John Davis (weightlifter)
Encyclopedia
John Henry Davis (January 12, 1921 – July 13, 1984) was an Olympic
superheavyweight weightlifter for the United States
. John won gold at the 1948 and 1952 summer Olympic Games
, as well as 6 World Weightlifting Championships
and 12 national championships. He was unbeaten from 1938 to 1953.
John Davis first gained prominence by winning the world light heavyweight crown as a 17-year-old school boy in 1938 at Vienna, Austria. In all, Davis triumphed eight times in world championships, including the Olympic Games of 1948 and 1952. Weightlifting history show also that John Davis won gold medals in the U.S. Senior Nationals 12 times, a record no other heavyweight has even come close to equaling.
At his peak, Davis held all the world records in his class. Of his many thrilling performances, perhaps his clean and jerk of 402 pounds in the 1951 Senior Nationals held in Los Angeles, California will be best remembered because it marked the first time more than 400 pounds was lifted in this fashion on a standard Olympic Barbell.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
superheavyweight weightlifter for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. John won gold at the 1948 and 1952 summer Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, as well as 6 World Weightlifting Championships
World Weightlifting Championships
World Weightlifting Championships is an event organised by International Weightlifting Federation .It has been held since 1891. In March 1891, competing against champions from Brussels, Hamburg, England, Vienna, Italy, and Berlin in a three-day event, Edward Lawrence Levy of England won the first...
and 12 national championships. He was unbeaten from 1938 to 1953.
Biography
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., John Davis served in the U.S. Army for 3½ years during World War II. For most of John Davis' long lifting career, which spanned 19 years, he represented the York Barbell Club. Davis worked as an officer in the New York Department of Corrections.John Davis first gained prominence by winning the world light heavyweight crown as a 17-year-old school boy in 1938 at Vienna, Austria. In all, Davis triumphed eight times in world championships, including the Olympic Games of 1948 and 1952. Weightlifting history show also that John Davis won gold medals in the U.S. Senior Nationals 12 times, a record no other heavyweight has even come close to equaling.
At his peak, Davis held all the world records in his class. Of his many thrilling performances, perhaps his clean and jerk of 402 pounds in the 1951 Senior Nationals held in Los Angeles, California will be best remembered because it marked the first time more than 400 pounds was lifted in this fashion on a standard Olympic Barbell.
Weightlifting achievements
- Olympic champion (1948 and 1952);
- Senior world champion (1938, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, & 1951);
- Silver medalist at Senior World Championships (1953);
- Set sixteen world records during his career.
World Records
- 4/10/1940 Snatch - 125 kg Light Heavyweight New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- 9/27/1947 Snatch - 139.5 kg Super Heavyweight Philadelphia
- 9/27/1947 Clean & Jerk - 174.5 kg Super Heavyweight Philadelphia
- 9/27/1947 Total - 455 kg Super Heavyweight Philadelphia
- 2/20/1948 Snatch - 140.5 kg Super Heavyweight Cleveland
- 2/20/1948 Clean & Press - 151.5 kg Super Heavyweight Cleveland
- 5/13/1948 Snatch - 141 kg Super Heavyweight ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- 5/13/1948 Clean & Press - 152 kg Super Heavyweight Chicago
- 8/11/1948 Snatch - 142.5 kg Super Heavyweight LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- 11/8/1949 Clean & Jerk - 177.5 kg Super Heavyweight London
- 6/27/1950 Snatch - 148 kg Super Heavyweight New York
- 10/15/1950 Total - 462.5 kg Super Heavyweight ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- 3/4/1951 Clean & Jerk - 180 kg Super Heavyweight Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
- 3/4/1951 Total - 481.5 kg Super Heavyweight Buenos Aires
- 4/3/1951 Snatch - 149.5 kg Super Heavyweight Buenos Aires
- 6/16/1951 Clean & Jerk - 182 kg Super Heavyweight Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...