Russ Prior Explained

Russ Prior
Fullname:Russel Prior
Birth Date:July 11, 1949
Birth Place:Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Death Date:[1]
Height:183 cm[2]
Weight:110 kg
Sport:Weightlifting
Weight Class:110 kg
Team:National team
Updated:10 January 2017

Russel "Russ" Prior (July 11, 1949  - February 17, 2017)[2] was a Canadian weightlifter, who represented Canada at international competitions.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario,[2] Prior first became interested in weightlifting at the age of 15, after reading about the lifting performance of a local resident in a newspaper. His father built a gym in their house's basement, and Prior won multiple events at the CANUSA Games. Three times – in 1970, 1974, and 1978 – Prior won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, along with those titles, he earned three Pan American Games gold medals.[3] After not being able to compete at the 1972 Summer Olympics due to a back injury,[3] he won the bronze medal in the 110 kg snatch at the 1976 World Weightlifting Championships, lifting 167.5 kg. He participated at the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 110 kg event,[4] and is credited with a ninth-place finish.[2] In 1978, Prior became the Commonwealth record-holder in the 110+ kg clean and jerk, by successfully lifting 210.5 kg.[5] Prior retired from the sport and moved to Winnipeg, where he became a high school teacher.[3]

References

  1. Web site: Russ Prior passed away. Lassen. Moira J.. February 24, 2017. International Weightlifting Federation. March 5, 2017.
  2. Web site: Russ Prior. Sports Reference LLC. https://web.archive.org/web/20200418052858/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pr/russ-prior-1.html. dead. 18 April 2020. 10 January 2017.
  3. News: Fitz-Gerald. Tony. Tired of weighting; Hamilton Olympian Russ Prior is happy to live his life in obscurity. The Hamilton Spectator. 27 September 2000. C4.
  4. Web site: Weightlifting World Championships Seniors Statistics - 2007 World Championships - Russ Prior. 102–125. iwf.net. 23 June 2016.
  5. News: Weightlifting championships: Russ Prior sets record for Commonwealth. The Globe and Mail. 27 March 1978. S4.