Imre FÖLDI

Imre Földi is one of the best Hungarian weighlifters of all time and was elected weightlifter of the century in Hungary in 2000. His first international medal came at the 1959 European Championships, when he claimed bronze in the bantamweight category. For well over a decade, Földi would be a fixture on international podiums. His first title came in the 1962 European Championships, held in front of a home crowd in Budapest. He added four more European overall titles (1963-featherweight, 1968, 1970, 1971), while also winning five golds in the individual disciplines of press, snatch and clean & jerk. After three silver medals at the World Championships, Földi first became the world's best in 1965. His greatest triumph came in 1972 when he won the Olympic gold medal (which doubled as World Championships) after earning a silver medal in 1964 and 1968 (in which he had only lost the gold on body weight). To boot, Földi won the press and the clean & jerk, registering an overall world record - one of his twenty records between 1961 and 1972. After this victory, Földi continued to compete, but with less success. In 1976, he did become the first weightlifter to compete in five Olympics, finishing in fifth place. A year later, an injury ended a career in which he collected 13 Hungarian national titles. Földi, who worked as a locksmith, was honored with induction into the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1993, and in 2009 his home town Tatabánya renamed a local sports hall in his honor.