Marcel Paterni
# Marcel Paterni

Marcel Paterni (September 22, 1936 – July 13, 2019) was a French weightlifter of the 1950s and 1960s, who was dubbed "the French strongman of the Gaullian era" by European expert in heavy athletics Emmanuel Legeard.

## Early life

Of Corsican descent, Paterni was born in Casablanca, Morocco, on September 22, 1936. He was introduced to weightlifting by his older brother and started training in Casablanca at 16 years of age. In 1954, he was drafted into the French Army and stationed in Algeria during the Algerian War. In 1956, he moved to Paris, France.

## Career

Paterni competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1960 Summer Olympics, and 1964 Summer Olympics. As a light-heavyweight (182 lb or 82.5 kg), Paterni set the World record at 150.5 kg in the Olympic press the 25 July 1959 in Massiac, France. In 1965, he retired from competition and turned to coaching. He eventually became head coach of the French Olympic weightlifting team in the mid-eighties. During his early coaching career in the 1960s Marcel Paterni pioneered a number of revolutionary methods and techniques of conditioning, like high-altitude training or 3-dimensional strength platform training.

