Bruce Wilhelm (born July 13, 1945) is a former

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

and

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He is a two-time winner of the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

competition in 1977 and 1978 and the author of numerous strength-related articles and books. He was a member of the executive board of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

. He was also on the Athletes Advisory Council for 8 years as well as the Substance and Drug Abuse Committee, the Sports Medicine Committee, and the Games Preparation Committee.

Athletics

Wilhelm was a high school

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

star for

Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, California) Fremont High School is a co-educational, public high school in Sunnyvale, California, United States. Fremont is currently the only open public high school located in the city of Sunnyvale and is part of the Fremont Union High School District (FU ...

, and was the 1963 CIF California State Meet

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

champion as well as runner up in the discus competition. He won the Golden West Invitational high school shot put. He continued his athletic development at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, competing in

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

, discus and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. He was the 1965 AAWU Wrestling Champion and finished the season undefeated with 21 victories. He finished 4th in the 1966 AAU National Freestyle Wrestling and Greco Roman Championships (unlimited weight class). After one year at Stanford, Wilhelm transferred to Oklahoma State University where, in addition to throwing the shot, he was a member of the varsity wrestling team. He placed in the top 10 US Men's

Shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

rankings for 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973, and still is #251 on the all-time world

records, with a mark of 20.12m (66'-1/4") set on July 8, 1972 during the Olympic trials.

Weightlifting

Wilhelm became a

, and was the US National AAU Super Heavyweight

Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

Champion for both 1975 and 1976. He won a silver medal for the

at the 1975

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

in the +110 kg division, and placed 5th at the 1976

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, QC,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

World's Strongest Man

Wilhelm won the inaugural

competition in 1977, and returned to win again in 1978.http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/planet28.htm bodybuilding He then spent several years helping to organize and officiate further contests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Bruce 1945 births Living people American male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters of the United States American strength athletes Weightlifters at the 1976 Summer Olympics Strength training writers Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California Track and field athletes from California Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games