than 300 German “buzz” bombs and 32 planes, saving countless Allied lives in the process.
After returning home from the War, Norb began training again, gaining strength and bodyweight. By April of 1946, his bodyweight had increased to 203 ½ and he made a total of 815 lb.
In May, he won the Jr. Nationals, with lifts of 240-260-330=830. A month later, at the Nationals, he took 5th place with an 815 total. That placing marked a turning point for Norb, because over the next 20 years, he was not to fail to secure a medal at any Nationals in which he made an appearance.
The following year, Schemansky increased his lifts to 250-275-345 = 870 at the Nationals, where he took second place and earned a spot on the team that would represent the USA at the first World Championship ever to be held in the US, in Philadelphia.
At that World’s, he took second place to John Davis, with lifts of 259-286-363=909. His progress continued through 1948 where, at the Olympic Trials, he made lifts of 270-297-352=920, at a bodyweight of 201 ¾. That total was enough to earn Norb a spot on his first Olympic Team.
Later that year, he travelled to London and made his best performance to date at the 1948 Olympic Games: 270-292-374=936. He also attempted a World Record on an extra attempt, missing with 396 in the C&J. However, in making that attempt, he effectively announced to himself and the world that he was a force to be reckoned with and he made a profound commitment put his all into reaching the top of the weightlifting world.
Readers might be interested to learn that Dennis and Norb were not the only Schemanskys to make their marks on the weightlifting scene. Norb’s younger brother, Jerome, had begun to train after Norb did and he became the AAU Jr. National Champion in 1948.
Two years Norb’s junior, Jerome also had an excellent physique, one which enabled him to win the very first Mr. Michigan title at the astoundingly young age of 16 (after which, claiming to recruiters he was 18, he joined Marine and served in China for most of the war). He retired from weightlifting shortly after his Jr. National victory.
Unfortunately, it was about this time that George Yacos, who for some reason seemed to be resented by local AAU officials, was slowly pushed out of holding competitions and his weightlifters soon had to find another gym.
Clarence Johnson, who was to become President of the International Weightlifting Federation and have a career in weightlifting administration that lasted more than 60 years, was instrumental in finding the weightlifters space at the local YMCA for their training.
While not an improvement over the Yacos environment, the “Y” was to offer Norb and many of his associates a steady place to train from 1951 to 1955 (all told, Norb trained at 7 different gyms between 1947 and 1957).
The 1949 Nationals was a “good news/bad news” story for Ski. The bad news was that he injured his hand and wrist prior to the competition, so he was not in top condition and could total only 885. The good news was that he was able to win his first National Championship nonetheless.
During 1950, Norb improved his total considerably (to 960 at the Nationals). Unfortunately, that total that was only good enough for second place – to the great John Davis. But placing second was soon to become a thing of the past for Ski.
In recognition of his rising star in weightlifting and his excellent physique, Norb was featured on the cover of Strength & Health magazine for the first time in 1951 (May issue). That year was to be a big one for Ski as it was the first year in which the 198 ¼ category (90 kg.) was contested nationally and internationally.
Making that category involved only a small reduction in bodyweight for Norb and he easily won the 1951 Nationals with lifts of: 270-295-350=915. The snatch was a new World Record. Amazingly, Norb, who had not been satisfied with his performance in the C&J that day, decided to lift again the next day, and he was rewarded with a World Record in the C&J of 370 ¾.
At the World Championships, in Milan, Ski made lifts of: 275-292-374=942. The C&J and Total were new World Records in the 90kg. category and he became the first ever World Champion in that category.
Rather than resting on his laurels, Schemansky returned to domestic competition on fire. In November of 1951 his bodyweight had increased to 201 and did a 404 ½ C&J (in excess of the World Record), but was turned down for a knee touch (he was a split cleaner most of his career).
The next month, at a bodyweight of 207, he made lifts of 280-310-390. Then, on an extra attempt, he made what he thought was a 405 C&J. However, when it was weighed, it was only 400 ½, not enough to break the heavyweight World Record but heavy enough to establish Norb as the lightest man ever to C&J 400. He had been pursing the world record in the C&J for years now, wanting the honor of lifting the heaviest weight overhead ever in a weightlifting competition. Here, when it seemed he had finally been successful, lighter than listed weights kept the record out of his grasp.
In 1952, back at 90 kg., Ski won the Nationals easily and made his 2nd Olympic Team. At the Games, he was in top shape, making: 281-308-391 = 981. The Snatch, C&J and Total were all World Records, and he also made a 4th attempt World Record in the Snatch with 314. His C&J established him as the heaviest man ever to have C&J’d double his bodyweight.
After returning from the Games, there were no months of relaxation or light training for Ski. As he was still in hot pursuit of the ultimate World Record in the ultimate lift – the C&J.
This time he was not to be denied. On October 25th, 1952 he C&J’d the nominal weight of 405 – in excess of the World Record. When the barbell was officially weighed, it was 408. He had finally and officially lifted the greatest weight ever made in weightlifting competition.
By January of 1953, Ski did 310-310-380 for his first 1000 lb. total. He made the 380 C&J on his first attempt, missed 400 twice but then made a 4th attempt at 412 ½ – so he had another World Record to his credit. In addition, he handed John Davis his first defeat in a major competition since 1938.
While moving up to heavyweight might have seemed like the thing to do at this stage, factors external to weightlifting entered the picture. Norb was doing heavy physical work at the time (the Spring of 1953), in conditions of significant heat. That work caused him to lose bodyweight.
As if that wasn’t problematic enough, Norb, who had been fairly healthy for most of his career woke up one morning about 5 weeks before the Nationals to experience terrible sciatica. Despite his best efforts, the pain would simply not go away and he could not lift a weight until the Thursday before the competition.
Miraculously, on that day, the pain disappeared and a very deconditioned Norb Schemansky appeared at the Nationals of 1953. His relatively poor condition notwithstanding, he was able to win the National title and earn a spot on that year’s World Championship team.
He did not disappoint at the World’s, making lifts of 281-297-396. The actual weight of the C&J was 398 ¾, a new World Record. In February of 1954, Norb was on the cover of S&H again.
By April of that year, he had increased his official total to 1035 via lifts of: 315-320-400. At the Nationals, he improved even further to: 320-320-410=1050 and made a World Record C&J of 416 ½ on an extra attempt. He was also named the outstanding lifter of the competition.
In the Fall of that year, he continued his record-breaking spree, making lifts of: 325-325-418 in a competition in Copenhagen on October 4, 1954 (6 days before he would lift at the World Championships).
At the World’s, he did even better, making lifts of: 330-330-413. The Snatch and Total were World Records. As if that wasn’t enough, he astounded the audience by “continentaling” 440 (lifting the bar to the shoulders in 2 movements) and then jerking it. Another continental, this time with 451 was followed by a near miss in the jerk.
Although the 440 (200 kg) was lifted in a total of 3 movements, it marked the first time in weightlifting history that such a weight had been lifted under the scrutiny of international officials.
Four days later, Norb was challenged to lift the famous Appollon barbell. This barbell, which weighed approximately 365 lb., had a 1.93 inch diameter handle that was permanently and rigidly affixed to train wheels (the bar did not “turn’ within the wheels).
The legendary Charles Rigolout had lifted the bell overhead many years before, and John Davis a few years earlier (the latter with a reverse grip in the pull that was switched to a regular grip once the bar came to rest on John’s shoulders).
By the time Davis made his lift (after several misses) the barbell’s handle was bent. Schemansky lifted the bent apparatus easily the first time he tried it (with a conventional overhand grip) and then jerked it 3 times in succession.
No one had ever handled that awkward weight so easily. A scant 3 days later, Ski returned to more conventional lifting and made lifts of 330-303-424, the latter a World Record in the C&J. In the span of 13 days he had accomplished an unprecedented record-making spree that included a World Championship victory.
However, in November of 1954, the seemingly unstoppable Schemansky suffered a setback. In attempting to become the first man in world history to lift 450 pounds from the floor to arms length overhead (via a continental and jerk), he injured his thigh, so the record books were permitted to take a rest.
But they could not rest very long, as Schemansky exceeded the World Record in the snatch with a lift of 336 lb., while winning the Pan American Games in early 1955 (for technical reasons, the lift was not accepted by the IWF).
By the mid-1950’s, Bob Hoffman had given Ski his own set of weights and so Norb, who was no longer at the YMCA, carried out his training wherever he could find space (e.g., in several different garages and a Naval base).
Having such unstable training quarters was far from ideal, so Ski was delighted when in 1957 Jack Katchmer, a longtime friend of Norb’s, acquired the rights to use the basement of a hotel to launch the “Astro” Barbell Club.
Norb trained there from 1957, to the mid-1960’s. Katchmer, far from a wealthy man, used is military pension to pay the rent at Astro, and this act of kindness and support gave weightlifters in the Detroit area the best training facility that it has ever had.
The gym space was roughly 15X60 feet and included a locker room and showers. It was hardly fancy and didn’t have a “prime” location, but to the Astro lifters it was heavenly.
Across the years, many notable lifters were to train at that club with Norb, including multi-time National Champion and American record holder, Joe Puleo, National Champion Steve Mansour and Dr. Bob Suchyta.
The year 1955 started off well for Ski, when he won the Pan American Games. But disaster struck shortly thereafter. Norb began to have terrible pain in his back. By the time of the 1955 Nationals he was unable to compete. Soon he was unable to train at all, or even to walk normally.
He sought relief in a number of ways, but nothing seemed to help. Then, in 1956, by sheer luck, he ran into Dr. Russell Wright in the street one day. Wright was one of the pioneers of what was to emerge as the specialty of sports medicine.
Team doctor for the Detroit Lions and Red Wings, Wright was an Osteopath with unusual skill in a wide range of treatment modalities. He could tell that Norb was in trouble as soon as he saw him. Wright and Ski had their chance meeting on a Thursday and Wright suggested that Norb come to the Detroit Osteopathic Hospital for an evaluation on Saturday.
Norb was evaluated by Dr. Wright and his colleague, Dr. Paul Leonard. A severely bulging disc was the diagnosis and immediate surgery was recommended. That surgery took place the following Tuesday. At the time, Norb had no medical insurance, nor did he have the financial ability to pay for such an expensive procedure. Knowing this, Drs. Wright and Leonard, as well as the hospital, agreed to treat Schemansky free of charge.
The surgery was followed by bed rest of nine days (long bed rest was customary after such surgery at the time). When Norb tried to get out of bed after that period, he needed significant assistance.
Then considerable therapy was required before he could perform even simple activities of daily living effectively. But before long Norb was back in the gym to begin a very gradual process of rehabilitation. It should be remembered that the kind of surgery Norb had, which is no simple matter today, was in its infancy at the time and the outcome Norb had was considered to be a very positive one.
After several months of training with gradual increases in the weights being lifted, he was ready to return to competition. In March of 1957 he made lifts of 285-280-315=880 in his comeback debut.
By April of 1957, he had totaled 955, and by the Nationals he made lifts of 320-290-380 = 990, to win the newly added 225 lb. category at the Nationals. All of his lifts were National Records.
He went on to win the North American Championships in August of that year, with a total of 1000 lb. and seemed well on his way to a full recovery.
But at this point disaster struck again. While walking up a flight of stairs in the course of his job at Stroh’s brewery, he felt a sudden and severe recurrence of his back pain. He knew immediately that something was very wrong.
He contacted Dr. Wright, who again arranged for a consultation with himself and Dr. Leonard. They concluded that scar tissue from the first surgery had formed and was pressing on the other side his spine.
The doctors informed Schemansky that a second surgery was necessary, but risky (though at least it would be paid for by the excellent insurance Ski now had through his job). Norb’s physicians were pessimistic regarding Norb’s future athletic prospects, or even a full return to normal life.
But Norb had other ideas. He was determined to return to competition and his first step in that regard came shortly after he woke up from surgery. Hypothesizing that his long recovery from the his prior surgery had been partly driven by his extended post-surgery bed rest, Norb began to secretly exercise in bed, focusing on his legs. When the doctors permitted Norb to try to stand up several days later, they were astounded when he essentially got out of bed and walked. What came later was to astound them, and the weightlifting world, even more.
Experienced in rehabilitation from his last surgery, Norb methodically went about his return to training. He began with exercises such as the bench press, press from the rack, rowing and curls. Over time, he began to pull or deadlift by starting at the top and taking the bar from a rack, then lowering the bar to perform a partial deadlift or pull. As his training continued, he progressively lowered the bar closer and closer to the platform, until he was able to lift it from the floor.
During his rehabilitation, Norb perfected his version of the “new” style press (which was rapidly becoming the norm in weightlifting competition). The new press involved much more body action than the old style he had used. Because of the “layback” position involved in the new press, Norb added such exercises as bench presses to his program. This great emphasis on assistance exercises eventually led to a substantial gain in bodyweight.
Over a period of years, his typical pre-surgery bodyweight of 220 to 230 lb. began to increase to 240, then 355, then 265 and eventually between 270 and 275 lb.. This bodyweight increase came in the form of solid muscle that was to earn Ski a reputation for having one of the finest physiques ever in a superheavyweight lifter.
At a height of 5’ 11” and a bodyweight of approximately 270 lb. (with very low bodyfat), toward the end of his career Schemansky embodied what many considered to a physical ideal of functionally massive muscles. He even won the Best Built lifter at the YMCA Nationals in 1965. With these bigger muscles came unprecedented new strength.
The skill of Norb’s physicians and the wisdom of his rehabilitation was to be proven by the fact that he was never again to experience back problems of such a serious nature for the rest of his weightlifting career. His return to the competitive venue was to become one of the well-deserved legends of world weightlifting.
In March of 1958, he competed in his first competition after the second surgery. Although he had only worked up to about 250 in the clean in training, he made lifts of 300-260-320 in the competition.
From that point forward, he progressed cautiously and methodically. By April of 1959, he was doing lifts of 340-300-380=1020, at a bodyweight of 235.
His performance at the Nationals was not as good (980 total) but he still managed to place 3rd.
In March of 1960 he increased his total to 1035. He then took second at the Nationals to Jim Bradford, but his total of 1075 earned him a place on the Olympic Team nonetheless.
At the Olympics In Rome, he made lifts of: 374-330-396=1102, at a bodyweight of 247 ½, and won a bronze medal. He missed the 424 he needed for the silver medal (which was earned by Bradford) but still made a true milestone – his first personal record in the total after a heroic six-year struggle with injuries.
Norb’s competitive fires were fanned after his return from the Olympic Games and in January of 1961, he made a total 1105, with lifts of : 380-320-405. He also snatched 343 ½ for a World Record and snatched 348 ½ with a knee touch. The old master was back attacking the record books after giving them a rest for so many years!
In February, he attacked again, becoming the first man in history to snatch in excess of 350 lbs. with a lift of 351, for a World Record (a shoulder problem prevented him from performing in the press or C&J that day).
By June of 1961, there was a recurrence of some back trouble (although nothing like before) and Norb was forced to miss the Nationals. He gradually overcame the problem and had restored himself to top condition by April of 1962, when he made lifts of 390-360-410=1160 at the Michigan State Championships.
This marked a huge jump in his total and the snatch was another World Record (362) – at the age of 38! That lift earned him still another Strength & Health cover spot (September 1962 issue – a picture of which appeared at the beginning of this article).
Later that year, he won the Nationals with lifts of: 390-340-420+=1150. Then, in September, won the World Team Trials with an 1130 lb. total.
At the Worlds, he made lifts of 402-352-429. The press, C&J and Total were personal records and he had to practically power clean in the C&J because of leg cramps. That lifting very nearly won the championship in one of the legendary controversies of weightlifting history.
While the rules clearly forbid more than one attempt at the jerk after a lifter completes a clean, Yuri Vlasov, of the USSR, had what many felt was a clear false start in the jerk before then making the lift he needed to win. Despite an American protest, Vlasov’s lift stood and Schemansky was forced into second place.
The following year, Ski had at off day at the Nationals and was pushed into second place by the fast-rising Sid Henry.
However, Norb came back to take second at the World Championship, with a personal record C&J of 435. He was forced to squat clean after more than 20 years of splitting, because of recurring leg cramps that he was regularly experiencing when using the split style of cleaning. Imagine a lifter switching styles after so many years!
Returning from the Worlds, Norb was determined to re-establish his clear supremacy in the US and quickly set to work by making lifts of 400-355-445 at the Michigan State Teenage Championships.
It was the first 1200 lb. total ever to be made by a US heavyweight and the C&J exceeded the American Record. But Ski’s lifts were not recognized as records because he was competing in the Teenage competition, as an “extra” lifter.
At the 1964 Nationals, Norb made an 1160 total and at the Olympic Tryouts assured himself of a 4th Olympic Team position, returning to the split style of cleaning once again.
He was in the best shape of his life for the 1964 Olympic Games and had hopes if winning it all in Tokyo. In training prior the Games, Norb was keeping pace with the favorite Vlasov.
For instance, in the training hall, he pressed 402 for two reps, the same as Vlasov, during one heavy workout they both took. To put this in perspective, Norb’s best double in the press was 374 before he pressed 402 at the 1962 Worlds. So his prospects for the kind of big press he needed to stay competitive with Vlasov looked bright.
Unfortunately, the coaches of the US Team did not see many of Norb’s pre-Games workouts and when he told them he wished to start his presses with 402, they would not hear of it, insisting that 391 was the absolute maximum start they would permit (on the basis that 402 was Norb’s best official press).
A bitter argument ensued, and it was finally agreed that Norb could start with 396. However, the argument had gone on so long and distracted him so much that Ski’s warmups were affected. In the end, he was only able to make his opening attempt in the press with 396, and this pretty much assured that he would be out of the running for the Gold Medal.
Nevertheless, the Schemansky fire and focus could not be restrained for long. Norb roared back in the snatch with a 363 personal best and he then requested a 4th attempt with a World Record of 380.
Unfortunately for him, there was a wait of nearly 30 minutes before Norb could try the 380 and although he very nearly succeeded, the record was not to be his on that day.
It is interesting to speculate how many lifters today could snatch such a weight in the split style, without permitting the bar to touch any point on the body other than the shins (the rules at that time) and without a hook grip (which Norb generally considered unnecessary).
In the C&J, Norb began with 424 and made an easy success. With the bronze medal assured, he was allowed by the coaches to “open up”. At this point he requested a personal and American Record exceeding 451. He cleaned that weight twice rather easily but failed in the jerk both times.
This was unprecedented for Norb, who usually found jerks easy after cleaning a weight. The 3rd attempt was a repeat of the first. It was only after the lifting that Norb and his unofficial “competition coach”, Issac Berger (the 1964 silver medalist at 60 kg.), concluded that Norb’s misses in the jerk were caused by his deciding to use the hook grip in the clean, with an eye toward making the clean easier and better assuring a good jerk.
As was suggested earlier, Norb rarely used such a grip as his large hand size and terrific grip strength generally made it unnecessary. Switching from the hook in the clean to a non-hook in the jerk caused him to reposition the bar and this may have caused the problems with the jerk.
In the end, Norb secured his 4th Olympic medal, a bronze – not the color he was looking for but a landmark nonetheless. Up to that point in time, no athlete in Olympic history had won four medals in 4 separate Games.
Four years later, Al Oerter was to earn his 4th gold medal in a row, and Ronny Weller of Germany was to match Norb’s 4 medals in 4 Olympics accomplishment in weightlifting in 2000. But Norb was to draw “first blood” in this regard, establishing himself as one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Olympic Games, in any sport. When one considers that Norb’s 1956 medal hopes had been torn asunder by serious injury, the 4 medals he did win are even more impressive.
In addition, Norb’s 1964 medal win gave hope to aging athletes everywhere, as he was 40 years of age when he won his Bronze in Tokyo. Consequently, to a certain extent, it could be argued that Norb invented “Masters” lifting. Certainly he was its greatest exponent to date.
In 1965, Norb had what was to be his last victory at the Nationals, where he won the Best Lifter award as well. However, he was not able to attend the World Championships because of an injury he sustained to his right arm during a competition in Canada following the Nationals.
Gary Gubner represented the US and took second for the US with a total of 1201.5 lb. The World’s, were won by 1964 Olympic Champion Leonid Zhabotinsky, with at total of 552.5 kg. (1218 lb.), a total within Norb’s range at the time.
Injuries impeded Ski’s training in 1966, but he was still able to place 3rd at the Nationals. Continuing to be hampered by injuries, he was not able to place at the 1967 Nationals or secure a spot on the Pan American Team, but these setbacks merely provided inspirational dissatisfaction to Schemansky, who worked himself into top shape once again in December of 1967.
Lifting at an invitational competition in NY, he pressed a lifetime personal best 415, and snatched 345. In a freak accident, after cleaning 400 easily on his first attempt he hit his chin during the jerk. He managed to complete the lift, but decided not to continue in the competition, given that no major championship was at stake.
Norb was working himself into top shape for the 1968 Nationals and still another shot at the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, in the Spring of 1968, tragedy struck at a tune-up competition in Milwaukee, WI.
After pressing, 400, snatching 350 and making his opener in the C&J with 400, Ski jumped to 425 for a second attempt in the C&J. While cleaning the 425, Norb suffered a tear of his quadriceps tendon (doctors later speculated that the injury was contributed to by cortisone shots that Ski had previously received in that tendon).
By the time he was able to return to Michigan to confer with Dr. Wright, his leg was swollen to more than twice its normal size. Dr. Wright advised that surgery could not safely be performed with the leg in such a swollen state, but at the same time, delaying surgery would almost certainly assure the leg would never heal properly. That mishap spelled the end to Schemansky’s long and phenomenal competitive career.
Ski’s Approach to Training and How it Changed Across His Long Career
From the beginning of his career until the mid -1950’s, Norb’s training was almost exclusively comprised of the Olympic lifts (which of course included the press in that era).
Norb’s early training was generally conducted 3 times per week and lasted between 1 to 1.5 hours. Limitations on time (Norb worked a full-time job during almost all of his career) and equipment (he often had only a barbell at his disposal – no racks) led to very focused workouts. He generally worked up from 3 reps on his earliest sets to doubles or singles on the heaviest sets of the day, doing several sets with his heaviest weight.
By the mid-1950’s, and especially after Norb’s second back surgery, he placed a much greater emphasis on assistance exercises like squats, pulls and deadlifts (the latter being an exercise that Norb used to rehabilitate his lower back). He also increased his training to 4 days per week, with Saturday, his non-work day, being the heaviest training day of the week and a day devoted primarily to the three competitive lifts.
He performed pulls from many heights during his career and believes these lifts from varying heights were very beneficial. He maximized that benefit by holding the weight just above the boxes or racks he pulled from for a few seconds at the end of each set.
When it comes to technique, Ski feels that a good way to get ones groove back in the pull is to lower the bar from a hang position to or near the floor and then pull it up from there.
After his back surgery, Ski was always careful to maintain his back in an arched position when pulling, to protect that back. He felt this modification in his technique also improved his pulling power.
Over many years of experimentation, Norb found that maximum lifts in training were of no particular benefit to him. Generally, if he could perform a few singles or a couple of doubles with a given weight in good form, he could count on doing 10% more in competition.
He feels that working with 90% weights, particularly when heavier weights were handled in pulls and squats, is sufficient in terms of intensity to generate improvement. At the same time, such weights permit a focus on correct technique, which flat out attempts often do not.
He believed that pulling and squatting (with weights that are approximately 10% above what one wants to lift in competition) were very effective. In contrast, overloading on these assistance lifts (with weights far above ones C&J) is unnecessary and may even be detrimental.
He remembers the great Russian superheavyweight champion, Yuri Vlasov having the same philosophy. Moreover, he learned that eliminating assistance exercises such as pulls and bench presses about 8-10 days out from a major competition resulted in a nice “peak” (the great Polish champion Baszanowski followed a similar approach).
A typical Schemansky workout schedule during the 1960’s was as follows (all weights in pounds):
Monday: Snatch Pulls from the floor up to 400 for 3 reps (Norb was snatching about 10% less at the time). Snatch Pulls from a block with the same weights were done later in the workout. Clean Pulls were done in a similar fashion, working up to 525 from the floor and 550 from the racks. He would follow that with pressing for sets of 3 reps up to 325.
On Tuesday, he might press up to 300 for 3 reps, squat with 500 for reps and finish off with a quarter squat of between 700 and 800, and perhaps do a few press lockouts on the rack.
Thursdays he would power snatch up to 265 for 3 reps and power clean up to 360 for 2 reps. Saturdays were his heavy days on the competitive lifts.
It was these kinds of workouts that kept the Schemansky lifting machine in top shape for such a long period of time. He continued to train in a similar for many years thereafter, well after his retirement.
Career Outside of Weightlifting and Personal Notes
Before WW II, Norb worked at various skilled and unskilled jobs, including unloading boxcars in summer’s heat. Norb remembers it as a great way to keep his weight down to 90 kg.
Not long after his discharge from the service and up until the Olympics in 1952, Norb worked in several different factories. His employers were not supportive of his athletic ambitions.
For example, when he told his supervisor that he needed time off to attend the Olympic Games in Stockholm, he was told he could take all the time he wanted because if he went to the Olympics he would not have a job when he returned home. Upon hearing that expression of “understanding” from his employer, he decided it was time to move on to another employer.
By the mid-s 1950’s Norb landed a job at Stroh’s Brewery, which he kept for the five plus years of his comeback in lifting. When he asked Stroh’s about time off to travel to international competition, his immediate supervisor was of the same mind as his 1952 employer. But when a union rep approached the company’s owner, the owner simply said “pay him”.
In the mid-60’s Norb began to work at construction inspection, something he did for nearly next 30 years. The last 13 of those years he worked for the city of Dearborn, after which he retired.
Greatest Accomplishments and a Few Disappointments
When I asked Norb about his proudest accomplishments, he of course listed his Olympic Medals, particularly his gold medal, and his victory at the 1954 World Championships. Yet he reserves the top of his accomplishment list for his many world records, some recognized by the IWF, and others not recognized generally through errors in paperwork by US officials a the time).
In explaining his view of World Records Norb argues “You may win the Olympics or World Championships because you are the best lifter on that day. When you set a World Record, you have established that you are the best who has ever lived and truly the best in the world up to that point in time”. This was a view he shared with Bob Hoffman, who called World Records “The greatest achievement in sport”.
One of Schemansky’s greatest disappointments was the first world record that he thought he had set in the C&J in December of 1951, but which was not recognized. Another disappointment was not being able to attempt the weights he wanted to try at the aforementioned 1964 Olympics.
According to Norb, he came into the Games in the greatest shape of his career, knowing that the Tokyo Games might well be his last. Despite his excellent results in training, he was not permitted to attempt the weights he felt he could have permitted him to vie for the Gold medal at age 40. The result was a personal tragedy for Norb and a “what if” that was to bother him, and haunt weightlifting history forever.
Advice for Today’s Lifters
Ski’s advice to the lifters of today was to focus on quality rather than quantity in their training. He believed that many lifters of today over train and do not focus on achieving quality during their workouts.
He also suggested that athletes analyze their own lifting via films and videos because only by seeing yourself can you fully understand the errors you are making and the opportunities for improvement that exist.
He stresses that training must be adapted to the individual and that this is best done through careful experimentation, a process that should continue throughout a lifter’s career.
Ski always believed in working hardest on his weakest lift in training. For instance, when he realized his press was holding him back in the late 1950’s, he decided to devote a greater share of his training time and energy to that lift. In trying to improve his press, Norb would perform something, in the same workout, the bench press, clean and press and press from the rack. Over time, his press improved dramatically. He believes this kind of targeted approach will work for any lift or weak point.
Finally, while coaches can be invaluable, athletes need to take responsibility for their own careers and be proactive in the effort to improve their training methods and technical proficiency.
Things That Inspired Even Ski
While Ski has been an inspiration to countless others, he too was inspired by others. In addition to his older brother Dennis, Ski was inspired by several lifters who were performing at their highest levels when he was emerging as a young lifter. He closely followed the performances of Steve Stanko, John Davis and Louis Abele, who were having heated battles in the heavyweight division at that time.
Norb remembered that he carefully scrutinized reports of the progress of these lifters in Strength & Health Magazine, which he and so many lifters of that era relied upon for their information and inspiration. However, since the magazine was often reporting on events that were 3-4 months old, you could be easily misled into developing the impression that you were closing in on your rivals.
For instance, you might make a big new personal record in a lift only to learn, several months later, that by the time you had lifted X your hero had improved to Y, leaving you in the same relative position as before, despite your progress.
Ski also remembered the “Monarch of Muscledom”, John Grimek, with great fondness. Grimek, a National Weightlifting Champion and an Olympian in 1936, went on to become a legend in the bodybuilding world and a fixture on the editorial staff of the publications that York Barbell produced (Strength & Health and Muscular Development).
John was the only man ever to win the Mr. America competition two times (after his second victory, officials decided to limit the title to one year because some felt Grimek would “win forever”).
Grimek was never defeated in national or international bodybuilding competition. John always had words of encouragement for Ski and his humor and energy made Ski’s visits to York all the more pleasant and memorable.
Norb also has fond memories of his many teammates over the years, in particular the winning US Olympic Teams of 1948 and 1952. Virtually every athlete on these teams was a first or second generation American. Consequently, Ski characterized the teams as international teams representing one nation. He cannot recall a single argument that transpired between these team members, who supported each other loyally throughout the entire Games.
Norb always remembered Bob Hoffman for the moral and financial support he provided to Norb and so many other lifters in need over the years. However, he credited his wife Bernice for her continued support across his entire career in weightlifting and outside of it. Norb simply said “Without her, I couldn’t have done it.”
Sometimes, even negative input can become ones source of inspiration, especially if you are Norbert Schemansky. For example, shortly after his second back surgery, Norb consulted with Bob Hoffman, the dean of US weightlifting administrators and coach the US’s successful international teams of that era. Ski asked Bob to frankly evaluate Norb’s prospects of a return to international competition after two back surgeries.
Bob, while wanting to encourage Norb, heeded the request for frankness. He told Norb that he faced several major obstacles. First, he had weathered two very serious and somewhat experimental back surgeries, the long term results of which even the physicians were uncertain about.
Second, he was not getting any younger. He was 33 when he consulted with Bob and therefore was already one of the older lifters on the scene at that time (Masters competition did not yet exist). Bob considered a successful comeback at such an age highly unlikely.
Third, Norb had never been a good presser. When he won his last World Championship in 1954, he pressed 150 kg. By 1957, the world record was a full 35 kg. higher than that. How, Bob wondered, could Norb ever hope to make up such a deficit.
Finally, at Norb’s peak in 1954, he only weighed between 100 to 105 kg. In the years since, the era of the mammoth superheavyweight had emerged in the persons of such lifters as Doug Hepburn, Paul Anderson and Humberto Selvetti, all of whom outweighed Schemansky by 50 to 100 pounds. The age of the modest-sized heavyweight was gone forever Bob informed Norb – so how could he hope to compete?
While many would have been despondent after hearing such as litany of obstacles, Hoffman’s words instead served to fan the flames of Ski’s burning desire to return to top level international competition. And the dreams he crafted in the dark hours of 1957 were to provide the foundation for one of the greatest comebacks in sports history – and an inspiration to thousands, if not millions, inside and outside of lifting.
Closing Thoughts on An Amazing Athletic Career
Measured solely his official accomplishments on the platform and nothing else, the legacy of Norb Schemansky is one of the greatest competitive records in the history of the Iron Game. But it was the barriers he broke, his triumphs over adversity and his legendary battle with father time that will secure Norb’s position in weightlifting and sports history for all time.
Norb’s phenomenal career, though not appreciated as much as it should have been, has brought him a certain amount of recognition. He has been inducted in the Polish American Hall of Fame, The Michigan Hall of Fame and the USA (formerly Helms) Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Sadly, he has yet to be inducted into the USOC Hall of Fame, but that is a form of recognition that he richly deserves and my hope is that USA Weightlifting will continue to work on this with the USOC.
The City of Dearborn has also honored Norb by naming a local park after him. That park displays two bronze plaques in Norb’s honor. One names the park and the other recounts a sampling of his many accomplishments.
Let us hope that some of the young people who visit that park take time to read the plaques and to recognize that once living in their midst was one of the greatest athletes in the history of weightlifting and the Olympic Games.
He was a man of indominable spirit – always in pursuit of the lofty ideals of amateur sport – sport for the love if it. Ski’s accomplishments should inspire an inestimable number of young men and women forever more. Surely, no one has ever given his heart to our great sport more fully over more years than the legend of weightlifting – Norbert Schemansky.
Had Norb been in another sport and achieved what he did in weightlifting, he would likely have become a wealthy man. But careful saving and investing, and living the simple lifestyle that he had had throughout his life, his savings afforded him comfort in his well-earned retirement, until his passing in 2016, at the age of 92.
It has often been said that glory is fleeting. But when it comes to Norbert Schemansy I must raise an objection. Glory may be fleeting in many respects and under most circumstances. But in special cases glory should and does endure – if in a form that changes over time. And the case of the fantastic “Ski” is a very special one indeed.
We hope that the stories of his exploits live on as long as they should – which is for as long as humankind will be inspired by the story of a man who never gave up – that is, forever!