Imre Földi

Imre Földi

Imre Földi at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	Hungarian
Born	(1938-05-08) 8 May 1938 (age 78) Kecskemét, Hungary
Occupation	Locksmith
Height	1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)
Weight	56 kg (123 lb)
Sport
Country	Hungary
Sport	Weightlifting
Club	Tatabányai Bányász
Turned pro	1955
Retired	1978
Medal record Representing  Hungary Olympic Games 1964 Tokyo -56 kg 1968 Mexico City -56 kg 1972 Munich -56 kg World Championships 1959 Warsaw -56 kg 1961 Vienna -56 kg 1962 Budapest -56 kg 1963 Stockholm -60 kg 1964 Tokyo -56 kg 1965 Tehran -56 kg 1966 East Berlin -56 kg 1968 Mexico City -56 kg 1970 Columbus -56 kg 1972 Munich -56 kg
Updated on 23 August 2014.

Imre Földi (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈimrɛ ˈføldi]; born 8 May 1938) is a retired Hungarian weightlifter. Competing at a record of five Olympic Games, he won a gold medal in 1972 and silver medals in 1964 and 1968. During his career he set 21 world records, and after his retirement he coached his daughter to become a European champion. Földi earned numerous awards for his results and achievements, most notably he was named Weightlifter of the Century by the International Weightlifting Federation and was elected for Sportsperson of the Nation in Hungary.

Born in Kecskemét, Hungary, Földi lived in his hometown until he turned 17 as a half-orphan after he lost his mother in World War II. Subsequently, he moved to Tata to work as a hewer. His outstanding power was soon noticed and he became a weightlifter of Tatabányai Bányász. In the same time, thanks to his coach's influence he was not allowed to work down in the mine anymore to prevent him from possible mining accidents.

Földi first participated at miners' championships and in 1957 he already won his first Hungarian National Championships title. Two years later he took part in his first major international event, the 1959 World Weightlifting Championships, where placed third in bantamweight. He won his first title at the 1962 European Championships, held in front of a home crowd in Budapest. Until 1971 he added four more golds to his medals tally (1963, 1968, 1970, 1971).

After winning three world championships silver medals in a row, Földi finally won the world title in 1965, an achievement he repeated in 1972. He participated at his first Olympics in 1960, where he finished sixth. This was followed by two close silver medals. In 1964 he fell short to Aleksey Vakhonin after a dramatic battle. Földi had a lead of 2.5 kg after snatch and clean and press and when he set a new world record in clean and jerk (135 kg) he was already celebrated as winner. However, Vakhonin lifted 142.5 kg thus beating Földi by 2.5 kg and pushing him to the second place.