Ymer Pampuri (30 April 1944 – 18 January 2017) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

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 lif ...

who in the

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

became the first Albanian to break an Olympic record, the first Albanian to become a World Champion and the last World Champion in

military press The overhead press is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight overhead while seated or standing. It is mainly used to develop the anterior deltoid muscles of the shoulder. The standing version was once a compon ...

, since the discipline was no longer allowed to be practiced internationally after 1972.

Life and career

Pampuri was born in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. When he was seven years old he joined the Tirana Circus as an acrobat. In 1972 he was chosen to represent

in the European Championship in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. He lifted 125 kg, the same weight as the champion, but ended up second only losing by his

body mass Human body weight is a person's mass or weight. Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of weight without items located on the person. Practically though, body weight may be measured with clothes on, but without shoes or heavy accesso ...

. In the same year he participated in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. In 1972, when Pampuri and his coach, Zydi Mazreku, declared before their departure that they were going to bring a medal from the Munich Olympics, many of the directors of the Albanian sports laughed. At the age of 27, the 17 Nentori weightlifter broke the Olympic record established by Yoshinobu Miyake in the

clean and press The clean and press is a two-part weight training exercise whereby a loaded barbell is lifted from the floor to the shoulders (the clean) and pushed overhead (the press). The lift was a component of the sport of Olympic weightlifting from 1928 to ...

style by lifting 127.5 kg. It was 29 August 1972 when Pampuri broke the record and became World Champion in that discipline.Ymer Pampuri at Sports reference
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References

External links

nbsp; – An article talking about Ymer Pampuri.
Ymer Pampuri's obituary
1944 births 2017 deaths Sportspeople from Tirana Albanian male weightlifters Weightlifters at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifters for Albania World Weightlifting Championships medalists {{Albania-weightlifting-bio-stub