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In cycling, it’s frequent to mention the name of Raymond Poulidor, the French legend, eight times on the podium of the Tour de France, but never on the highest march – he is known in the sport as the “eternal second”. Weightlifting also has its Poulidor – in our case, it is a woman from Hungary: Maria Takacs. Born in 1966, she started her sports career in athletics (shot putter and discus thrower), but together with her sister Erika, they were initiated into weightlifting by their father Istvan, a coach. They both have brilliant international careers, but Maria’s deserves a special mention: between 1987 (the first edition for women) and 1998, she took part in 12 consecutive World Championships (in the 67.5kg category and then on the 75/76kg) and out of the possible 36 medals at stake, she collects an amazing harvest of 33! With one significant detail: none of them is a golden award… In Total, she earns six silver and six bronze medals, getting another 21 podium presences for the individual events of snatch and clean & jerk. The only three editions she doesn’t get a full collection of medals are 1992 and 1998 (absent from the Snatch podium) and 1993 (in C&J). On those 12 Championships, the (Total) victory in her category was clinched by China on 10 occasions, while Greece and Finland were the remaining winners. Her personal best at the Worlds was her 1997 performance in Chiang Mai (THA), where she got the silver in 100-125-225. Her sister Erika won fewer medals at the IWF showcase but managed to be the world champion in 1995 in the +83kg category. After missing the 2000 Olympic Games (when women’s weightlifting made its debut), Maria (on the left, in the photo – at the 1994 Worlds) retired from the elite competition, but remained active as a successful master lifter. She was the first female athlete to be inducted into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame, in 2006, and is presently a member of the IWF Coaching and Research Committee.