Isaac "Ike" Berger (November 16, 1936 – June 4, 2022) was an American weightlifter, who competed for the United States at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won one gold and two silver medals. He held eight world records (four official and four unofficial), and won the United States national title eight times. Berger was born to a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he studied in a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

. He immigrated to the United States when he was in his teens, and became a naturalized American citizen in December 1955. Berger was the first featherweight in history to lift more than , and the first to press double his body weight. He twice won the world championships and the Pan American Games. In his gold medal performance at the

1957 Maccabiah Games Twenty-one countries sent 980 athletes to compete in the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics. The opening ceremony on September 15, 1957, was held in Ramat Gan Stadium, with athletes parad ...

, Berger was the first (and only one until 1998) athlete to set a world record on Israeli land in any sport. He pressed . Berger was named to the United States Weightlifters Hall of Fame in 1965, and the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1980. He died on June 4, 2022.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Isaac 1936 births 2022 deaths American male weightlifters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in weightlifting Olympic silver medalists for the United States in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics World Weightlifting Championships medalists Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 1959 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 1963 Pan American Games Maccabiah Games medalists in weightlifting Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1957 Maccabiah Games Naturalized citizens of the United States Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli Jews Jewish American sportspeople Jewish weightlifters Sportspeople from Jerusalem Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews

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