Joe Dube won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games, and was one of the favorites for gold at the 1968 Olympics, along with Leonid Zhabotinsky of the USSR, and Serge Reding. Zhabotinsky won easily, and Dube only lost the silver medal to Reding because he outweighed the Belgian – they lifted the same amount. Dube later won the World Championship in the super-heavyweight class in 1969 in Warszawa, Poland. During his career Dube competed in 7 World Championships, set six world records, and 12 American records. He was also the first American weightlifter to total 1,300 lbs. (591 kg.) in the older three-lift total.
Personal Bests: Total – 591 kg. (1,300 lbs.); Press – 210 kg. (463 lbs.); Snatch – 167 kg. (369 lbs.); Clean & Jerk – 215 kg. (474 lbs.).
United States