Imre Földi (; 8 May 1938 – 23 April 2017) was a 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.

Early life

Born in

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Földi lived in his hometown until he turned 17 as a half-orphan after he lost his mother in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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.

Career

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). Földi won a silver medal at the 1970 World Championships, but this result was annulled after a positive doping test.Arthur Chidlovski
The Eraser: Drug-Related Disqualifications in Men's Weightlifting at Summer Olympics
chidlovski.net; accessed 22 April 2018. 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 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 ...

and when he set a new world record in

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without rest ...

(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. Four year later at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Földi came even closer to the gold, losing only on body weight – both him and his opponent Mohammad Nassiri ended with an overall result of 367.5 kg, which was a new world record; however, Nassiri was 300 grams lighter thus he was awarded the Olympic title.Imre Földi
chidlovski.net; accessed 22 April 2018. Földi eventually reached the top in 1972 when he won the Olympic gold medal – and doubled it as a World Championships title – in front of his main opponent Nassiri. In the press, both Földi and Nassiri lifted 127.5 kg for a tied Olympic record. In the snatch, Földi raised 107.5 kg and built up a slight advantage over Nassiri (105.0 kg). In his first clean & jerk attempt, Nassiri raised 142.5 kg, 5 kg better than Földi; he next tried 152.5 kg, bit failed all of his remaining attempts. Földi, on the other hand, lifted 142.5 kg, setting a world record in the total at 377.5 kg and winning the gold medal. Földi made his final Olympic appearance in 1976 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, where he became the first weightlifter to compete in five Olympics, a record that would only be matched by Germans Ingo Steinhofel and Ronny Weller 28 years later. Aged 38, he placed fifth. Following an injury next year he ended his career, during which he set 21 world and 50 national records, and collected 13 national titles.

Later life and recognition

After his retirement, Földi remained loyal to Tatabánya, his only club during his active career, and took a coaching position. His daughter Csilla Földi became a European champion in weightlifting. Földi's achievements were recognized already during his career, as he was awarded the ''Silver Badge of the Order of Labour'', an order in the Communist Hungary in 1962 and 1964. In 1972, the year he became Olympic champion, he was given the ''Golden Badge of the Order of Labour''. In 1993 he was inducted to the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame. In the same year he was awarded the Middle Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

, just to receive the Officer's Cross of the same decoration a year later. In 2000 he was voted Weightlifter of the Century in Hungary, and in 2005 he earned the same recognition of the International Weightlifting Federation as well. In 2003 he became honorary citizen of Tatabánya, and since 2009 the local sports hall also bears his name. In 2013, the ''Imre Földi Sports Scholarship'' was created in order to support Tatabánya-based top athletes. On 31 January 2007, following the death of Ferenc Puskás, Földi was elected a ''Sportsperson of the Nation'' (''A Nemzet Sportolója''), a special honor, that can have only 12 people at a time, is awarded for those of Hungarian sportspeople over 60, who produced outstanding achievements during their active career and played a key role in the domestic sports after their retirement as well.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foldi, Imre 1938 births 2017 deaths Sportspeople from Kecskemét Hungarian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Hungary Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1968 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1972 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Hungary European Weightlifting Championships medalists World Weightlifting Championships medalists Sportspeople from Bács-Kiskun County 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen