Lee James, The Great American Weightlifter (Part 2)
Here’s Part 2 on the weightlifting career of the incomparable Lee James.
Back in Competition
Lee was finally able to compete again in October of 1973, and he picked up right where he left off–lifting 330 lbs in the Clean & Jerk. At another competition in January of 1974, he lifted 132.5 kg/292 lbs in the Snatch and 162.5 kg/358 lbs in the Clean & Jerk.
Those lifts qualified him to compete in the Junior and Senior Nationals in the 82.5 kg/181.8 lb weight class. He took second in the Juniors and fourth in the Seniors. Those performances qualified him to lift in international competitions, and he then went on to compete in Germany, France, Spain, and England. His best Snatch was140 kg/308.6 lbs and his best Clean & Jerk was 170 kg/374.8 lbs.
It was at that point that Lee realized he might have what it takes to become an Olympian. His goal? Make the 1976 Olympic weightlifting team. Although still without a full-time coach, Lee received helpful advice from Dick Green and Marty Cypher.
Soon after returning from his European trip, Lee was off to Mexico to compete in the Pan American Games. There, Lee placed second with a 135 Kg/297.6 lb Snatch and a 165 Kg/363.7 lb Clean & Jerk.
Next up was the World Championships in Manila, Philippines. He placed a respectable 8th, which wasn’t bad considering that it was Lee’s first opportunity to compete in the World Championships.
Later, in a local competition in Georgia in December, Lee snatched 315 lbs, which was the most he had done up to that point. One month later in Philadelphia, he lifted his all-time best in the Clean & Jerk–380 Lbs
A month later, in Iowa, he set yet another PR (personal record) with a 695 lb total (both lifts combined).
Then came the Senior Nationals in California (June 1975). Lee snatched 142.5 kg/314 lbs and Clean & Jerked 170 kg/374.8–the same as Pete Rawluk, his main competitor, had performed. But Lee had to settle for second place. The reason? Tiebreaker goes to the man who weighed in with lighter bodyweight, and Rawluk was slightly lighter than Lee.
Later that year, he once again competed in the Pan American Games and took first place with a 140 Kg/308.6 lb Snatch and a 175 Kg/385.8 lb Clean & Jerk.
Moving Up in Weight
All the heavy training resulted in Lee gaining size and muscle, and that meant he would move up to the next weight class (90 Kg/198.4 lbs).
His first two competitions in that new weight class were Europe vs. the Americas. The first competition took place in Toronto, and the second was in Gettysburg, PA, both taking place in November 1975. His lifts were now up to 150 Kg/330.6 lbs in the Snatch and 185 Kg/407.8 lbs in the Clean & Jerk.
Around that time, Lee and his family moved to York, PA in a move made possible with the help of weightlifting official Bob Crist. Crist wrote letters to the Army and the Pentagon on Lee’s behalf urging the Army to reassign Lee to York. There, Lee would be able to work out with many other top USA lifters. There was more to the move, too. Lee now had a coach in Dick Smith, and he enrolled at York College, where he studied marketing.
In February, Lee began his attack on the American record in the Snatch (90-kilo weight class) with a lift of 157.5 kg/347.2 lbs. The late Rick Holbrook had held the record previously 155 kg/341.7 lbs.
In June at the 1976 Senior Nationals in Philadelphia, Lee took first place, beating out his good friend Phil Grippaldi with a 160 kg/352.7 lb Snatch and a 195 kg/430 lb Clean & Jerk. The 160 Snatch broke the American record of 157.5 that Lee had set back in February.
The 1976 nationals also served as a qualifier for the Olympics, and both Lee and Grippaldi made the team.
(The Olympics are next in Part 3.)
