Ymer Pampuri
Ymer Pampuri is a well-known Albanian weightlifter who in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games became the first Albanian to break an Olympic record in weightlifting and also the first Albanian to become World Champion in this sport.
Life and career
Ymer Pampuri was born on 30 April 1944 in Tirana. Since he was a kid he had a passion for the circus. When he was seven years old he entered in the Cirku i Tiranes ("Tirana City Circus"). But as he grew up he developed a talent in weightlifting. It was Telat Agolli that discovered the young talent and his abilities. He decided to train the young weightlifter and took him to his gym and started training him. Pampuri became a national champion in weightlifting when he was only twenty years old, lifting 120 kg. In 1972 he was chosen to represent Albania in the European Championship in Romania. He lifted 125 kg, the same weight with the champion, but ended second only losing by his body mass. In the same year he participated in the 1972 Summer Olympics. At the age of 27, the 17 Nentori weightlifter broke the Olympic record established by Yoshinobu Miyake in the clean and press style by lifting 127,5 kg. It was 29 August 1972 when Pampuri broke the record and became World Champion. However he didn't manage to win the Olympic medal as he was injured in the snatch style and he finished only ninth. Apart from the titles and medals, he is awarded the "Mjeshter i Madh i Punes" ("Great Master of Work") and the highest title of the Albanian Republic, the First Class Naim Frasheri title. In 1981 he retires from the sport which gave him so many emotions. He goes back in the Cirku i Tiranes where he retires in 1994. In 2006, Ymer Pampuri returned once again in weightlifting in the age of sixty three years old. He participated in the Masters World Championship along with other retired weightlifters. The tournament was held in France from 26 August to 2 September 2006.
Trivia
In 1972, when Ymer Pampuri and his coach, Zydi Mazreku, declared before their departure that they were going to bring a medal from the Munich Olympics, many of the directors of the Albanian sports laughed.[1] Pampuri's declarations became an object of humour and debates as many of the Ministry of Sports officials couldn't think that an Albanian could reach the podium. So big was the amusement that before his departure he was sent to neurologist Bajram Preza. After his medical visit, Dr. Bajram Preza found him totally healthy and so Ymer Pampuri was able to depart for Munich.
References
- ↑ Interviste e Ymer Pampurit. Tirana, Albania. Retrieved 18 April 2006.