Anthony Terlazzo won more Senior Nationals than any other athlete is USA Weightlifting History – 13. He was also the very first American to win a World Championship (in 1937) and he was the first American to win an Olympics with the then official three lifts, in 1936.
The Struggle To Establish The Sport Of Weightlifting In The US
It is hard to appreciate magnitude of the difficulties which must be overcome in establishing a national governing body in any sport. The road for weightlifting’s pioneers was especially difficult. Although weightlifting had been practiced in America at least as far back as the mid 1800’s, the activity was extremely disorganized.
During the latter half of the 1800s, there were few established local governing bodies, no accepted set of lifts, no means of verifying performances and no widely accepted and regularly held competitions. While U.S. athletes did have some early success in the weightlifting events at the Olympic Games, weightlifting continued in its disorganized state through the turn of the century (although information about the event is somewhat spotty, Oscar Paul Ostoff of the U. S. (shown below) won the one hand snatch competition at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis and was recognized is the winner of that event.
According to some reports, Fred Winters, also of the U.S, won the overall event, although he did not win any of the individual events. But it unclear whether there was in fact and overall winner.
At that time, America was inhabited by countless professional “strongmen”, many of whom claimed to be the “strongest man in the world”, or at least the country. Some of these men roamed the countryside with circuses and various other kinds of traveling shows, others settled in a particular area, staking it out as their domain.
Since it was possible to make a living on the basis of strength claims, many of these men were not anxious to put themselves in a position of being seriously challenged. Each strongman had his own equipment and many created their own unique strength feats. Because they perfected and practiced their special feats, these strongmen developed strength very specific to those feats and became uniquely knowledgeable with regard to the best techniques for their performance. It was therefore quite difficult for even the strongest of challengers to duplicate the accomplishments of these performers. Moreover, some of the equipment these strongmen used was “rigged” to assure audience members could not duplicate the strongman’s feats of strength when they were asked to try. These advantages permitted the strongmen to make wildly exaggerated strength claims.
When a number of leaders in the iron game proposed that equipment and events be standardized so that competitions could take place, there was both a great deal of acceptance and a great deal of resistance in the strength community. Legitimate strongmen welcomed the opportunity to prove their abilities versus those who made unsubstantiated claims. Those who benefited from the unstructured system dreaded the prospect of being objectively measured for the first time.
While many men worked to create an American organization that would come to govern weightlifting, a handful stand out as being the true forces behind weightlifting as we know it today.
In 1911, Alan Calvert, founder of the Milo Barbell Company and a magazine called “Strength”, began calling for an American organization that would certify officials, judge technique and require the use of accurate scales and equipment.
In 1922, two English émigrés, George Jowett and Bernard Bernard, formed the American Continental Weightlifter’s Association (ACWLA). The rules of the association were based on those of the existing British Amateur Weightlifter’s Association (BAWLA) of which Bernard had been president.
The following year, Bernard severed relationships with the ACWLA and its mantle of leadership fell to Jowett, who, with considerable help from Ottley Coulter and David Willoughby, struggled to foster the growth of a national governing organization for weightlifting (these two men had been working with Jowett for a number of years).
Hampered by a lack of financial resources, the ACWLA floundered. Only Willoughby was actually holding competitions regularly and these competitions involved only a handful of lifters. However, they were characterized by a strict application of the rules of the ACWLA and were run under the auspices of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the then dominant multi-sport governing body in the US.
In 1924, Willoughby organized a “national” weightlifting championships in Los Angeles. Although the turnout was essentially local, it did create a great deal of focus nationally on such championships. However, this championship was not recognized by the AAU as a National Championship.
In the same year, Jowett joined the staff of Calvert’s Strength magazine, which then began to promote the activities of the ACWLA. It was at this point that American weightlifting began to find a firm footing. Over the next two years, the ACWLA grew and prospered, but it still lacked credibility as a true national organization.
A much longed for infusion of credibility came in 1927, when, through the efforts of Dietrich Wortmann, weightlifting was formally accepted as a member sport by the the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), a multisport organization that governed most amateur sports in the US through much of the 20th century. Wortmann was to go on to become the chairman of the Weightlifting Committee of the AAU until his death in 1952, shortly after he had been elected President of the International Weightlifting Federation).
By 1928, the AAU organized its first National Championship. Reports on this event are somewhat contradictory. Some indicate that a single event was held in California, and the winners of that event were crowned the national champions.
Other reports suggest that the “winners” of that initial national championships were the athletes who had posted the highest totals in their respective bodyweight categories at local competitions sanctioned by the AAU, during that calendar year. If that was the case, we don’t have the results of those local competitions.
The first version of the event is supported by the fact that the winners appear to have been California residents. On the other hand, it seems somewhat unlikely that Chairman Wortmann, who was a New Yorker, and had a powerful NY team, would have permitted a California only event.
In any case, we know that three lifts were contested (the military press along with today’s two lifts) in four bodyweight classes. In reviewing the results of the first AAU nationals, the AAU’s officials concluded that none of the American athletes were of the caliber necessary to compete in that year’s Olympic Games, so no American representatives were sent to the 1928 Games.
The First Official National Championships in the US
In the following athletes posted the highest totals during that year, and were hence recognized as the National Champions:
| Arnie | Sundberg | 1483/4 lb. | Multnomah AC | 570 Lbs |
| B. | McDowell | 1651/4 lb. | Willoughby’s Gym | 570 Lbs |
| Al | Bevan | 1813/4 lb | Los Angeles AC | 605 Lbs |
| Tom | Tyler | Heavyweight | Los Angeles AC | 760 Lbs |
Tyler’s winning total on the three lifts was not exceeded at another Nationals until 1936. His total included a 300 lb. C&J, which became the first 300 lb. lift recognized by the AAU.
Tyler, shown in the picture below, was already well known movie audiences by the time he won the Nationals, He’d already starred in many Westerns during the mid-1920s. He made a successful transition from silent movies to movies with sound, where he appeared as Captain Marvel in the film serial “The Adventures of Captain Marvel, in the early 1940s. He also had non-starring roles in such classic movies as Stagecoach and Gone With the Wind and the Grapes of Wrath. During the 1950s, he transitioned to TV roles, appearing in such TV classics as the Lone Ranger and the Roy Rogers show.
Tom Tyler
The champion in the 148 ¾ lb. bodyweight category in 1928, Arnie Sundberg, went on to win three more Nationals. He also represented the US at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, where he placed 5th.
The First Official Nationals Which Was Assuredly Held In One Venue
All Nationals subsequent to 1928 were conducted in a single sites, the first in NYC, in 1929. The results of that event are shown below. At this competition, five lifts were contested. – the One Arm Snatch, the opposite arm One Arm Clean and Jerk, the two hands Military Press, the two hands Snatch and the two hands Clean and Jerk. This five lift format was also used at the Nationals in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1935 as well (it was also used at the 1928 Olympics, to which the US did not send a Weightlifting team).
| First Name | Last Name | Bodyweight Category | Club | Total | One-arm Snatch | One-arm C&J | Press | Snatch | C&J* |
| Robert | Knodle | 118 lb. | Arcade AC, Hagerstown, MD | 682 Lbs | 104.5 | 126.5 | 143 | 132 | 176 |
| A. | Gaukler | 128 lb. | German American AC, NY | 665 1/2 Lbs | 110 | 126.5 | 137.5 | 121 | 165 |
| Richard | Bachtell | 1321/4 lb. | Arcade AC. Hagerstown, MD | 852 1/2 Lbs | 143 | 159.5 | 154 | 165 | 225 |
| Max | Rohrer | 1483/4 lb. | Cooper AC, Brooklyn, NY | 891 Lbs | 154 | 176 | 148.5 | 170.5 | 242 |
| Adolph | Faas | 1651/4 lb. | Cooper AC, Brooklyn, NY | 902 Lbs | 143 | 176 | 176 | 176 | 231 |
| Albert | Manger | 1813/4 lb | Baltimore, Md. | 957 Lbs | 143 | 159.5 | 198 | 192.5 | 264 |
| William | Rohrer | Heavyweight | Cooper AC, Brooklyn, NY | 1045 Lbs | 170.5 | 198 | 187 | 203.5 | 286 |
*When the individual lifts shown above, and in the tables below for 1930 and 1931, do not add up to the total reported, that is because the total was taken from AAU records (which did not show the results in the individual lifts) but the results of the individual lifts were taken from Bob Hoffman’s book “Weightlifting”,
The Nationals of 1930 was again held in NYC, and the winners were:
| First Name | Last Name | Bodyweight Category | Club | Total | One-arm Snatch | One-arm C&J | Press | Snatch | C&J |
| Robert | Knodle | 118 lb. | Arcade AC, Hagerstown, MD | 715 Lbs | 110 | 137.5 | 148.5 | 132 | 187 |
| J.Arthur | Levan | 128 lb. | Association of Bar Bell Men | 819 1/2 Lbs | 137.5 | 137.5 | 148.5 | 170.5 | 225.5 |
| Richard | Bachtell | 1321/4 lb. | Association of Bar Bell Men | 847 Lbs | 143 | 165 | 154 | 165 | 220 |
| Max | Rohrer | 1483/4 lb. | Cooper AC, Brooklyn, NY | 935 Lbs | 154 | 192.5 | 159.5 | 176 | 253 |
| Arnie | Sundberg | 1651/4 lb. | Multnomah AC | 968 Lbs | 159.5 | 176 | 165 | 198 | 269.5 |
| William L. | Good | 1813/4 lb | Unattached, Reamstown, PA | 1017 1/2 Lbs | 159.5 | 176 | 203.5 | 203.5 | 275 |
| Albert | Manger | Heavyweight | Baltimore YMCA, MD | 1001 Lbs | 148.5 | 176 | 209 | 192.5 | 275 |
The 1931 Nationals were held in Chicago and the winners were:
| First Name | Last Name | Bodyweight Category | Club | Total | One-arm Snatch | One-arm C&J | Press | Snatch | C&J |
| Robert | Knodle | 118 lb. | Arcade AC, Hagerstown, MD | 715 Lbs | 110 | 132 | 148.5 | 137.5 | 187 |
| Art | Levan | 126 lb. | Reading, PA | 852 1/2 Lbs | 137.5 | 148.5 | 159.5 | 176 | 231 |
| Richard | Bachtell | 1321/4 lb. | Arcade AC | 852 1/2 Lbs | 154 | 170.5 | 154 | 159.5 | 214.5 |
| George | Horn | 1483/4 lb. | German American AC, NY | 935 Lbs | 148.5 | 165 | 187 | 192.5 | 242 |
| Arnie | Sundberg | 1651/4 lb. | Multnomah AC | 940 1/2 Lbs | 165 | 176 | 154 | 187 | 258.5 |
| William L. | Good | 1813/4 lb | Unattached, Reamstown, PA | 1056 Lbs | 165 | 198 | 198 | 209 | 286 |
| Jospeh | Manger | Heavyweight | Cooper AC, Brooklyn, NY | 784 1/2 Lbs | 154 | 181.5 | 198 | 192.5 | 269.5 |
The 1932 Nationals were held in York, PA, the first of many times York was to host a Nationals. The results were as follows (we’ve not been able to obtain the results in the individual lifts, but will continue to look for those results and would appreciate it if any of our website visitors can tell us where we might be able the find them). Three lifts were contested – the Press, Snatch and C&:J, all with two hands.
| First Name | Last Name | Bodyweight Category | Club | Total |
| Lucian | LaPlante | 112 lb. | West End AC, Gardner, MA | 470 Lbs. |
| Joseph | Fiorito | 118 lb. | Norristown, PA | 485 Lbs |
| J.Arthur | Levan | 126 lb. | Reading, PA | 540 Lbs |
| Anthony | Terlazzo | 1321/4 lb. | New York City | 570 Lbs |
| Arnie | Sundberg | 1483/4 lb. | Multnomah AC | 632 Lbs |
| Stanley | Kratkowski | 1651/4 lb. | Detroit, MI | 680 Lbs |
| William L. | Good | 1813/4 lb | Unattached, Reamstown, PA | 715 Lbs |
| Al | Manger | Heavyweight | Baltimore, MD | 704 Lbs |
The Wonderful Addition of a Women’s Nationals
Judy Glenney was the outstanding lifter at the first Women’s Nationals, which were held in 1981. She went on to win three more Nationals, as well as five Master’s Nationals, a Master’s World Championship in 1997 and a World Masters Games in 1998. A former Chair of the USAW’s Women’s Committee, she became the first woman to officiate at a World Weightlifting Championships, at the 1987 World Championships..
In 1981, history was made when the first Women’s Nationals was held in the US. The Women’s Championships started as a separate event (held at a different time of year and in a different venue). However, USAW agreed to hold these events together in 1988 on an “experimental” basis. This was because combining the women’s event with the men’s would require that the Nationals would run for more than the traditional weekend two days (a Friday was added for the women whose numbers were still relatively small at that time). That event was such as success that the combined approach has been used ever since, and was eventually adopted by the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Olympic Committee for their events.
Women’s Weightlifting has become so popular in the US that in recent years, more women have competed in the Nationals than men.
It should also be noted that the US hosted the very first IWF Women’s World Championship in Daytona Beach Florida in 1987. It too was conducted on an “experimental’ basis but was such a great success on many levels that the IWF made it a regular event, and women’s lifting was finally added to the Olympic Games in 2000.
Bodyweight Category Changes and Major Rule Changes
In the early twentieth century, as weightlifting was maturing as a sport, events and rules changed relatively often, and oftentimes significantly. For instance, weightlifting event of the Olympics of 1896 had only the one arm clean and jerk, and then the two arm clean and jerk. In 1920 there were three lifts, all done with two arms – the Press, Snatch and C&J. But in 1924 the One Arm Snatch and One Arm C&J were added to the event. In 1932, it was back to the three two arm lifts, where things remained until 1976, when the press was eliminated, leaving only the snatch and C&J, which has remained the rule since. Modern World Championships, which began in 1922 were conducted with three lifts from the outset, but removing the press beginning in 1973.
Throughout the history of modern lifting, competitions were conducted on barbells that could only be selected in 2.5 kg. increments – e.g., 100 kg., 102.5 kg., 105 kg. The only exception to this rule were attempts at world records, which only needed to exceed the existing record by .5 kg., but such increments were only recognized for record purposes. For instance, if the existing record was 150 kg., one could make a record at 150.5 kg, but only the 150 kg. would be recognized in that athlete’s total.
Then, effective May 1, 2005, the IWF changed the rules such that barbell weights could be increased by a kilo at a time in any competition (but a world record attempt also had to exceed the previous record by the same one kilo. That has remained the standard since.
Bodyweight categories have changed a number of times across the years, sometimes in the US only, but generally in conjunction with changes adopted on the international level. Consequently, you’ll see a number of variations in the bodyweight categories in the results of the Nationals.
Summary of Major Event & Bodyweight Category Changes in US and World Weightlifting History
| Year | Govrn | #Lifts | Gndr | Bodyweight Categgories | |||||||||
| 2024 | OG | 2 | W | 49 | 59 | 71 | 81 | +81 | |||||
| 2024 | OG | 2 | M | 61 | 73 | 89 | 102 | +102 | |||||
| 2020 | OG | 2 | W | 49 | 55 | 59 | 64 | 76 | 87 | +87 | |||
| 2020 | OG | 2 | M | 61 | 67 | 73 | 81 | 96 | 109 | +109 | |||
| 2018 | IWF | 2 | W | 45 | 49 | 55 | 59 | 64 | 71 | 76 | 81 | 87 | +87 |
| 2018 | IWF | 2 | M | 55 | 61 | 67 | 73 | 81 | 89 | 96 | 102 | 109 | +109 |
| 5.1.2005 | IWF | 2 | Both | 1 kg. barbell weight increments adopted, USAW adopted at 1986 Nationals | |||||||||
| 2003 | IWF | 2 | W | 48 | 53 | 58 | 63 | 69 | 75 | 90 | +90 | ||
| 2003 | IWF | 2 | M | 56 | 62 | 69 | 77 | 85 | 94 | 105 | +105 | ||
| 2000 | OG | 2 | W | 48 | 53 | 58 | 63 | 69 | 75 | +75 | Women added to OG | ||
| 1998 | IWF | 2 | W | 48 | 53 | 58 | 63 | 69 | 75 | +75 | |||
| 1998 | IWF | 2 | M | 56 | 62 | 69 | 77 | 85 | 94 | 105 | +105 | ||
| 1993 | IWF | 2 | W | 46 | 50 | 54 | 59 | 64 | 70 | 76 | 83 | +83 | |
| 1993 | IWF | 2 | M | 54 | 59 | 64 | 70 | 76 | 83 | 91 | 99 | 108 | +108 |
| 1987 | IWF | 2 | WWC | 44 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | |
| 1981 | USAW | 2 | W | 44 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | |
| 1977 | IWF | 2 | M | 52 | 56 | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | 90 | 100 | 110 | +110 |
| 1973 | OWU | 2 | M | 52 | 56 | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | 90 | 110 | +110 | |
| 1971 | AAU | 3 | M | 52 | 56 | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | 90 | 110 | +110 | |
| 1970 | AAU | 3 | M | 114.5 | 123.5 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | 198.25 | 242.5 | Super | |
| 1968 | AAU | 3 | M | 123.5 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | 198.25 | 242.5 | Super | ||
| 1958 | AAU | 3 | M | 123.5 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | 198.25 | Heavy | |||
| 1956 | AAU | 3 | M | 123.5 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | 198.25 | 225 | Heavy | ||
| 1940 | AAU | 3 | M | 123.5 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | Heavy | ||||
| 1932-9 | AAU | 3 | M | 112 | 126 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | Heavy | |||
| 1931 | AAU | 5 | M | 112 | 126 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | Heavy | |||
| 1929-30 | AAU | 5 | M | 118 | 128 | 132.25 | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | Heavy | |||
| 1928 | AAU | 3 | M | 148.75 | 165.25 | 181.75 | Heavy | ||||||
| 1928 | OG | 3 | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | ||||||
| 1924 | OG | 5 | M | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | |||||
| 1923 | FICH | 4 | M | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | |||||
| 1922 | FICH | 5 | M | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | |||||
| 1920 | OG | 3 | M | 60 | 67.5 | 75 | 82.5 | +82.5 | |||||
| 1896, 1904 &1906 | OG | No bodyweight categories – 2 lifts contested – One Hand Jerk and 2 Hand Jerk | |||||||||||
| Men’s & Women’s USAW Nationals were in same location & date beginning in 1988 &, in IWF WC began to be | |||||||||||||
| held in the same place and time of year in 1991, except for the Olympic Years of 1992 and 1996, when women’s championships were held separately because women’s lifting was not yet part of the Olympic Games. | |||||||||||||
*Various events later adopted by IWF as “official” WC were held from 1891-1913 (4 in 1911, 3 in 1905, 2 in 2010).
The 1922 WC had 5 lifts – the one arm snatch and C&J, , the two hand – press, snatch and C&J, but in 1923 there were 4 lifts – the one arm snatch and C&J and the two hands press and C&J
There were no WC from 1924-1936, then they were held in 1937 & 1938 using 3 lifts, then the WC were paused for WW2. They resumed in 1946, then were held annually until diplomatic problems led to the cancellation of the 1967 event. WC were begun again in in 1969. No WC was held in the Olympic Year 1968 (not having an WC in an Olympic Games year was traditional at the time).
| Men’s 52 & 110 categories were added in 1969 and a 100 kg. in 1967. A women’s world championships added in 1987. |
| OG= Olympic Games, FICH=Governing Body for World WL until a name change to IWF in the early 70s |
| AAU was the original governing body for WL in the US, governance moving to the USAW in 1978 |
| OWU= a change adopted by the IOC, IWF and USAW |
For bodyweight categories from 1928 through 1970, categories are shown in pounds, which is how they were officially designated in the US through year end 1970. Beginning in 1971, both weights on the bar and bodyweight categories came into conformity with those of the IWF – that is, measured in kilos.
We hope that in reviewing these results you’ll enjoy your voyage through this part of the rich history of the sport.
A Special Note of Recognition for the Results Provided For 1933 Through 2017
More than 20 years ago, James “Butch” Curry, a two-time Senior National Weightlifting Champion, Olympian, 18 term LWC President of the Pacific Weightlifting Association and USAW Board Member, began publishing a website called “Lift Til Ya Die”. That site archived the results of national weightlifting championships, a list of USA Weightlifting Olympians and various other information on the sport he loved. Butch passed away in 2023, and his sister JoAnne Drechsler, and brother in law Artie Drechsler, promised Butch they’d publish his Nationals results, which ran from 1933 through 2017, on our website.
We’ve done this here. In addition, we’ve added results, to the extent available, for Nationals prior to 1933 (as shown above) and subsequent to 2017. We preserved what Butch created, as he created it, except when there was an obvious error (likely not his error but rather in the data that was reported by the publication he relied on). For instance, the 1936 National Champion in the 112 lb. bodyweight category was John Fritshe, not Fritzsce, as was originally shown on Butch’s page). We also made some formatting changes.
We expect to continue publishing the results of the Senior Nationals each year going forward. You can see those results, men’s alone from 1933 through 1980, when only men’s competitions were held, and women’s and men’s competitions combined in the years after 1980 (even if they were held at different locations and times of year, as they were from 1981 through 1987}. To see those results just click on the year of interest in the table below. We hope you enjoy looking at the history of US weightlifting from the vantage points of its Senior Nationals performances.