Topic: News: Frank Spellman recounts Olympic success

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Frank Spellman recounts Olympic success
By David LaRock

Sixty years ago in London, Frank Spellman almost slept his way out of an Olympic weightlifting gold medal.

"While we were training we always had a set routine. I took naps," said Spellman, 85, the oldest living Olympic gold medal weightlifter and a Gulf Breeze resident.

"I was taking a nap and something woke me up. I looked at (teammate) Pete George, and noticed the rest of the weightlifting team left us behind."

Spellman and George were the only two American weightlifters who weren't at the weigh-in for the 1948 Olympics in London. They overpaid a taxi to speed through London streets. They pulled into the Olympic venue with exactly 60 seconds to spare.

"We were laughing, telling jokes and singing in the taxi, just to ease the tension," said Spellman, who set the clean and jerk Olympic middleweight record of 336 pounds and combined lifted weight of 859 pounds.

The possibility of getting disqualified for being late never crossed his mind.

"We just knew we were going to get there," he said.

Spellman went on to win gold and set two Olympic records.

Even though Spellman won't be competing anytime soon, he still lifts and workouts regularly at The Club, a fitness and sports recreation center, located off U.S. 98 near his home.

He offers more proof that age is a state of mind.

Spellman, still trim and well-conditioned, keeps a daily routine with Gulf Breeze resident Herb Smith, a close friend, who lives nearby. The duo is well-known at The Club. They're an inspiration to young members.

"Herb and I lift all the time in the mornings," Spellman said. "I do bench press, sit-ups, row pulls, nothing real heavy."

"They call us the 'Golden Guys.' A lot of people come up to us and say we are the reason they keep coming back, as motivation."

Spellman's Olympic legacy and his personal memories were rekindled last month. He watched intently as USA swimming superstar Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Ussian Bolt shattered world records at this year's Olympic games in Beijing, Spellman explained there are three different kind of athletes who compete.

"There are guys who have the mental capacity to be great, but don't have the natural ability, so they only go so far. There are others who are naturally gifted who don't push themselves, and they also only go so far. Once in a while you get an athlete who puts it all together, that's when you get a winner. That's when you get a Michael Phelps."

Spellman explains that even with all the training, to become a world champion and even an olympic medal winner, a competitor has to be mentally smart as well as physically gifted.

"You got to be a genius on your own body, to make corrections, to improve on yourself. You can't be a dummy and a champion."

The sport of weightlifting has changed dramatically since Spellman last competed. The improvements in training and nutrition have altered the way professional lifters train. Spellman and his team trained with a diet full of milk, steak, and potatoes.

"We used to train on milk, steak, and potatoes," Spellman said. "When we were done training, we were like greyhound dogs. Fine-tuned athletes."

Spellman hopes to see Phelps and the rest of Team USA at the 2012 Olympics in London. Spellman plans a return to the place where he captured gold six decades earlier.

"The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) wants me, and the rest of the medal winners from '48 there for the opening ceremonies in 2012," Spellman said. Asked if he would travel, Spellman smiled and replied, "Absolutely."

This time, he'll probably travel with an alarm clock.