IWF120y/104 – 1956: Humberto Selvetti, an Argentinean idol
Argentina has a long and rich Olympic history, having started its participation in the Games from its second edition, in 1900. Since then, the South American nation earned 80 medals in the biggest sports event on the planet: only two of those podium presences come from weightlifting. But they both belong to the same athlete: Humberto Selvetti. He remains until the present day, the only Olympic Argentinean medallist in our sport, after his bronze in Helsinki 1952 and silver in Melbourne 1956. Born in 1932, Selvetti was a prodigy from his teenage years. At 20, he competed in the Finnish capital – his first Olympic appearance – and clinched the bronze in 150-120-162.5-432.5. It was the first-ever Olympic medal in our sport for a Spanish-speaking athlete and also a premiere for a South American lifter. Competing in the +90kg category, the Argentinean ace was nicknamed “El Gordo” (The Fat One) in his country and was again third at the 1953 World Championships. For his second Olympic presence, in 1956, Selvetti performed superbly in Australia, finishing with the same total as the winner – 175-145-180-500. But, by the rules at the time, the gold went to Paul Anderson (USA), who was 5kg lighter. In 1957, the Argentinean champion won his last medal at the World Championships, also a silver. Moreover, he was second on two other occasions at the Pan-American Games of 1955 and 1959. In 1964, at 32, he still managed to qualify for his third Olympics – in Tokyo, he was only 17th. In 1951, he established the sole World Record of his successful career – 157.5kg in the Press. A big fan of the tango dance, he had some minor roles in the movie and theatre industry. The weightlifting venue at the Argentinean High-Performance Centre has his name, thus paying tribute to a lifter who died relatively young, at the age of 60.
