Lifter Charlie dies of heart failure at 59

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)