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Re: In memorium.
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2025 12:27 pm
by CDL
Tony Urrutia was my roomate at the Olympic Training Center for a while. He was an awesome guy, one of the nicest people I've met in my entire life. I first met him in the elevator at the 1988 Jr Olympics & Olympic Trials. He was very nice to me then and he never stopped being a great person. This is horrible news to me. John Coffee, Harvey Newton and Glenn Pendlay are all very heavy losses. These weren't just icons in the sport. They were damn good people.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2026 7:59 am
by strapping
https://www.news.ro/sport/haltere-andre ... 0922375539
Andrei Socaci (ROU, gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics) passed away last week.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2026 7:21 pm
by Hawkpeter
Nicolo 'Nick' Ciancio 21 Feb 1947 - 7 Mar 2026.
6th place at the 1972 Olympics, passed away Mar 7th in Melbourne.
Robert Kabbas put together a wonderful tribute to Nick.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2026 12:17 am
by Hawkpeter
A much loved youth coach in Hawaii James Moser Sr, was killed a week ago. James Sr ('Jim') had been a very good lifter in his own right, a resident athlete at the US OTC as well as a competitive powerlifter. His troubled son James Moser Jr is facing charges of murdering his father. Such a terrible situation.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2026 10:53 pm
by Hawkpeter
From Bruce Klemens
https://www.facebook.com/klemensliftin ... TWN1Yj6vvl.
'OBITUARIES
I regret to inform you I have just learned of the recent deaths of two prominent members of our sport. May they both rest in peace.
Ota Zaremba (Czechoslovakia) passed away January 23, 2026. Zaremba was 1980 Olympic Champion in the 100 kg class. He was 69 years old. He is shown snatching at the 1981 World Championships.
Laszlo Ambrus (Hungary) just recently passed away. A former competitor himself, he was best known as the coach of the Hungarian weightlifting team. He is shown accepting the third place team trophy at the 1985 World Championships.'
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2026 4:39 am
by CDL
A much loved youth coach in Hawaii James Moser Sr, was killed a week ago. James Sr ('Jim') had been a very good lifter in his own right, a resident athlete at the US OTC as well as a competitive powerlifter. His troubled son James Moser Jr is facing charges of murdering his father. Such a terrible situation.
Wow. Mr. Moser was a nice man. Offered me a job once when I was having some difficulties. But I never had the admiration for his son like much of the sport. I didn't care about that incident they made a big deal of about him dropping the weights but everyone shrugged off his home invasion way too easily. Everyone always ranted about his tremendous talent but he never really did anything in the sport. I argued with Glenn Pendlay about it a fair bit as Glenn was constantly citing him as an example of what is allegedly possible. For me, the takeaway is about the same as ever. The mob is stupid.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2026 11:23 am
by strapping
Aldo Roy (Canada) passed away peacefully, aged 84.
A teacher, a lifter, coach, official and commentator across multiple Olympic Games, he basically did everything there was to do in weightlifting.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2026 7:51 pm
by Hawkpeter
Vale Rudolf Plukfelder.
What a legend. Not many Olympic Champions went on to train Olympic Champions, that alone was a remarkable feat. Someone better than I will properly eulogise this great man.
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2026 8:36 pm
by brian.degennaro
A loss I have dreaded for a while. Plukfelder had a profound influence on my training due to still being in contact with my coach on a regular basis. He had a direct hand in a lot of the exercises and periodization of my training since 2012. The man was a legend up until the day he passed. He was still lifting and training near daily; running, calisthenics, and weightlifting. A year or two ago I know he was still squatting 110kg for 2-3 reps on his birthday if I recall. I will never forget the phone call after his 86th birthday where he exclaimed to my coach, Serhiy, "I am starting to feel old; pulling 150kg feels like 160kg now."
Re: In memorium.
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2026 9:37 pm
by strapping
Hawkpeter wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 7:51 pm
Vale Rudolf Plukfelder.
What a legend. Not many Olympic Champions went on to train Olympic Champions, that alone was a remarkable feat. Someone better than I will properly eulogise this great man.
Not only training an Olympic champion, but also coaching a student to win the 56kg Olympic Gold days before winning his own Olympic gold.
My coach met Plukfelder a few times and had nothing but nice things to say and a handful of interesting stories (mostly involving Rigert).
brian.degennaro wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 8:36 pm
A loss I have dreaded for a while. Plukfelder had a profound influence on my training due to still being in contact with my coach on a regular basis. He had a direct hand in a lot of the exercises and periodization of my training since 2012. The man was a legend up until the day he passed. He was still lifting and training near daily; running, calisthenics, and weightlifting. A year or two ago I know he was still squatting 110kg for 2-3 reps on his birthday if I recall. I will never forget the phone call after his 86th birthday where he exclaimed to my coach, Serhiy, "I am starting to feel old; pulling 150kg feels like 160kg now."
That's outrageous. Condolences for your and your coach's loss.