Hans Wölpert grew up in Munich and as a boy played football and competed in gymnastics, but his extraordinary power was soon recognized and he took up weightlifting, but World War I delayed his career. Since Germany was excluded from the 1924 Olympic Games and there were no international championships from 1925 -27, he could only start his international career in 1928 at the age of 30.
He won bronze at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and silver in 1932 in Los Angeles, but was European champion in 1921 and 1933 and was also a four-time German Champion (1924, 1928, 1930, 1933), also winning several German team championship with his club TSV 1860 München. He set 15 world records in the featherweight and lightweight class over a very long period – 1919-36 – with 10 in the press, one in the snatch, and four in the total. He later became a München city employee.
Germany