Stanczyk, Stanley A.
Weightlifting
b. May 10, 1925, Armstrong, WI
d. June 24, 1997
Undefeated from 1946 until the 1952 Olympics, Stanczyk won five consecutive world championships in three different weight divisions and six straight national titles in two weight divisions.
At the 1948 Olympics, Stanczyk attempted a world record of 132.5 kilograms on his third snatch. He seemed to have succeeded, and the judges ruled it a fair lift, but Stanczyk told them his knee had scraped the floor, invalidating the attempt. Despite that, he won the light heavyweight title by 37.5 kilograms, the largest margin for any weight class in Olympic history.
Stanczyk won the U. S. middleweight championship in 1947, the light heavyweight title from 1948 through 1951 and in 1953. An injury kept him from competing in 1952. He was the world champion as a lightweight in 1946, as a middleweight in 1947, and as a light heavyweight in 1949, 1950, and 1952. There was no competition in 1948 or 1951. Stanczyk won a silver medal in the light heavyweight weight division at the 1952 Olympics.
After placing third in the world championships in 1953 and 1954, he retired from competition. However, Stanczyk continued bowling competitively and maintained a 190 average over a 25-year period.