Isaac "Ike" Berger (born November 16, 1936, in Jerusalem) was an Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 weightlifter for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.http://books.google.com/books?id=oZxnNt28DhcC&pg=PA189&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=Un9ITfLQFofrgQecndGABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=false He holds 23 world weightlifting records, and is a 12-time United States national titleholder.http://books.google.com/books?id=oZxnNt28DhcC&pg=PA189&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=Un9ITfLQFofrgQecndGABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=Qpiphgls99IC&pg=PR17&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=YYJITcKUD82RgQft-5XTBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBjge#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=false

Early life

Berger, who is Jewish, came to the United States and become a naturalized citizen as a teenager. Berger is the son of a rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

, and himself an ordained cantor.

Career

He was the first featherweight in history to lift more than 800 pounds, and the first to press double his body weight.

He won the U. S. featherweight championship seven times, from 1955 through 1961 and in 1964.http://books.google.com/books?id=aOTWUl-9LQoC&pg=PA328&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=Un9ITfLQFofrgQecndGABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=false

He was world champion in 1958 and 1961, finishing second in 1957, 1959, and 1963.http://books.google.com/books?id=aOTWUl-9LQoC&pg=PA328&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=Un9ITfLQFofrgQecndGABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=false

Olympics

He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics. In the Featherweight class at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Berger won the gold medal with lifts totaling 352.5 kilograms (777 lb.).http://books.google.com/books?id=aOTWUl-9LQoC&pg=PA328&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=Un9ITfLQFofrgQecndGABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=Xcfef_d2es4C&pg=PA189&dq=%22Isaac+Berger%22&hl=en&ei=R4NITZawIcbEgQfLyNTZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBzgo#v=onepage&q=%22Isaac%20Berger%22&f=false Four years later he won a silver medal at the Rome Olympiad (362.5 kg, 799 lb).http://books.google.com/books?id=BC1n5ERmNq8C&q=Isaac+Berger&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=2oJITeSbBMnPgAew8vzSBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwATgo In the 1964 Tokyo Games he again won the Featherweight class silver at 382.5 kg (843 lb).http://books.google.com/books?id=BC1n5ERmNq8C&q=Isaac+Berger&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=2oJITeSbBMnPgAew8vzSBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwATgo His 1964 Olympic record of 152.5 kg (336 lb) in the clean and jerk, at a bodyweight of 130 pounds (59 kg), made him pound-for-pound the strongest man in the world, a record that stood for nine years.

Pan American Games

He was the Pan-American Games featherweight champion in 1959 and 1963.http://books.google.com/books?id=aOTWUl-9LQoC&pg=PA328&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=Un9ITfLQFofrgQecndGABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=false

Maccabiah Games

Competing in the Fifth Maccabiah Games in 1957,http://books.google.com/books?id=JeeO66xSjrEC&pg=PA157&dq=Isaac+Berger&hl=en&ei=YYJITcKUD82RgQft-5XTBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=Isaac%20Berger&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=hohspDWqzjwC&pg=PA84&dq=%22Isaac+Berger%22&hl=en&ei=R4NITZawIcbEgQfLyNTZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwADgo#v=onepage&q=%22Isaac%20Berger%22&f=false the year after winning his Olympic gold medal, Berger became the first athlete to establish a world record in the State of Israel, pressing 258 pounds (117 kg) in Featherweight competition.

Halls of fame

In 1965, Berger was elected to the United States Weightlifters Hall of Fame.

In 1980 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....

.

Weightlifting achievements

• Olympic champion (1956).
• Silver medalist in Olympic Games (1960 and 1964).
• Senior world champion (1958 and 1961).
• Silver medalist in Senior World Championships (1959, 1963, and 1964).
• Bronze medalist in Senior World Championships (1957).
• Pan Am Games champion (1959 and 1963).
• Senior national champion (1955–1961, and 1964).
• Set eight world records during career.

External links

• Isaac Berger – Hall of Fame at Weightlifting Exchange
• Hickock sports bio
• Jewish Sports bio
• Jews in Sports
• http://new.audioport.org/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=20036&nav=&