Bob Bednarski
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||
| Born |
April 5, 1944 Hartford, Connecticut | |||||||||||||||
| Died |
February 22, 2004 Springfield, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||
| Residence |
 Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||
| Country | USA | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Olympic weightlifting | |||||||||||||||
| Event(s) |
Clean and press Snatch Clean and jerk | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Bob Bednarski (April 5, 1944, in Hartford – 2004) was a weightlifter for the United States.
Personal information
Bednarski loved animals. He had three poodles named Beau, Sandy, and Pooh.[1]
Career
Throughout the 1960s, Bednarski was one of the top heavyweight Olympic weightlifters in the world. During his career as a competitive lifter, he won five national heavyweight championships and set 27 world records. Compared to others he competed against, Bednarski was smaller in size but he used his quickness and agility to his own advantage. The Soviets in fact adopted his style of lifting because they saw the success he had with it. In 1983, he was inducted into the United States Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame. In 1966, he worked his way into international competitions placing second overall in the heavyweight division. During the 1967 Pan American games, he suffered a serious elbow injury that many thought would end his career as a weightlifter. Only a year later, Bednarski set two world records at the Senior National Championships. Bednarski clean and pressed 456.5 pounds(207Kg), and clean and jerked 486.5 pounds(220.5Kg). At that time, it was the most weight to have ever been lifted overhead in the history of the world, and he was the first American weight lifter to hold that record since Dave Ashman in 1960. Unfortunately Bednarski was not invited to compete in the 1968 Olympic games after he placed third at the U.S. Olympic trials behind Joe Dube (who tied for second in the 1968 Olympics, but ended up in third place due to bodyweight) and Ernie Pickett. Many felt that he was the only competitor from the US who would have been capable of beating the Soviets. However, he came back in 1969 to win the world championship, and set numerous world records in the new 110 kilo class.[1]
Family
Bednarski was married to his wife Kathy for 29 years. Together the two had a son named Bobby Bednarski and a daughter named Sheryl Bednarski along with four grandchildren named Bobby, Sarah, Jonathon, and Nicole. Bednarski had three brothers named John, Gary, and Richard and three sisters named Judie Valois, Carol Ferrelli, and Brenda Paris.[1]
Death
Bednarski died on Sunday February 22, 2004 at age 59 at Baystate Medical Center.[1]
Weightlifting achievements
- Senior World Champion (1969)
- Silver Medalist in Senior World Championships (1966)
- Bronze Medalist in Senior World Championships (1970)
- Senior National Champion (1967-1970, and 1973)
- Set fourteen world records during career
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Robert L. "Bob" Bednarksi Obituary: View RObert Bednarski's Obituary by Hartford Courant". Courant. Retrieved 28 January 2013.