Lifter Charlie dies of heart failure at 59

JAKARTA (JP): Former national lifter and coach Charlie Depthios died on Saturday from a stroke.

Charlie suffered the stroke last year and died at Jambi hospital at the age of 59.

Charlie is survived by his wife and eight children. Antara news agency reported that he would be buried on Sunday in Jambi.

Born on Feb. 2, 1940 at Mamuju village, Central Sulawesi, Charlie managed to set a new world record in the clean and jerk event with a total lift of 132.5 kilograms at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Two years earlier, the modest Charlie also received an award for his dedication to sports from Mashuri, who was then the education and culture minister, in a ceremony commemorating Indonesia's Independence on Aug. 17, 1970.

In 1982, he moved to Jambi and took a job as a coach. He succeeded in coaching national and international lifters, including his son Enosh Depthios, Sunaryo and Taufik, and women's powerlifter Yayuk.

With Charlie's golden touch, Jambi's lifters contributed many gold medals which enabled the province to stay in the top 10 medal standings from the tenth to fourteenth National Games (PON).

"I will miss him. Charlie coached many national and international lifters," Taufik was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday. (ivy)