death_date birth_place weight birth_date article_title name occupation
10 january 2013 usa chicago , illinois 235 active -- 283 lbs -lrb- 106 -- 128kg -rrb- 1 april 1943 jon cole -lrb- weightlifter -rrb-
 jon cole powerlifting , olympic weightlifting , strongman , personal trainer
jon cole -lrb- weightlifter -rrb-

jon frederic cole -lrb- april 1 , 1943 -- january 10 , 2013 -rrb- was a powerlifter , olympic weightlifter and strongman from the united states .
he competed in powerlifting just prior to the formation of the international powerlifting federation -lrb- ipf -rrb- .
having set world records in the squat , deadlift and total during his career , he was multiple times aau us national powerlifting champion as well as an outstanding olympic weightlifter , discus thrower and shot-putter .
being the `` premier strongman '' of the early 1970s for his overall excellence in powerlifting , olympic lifting and strength-based track and field , cole was at one time known as the `` strongest man in the world '' for holding the greatest combined powerlifting/weightlifting super total of all time .
jon cole was not only officially the first man in history to total 2200 lbs , he also became the first man to squat over 900 lbs -lrb- raw with knee wraps -rrb- as well as the first to total 2300 lbs in competition on october 28 , 1972 -lrb- shortly followed two weeks later by john kuc with 905 and 2350 lbs on november 11 -rrb- .
today , he is enjoying legendary status in the powerlifting scene and is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest powerlifters in the history of the sport .
his lifts , which are considered as raw by today 's standards , are still mostly unequaled in his weight class : he still holds the all-time greatest raw -lrb- unequipped -rrb- powerlifting totals in the 242 and the 308-pound division .
in 1977 , while past his prime as a lifter , he competed in the first annual world 's strongest man competition 1977 , where he finished in 6th place .
