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Ken Patera

Ken Patera

Kenneth Wayne Patera is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and strongman competitor from the United States. Ken Patera, from a Czech-American family, was strong and extraordinarily athletic, with many people in his family also successful in athletics. His brother, Jack Patera, played football for the Baltimore Colts and was the head coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 until 1982. His brother, Dennis Patera, played for the San Francisco 49ers. Ken played football at Cleveland High School in Portland, Oregon, and wrestled at 193 pounds. Track and field was his first love, however, and he competed in the high hurdles and high jump, but a serious ankle injury forced him to switch to the shot put and discus in high school. Ken grew to become one of the nation's premier track and field weight throwers, competing at Brigham Young University. After his disappointing 6th-place finish in the shot-put at the 1968 Olympic trials, he turned his full and complete attention towards Olympic weightlifting. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Patera was a highly decorated Olympic weightlifter. He won several medals at the 1971 Pan-American Games (including gold in the weightlifting total), and finished second in the 1971 World Weightlifting Championships just behind Vasily Alekseyev. On his native soil, Patera won four consecutive U.S. Weightlifting Championships in the super heavyweight class from 1969 to 1972. He was the first American to clean and jerk over 500 lbs (227 kg), which he accomplished at the 1972 Senior Nationals in Detroit. He is also the only American to clean and press 500 lbs (227 kg), and was the last American super heavyweight for years to excel at weightlifting at an international level.[6] At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Patera was expected to be a serious competitor to Vasily Alekseyev, but he failed to total and was not among the medal recipients. Vasily Alekseyev even stated to the media that Patera was even stronger than him, illustrated by a 550-pound overhead push press (off the racks) that Patera had allegedly done in practice. Nevertheless, when it came to competing, Alekseyev was always the winner. After the clean and press (a lift in which Patera was disproportionately talented) was eliminated from competition, Patera retired from weightlifting.

Personal information

Birthday

1942-11-06

Birth Place

Portland, Oregon, USA

Movies and TV shows :

Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant

1985

6.2

Movie
Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant

2018

7.3

Movie
AWA Battle Royale '89

AWA Battle Royale '89

1989

5.0

Movie
AWA Christmas Night 1983

AWA Christmas Night 1983

1983

0.0

Movie
AWA Christmas Show 1983

AWA Christmas Show 1983

1983

0.0

Movie
AWA Rage in Rochester

AWA Rage in Rochester

1989

0.0

Movie
AWA Super Sunday

AWA Super Sunday

1983

7.5

Movie
AWA War in The Windy City

AWA War in The Windy City

1989

0.0

Movie
Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports

Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports

1985

0.0

Movie
NWA Sam Muchnick Retirement Show

NWA Sam Muchnick Retirement Show

1982

0.0

Movie
The Best of the WWF: volume 17

The Best of the WWF: volume 17

1988

0.0

Movie
The Best of the WWF: volume 7

The Best of the WWF: volume 7

1986

0.0

Movie
The Best of the WWF: volume 9

The Best of the WWF: volume 9

1986

0.0

Movie
The Super Bowl of Wrestling

The Super Bowl of Wrestling

1978

0.0

Movie
poster

The World's Strongest Man

1977

0.0

TV
The Wrestler

The Wrestler

1974

4.2

Movie
Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino

Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino

1986

0.0

Movie
WWE Los Angeles Wrestling: November '88

WWE Los Angeles Wrestling: November '88

1988

0.0

Movie
WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling: June '87

WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling: June '87

1987

0.0

Movie
WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling: September '84

WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling: September '84

1984

0.0

Movie
poster

WWE Pay Per View

1985

0.0

TV
poster

WWE Rivalries

2014

7.0

TV
WWE Showdown at Shea '80

WWE Showdown at Shea '80

1980

0.0

Movie
WWE SummerSlam 1988

WWE SummerSlam 1988

1988

7.4

Movie
WWE Survivor Series 1987

WWE Survivor Series 1987

1987

8.9

Movie
WWE Survivor Series 1988

WWE Survivor Series 1988

1988

8.5

Movie
WWE WrestleFest

WWE WrestleFest

1988

5.0

Movie
WWE WrestleMania IV

WWE WrestleMania IV

1988

7.4

Movie
WWE Wrestling at The Meadowlands: December '84

WWE Wrestling at The Meadowlands: December '84

1984

0.0

Movie
WWE: Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden

WWE: Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden

2013

9.2

Movie
WWE: The History Of The Intercontinental Championship

WWE: The History Of The Intercontinental Championship

2008

7.3

Movie
poster

WWF Wrestling Challenge

1986

6.8

TV
WWF's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest

WWF's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest

1985

0.0

Movie