1948
Silver Medal, Weight Lifting, Middleweight
1952
Gold Medal, Weight Lifting, Middleweight
1956
Silver Medal, Weight Lifting, Middleweight
1948 Olympic Games
London, United Kingdom
Peter George made his Olympic debut in 1948 in the men’s 75 kg (middleweight) weightlifting competition. Each weightlifter had three attempts at each of the three lifts: Press, Snatch, and Clean & Jerk. The best score for each was added up for total points. The weightlifter could increase the weight between attempts.
George was the second lightest of the lifters in 1948 at 73.25 kg. In the Press, his best lift was 105 kilos. In the Snatch, his best was 122.5, an Olympic record. In the Clean & Jerk, his best was 155, another Olympic record. His total points were 382.5 which won him the Silver medal.
1952 Olympic Games
Helsinki, Finland
In the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Peter was in the military stationed in Hawaii. He again competed in the middleweight division, this time bringing home the Gold medal in the 74.84 kg division. His lifts were 115, 127.5 and 157.5 for a total of 400 kilos, a new Olympic record.
1956 Olympic Games
Melbourne, Australia
In 1956, he won a Silver medal at the Olympics with lifts of 270, 281 and 358 for a total of 908 points.
Peter also won five World championships outside of the Olympics in 1947, 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955. He placed second at the World Championships in 1949 and 1950, earning a total of 10 medals in World and Olympic competition. He also set four world records, three in the clean and jerk and one in total points.
After Peter stopped competing, he finished college and moved to Hawaii. He became a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club in 1963. He was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
World Records
Year Lift Type Result Wt Class Location
1948 Clean & Jerk 161.75 Middle York
1950 Clean & Jerk 162.75 Middle Los Angeles
1950 Clean & Jerk 164.5 75 Middle York
1953 Total (3) 370 67.5 Light Stockholm