Ymer Pampuri the first Albanian World Champion and

Ymer Pampuri, the first Albanian World Champion, and « 1972 -1991» : the Golden Twenty-Year Period of Albanian Weightlifting by Giovanni Armillotta University of Pisa – ITALY

When in 1972 Albania began the Golden Twenty-Year of her Weightlifting was only 2, 297, 000 inhabitants, equivalent to the current population of the Italian province of Turin. And it’s amazing how some few citizens who practiced a sport non-mainstream, they were able to lead the Country at the heights of the Olympics, and World, European, Balkan Championships and Mediterranean Games.

The World Title – XX Olympic Games of Munich 1972

The discovered in Albania of Ymer Pampuri’s World Title

Why the World Champion, Ymer Pampuri, and the Albanian people for almost three decades have never known the greatest success of the Albanian sports of all time? • • All this happened because the weightlifting Albanian delegation after the competition it went immediately to the hotel and then returned to her Homeland, since the Olympic Games ended 13 days later, and at the closing ceremony would be attended by other athletes of Albania. It was customary that the Albanian athletes, when they were abroad, they did not have a shower in the sports complex but at the hotel, and all this for ministerial orders. So when the International Weightlifting Federation officials travelled to Munich Fair Company – which hosted the competitions – to deliver the diploma of World Champion of Press (– 60 kg. ) to Ymer Pampuri, they had not found none and the media of Albania and its sportsmen and fans never knew the World Title until 2001. It should also be said that the Albania Weightlifting Federation (Federata Shqiptare e Peshëngritjes) had not subscribed to the official review of IWF, where surely the event had been reported. It should be also reported another thing: the IWF could also send by surface mail to the Albania Weightlifting Federation the communication and the diploma of Ymer Pampuri, World Champion, but IWF never did. I believe because – IWF being controlled by the pro-Soviet countries – also an Albanian sport success could give political annoyance. Moreover Ymer Pampuri just do beat Soviet Dito Ivanovič Šanidze and legendary Bulgarian Norajr Nurikijan: the second and the third had equal weight lifted, but they were heavier in build.

AFTER YMER PAMPURI, SUCCESSES DIDN’T END! 45 gold, 39 silver and 81 bronze medals in competitions 1972 -1991

OVERALL TABLE OF GREATER SUCCESSES OF ALBANIAN NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE 5 th Balkan Junior Championship 1989 (Kladovo, Yugoslavia, July 21 th-23 rd) ALBANIA: BALKAN CHAMPION 68 th European Championship/62 nd World Championship 1989 (Athens, Greece, September 16 th-23 rd) ALBANIA: FOURTH IN EUROPE AND THIRTEENTH IN THE WORLD European Cup 1989 (Sofia, Bulgaria Dec. 16 th-17 th) ALBANIA: THIRD IN EUROPEAN CUP 69 th European Champ. 1990 (Aalborg, Denmark, May 14 th-20 th) ALBANIA: THIRD IN EUROPE 6 th Balkan Junior Championship 1990 (Korçë, Albania, July 20 th-22 th) ALBANIA: BALKAN CHAMPION European Cup 1990 (Antalya, Turkey, December 1 st) ALBANIA: SECOND IN EUROPEAN CUP THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR AUTHORITATIVE ATTENTION!