IWF120y/97 – 1972: Zygmunt Smalcerz leads Polish success in Munich
The Munich 1972 Olympic Games were particularly successful for the Polish weightlifting team, with its athletes getting three medals (one of each colour). The shiniest star of the group was Zygmunt Smalcerz, the champion in the 52kg category. Despite his tiny body structure (he is 1.53m high), the Polish ace got in Germany the main achievement of his career, clinching the title in 112.5-100-125-337.5 (it was the last edition of the Olympics with the Press movement). Behind him in Munich, two Hungarian competitors were relatively distant – Szucs got the silver with a total of 330kg, and Holczreiter was third in 327.5kg. Four years later, Smalcerz had a good motivation to revalidate the Olympic title, but an unfortunate injury in Montreal jeopardised his plans (he had to withdraw from the competition). At the IWF Worlds, the Polish champion was more successful, collecting two gold medals (in 1971 and 1975) and placing third in 1973. At the continental level, Smalcerz dominated the field between 1971 and 1975, earning four gold medals. His only recognised World Record during this period dates from May 1972, when he lifted 103kg in the Snatch. After the conclusion of his career as an athlete at the end of the 1970s (he was born in 1941), he took the coaching path: in 2008, he was namely the Head Coach of the Polish Team competing at the Beijing Olympics. More recently, he has also provided valuable services internationally, namely with the teams of the USA and Norway.
