John Grimek

Who was John Grimek?

John Carroll Grimek was an American bodybuilder and weightlifter active in the 1930s and 1940s.

Grimek was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek, peasants from the village Ústie nad Oravou in western Slovakia.

Besides his bodybuilding exploits, in which he was never defeated, Grimek also represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

In 1948, at 38 years of age, Grimek defeated Steve Reeves at the NABBA Mr. Universe contest in London.

The following year he won his last contest, the AAU Mr. USA, against a field that included Reeves, Clarence Ross, George Eiferman, and Armand Tanny. He retired from bodybuilding undefeated.

John was featured in many bodybuilding articles and magazines, as well as being photographed in bodybuilding magazines. Despite his retirement, Grimek continued serious training for many years, and was still able to squat with over 400 pounds for repetitions in his late 60s. Grimek died in York, Pennsylvania. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.