Rapael Chimishk'iani

Rapael Chimishk’iani took up weightlifting in 1946 and in his first Soviet championship in 1949 won a gold medal in bantamweight. In 1950, Chimishk’iani won silver at the World Championships and gold at the European Championships and then switched to featherweight, winning a silver at the Soviet championships in that category. In all, Chimishk’iani would win four Soviet titles in featherweight (1951, 1954-55, 1960), five silvers (1950, 1952-53, 1957-58) and two bronzes (1956, 1962). Chimishk’iani also won Olympic gold in 1952, World titles in 1954 and 1955 and silver in 1953, European titles in 1952 and 1954-1957 and silver in 1953. Chimishk’iani also set 10 world records – three in the snatch, two in the clean and jerk, and five in the total. After finishing his sporting career, Chimishk’iani was a Category One international weightlifting referee and was active in the Georgian Weightlifting Federation.