John F. TERRY

At the 1936 Olympics, John Terry became the first African-American to represent the United States in weightlifting. He was unfortunate in that his best Olympic year would have been 1940, as Terry won the AAU title as a bantamweight from 1938-41. In 1939 he set a world record for the deadlift with 600 lbs (272 kg), considered enormous for his bodyweight and he is still considered one of the greatest ever at the deadlift, pound-for-pound. Terry did make the theoretical US Olympic team in 1940. He worked for many years for the York Barbell Company.