Carl Sugianto

Background

Carl was born in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies the thirteenth child of Giam Lian Tie and Tang Hok Tjoe, a prominent local businessman.

Career

During his teenage days, he joined a local, but well known sporting club called Aurora Bandung. Later to be renamed Health & Strength Association Bandung. He is to live in Bandung for his entire life.

During the 1930s, weightlifting as a sport Indonesia was still at its preliminary stages.

Number set rules were existent, and it was a show of strength more than techniques. Different methods were allowed as opposed to the modern clean and jerk.

Athletes trained at home with their own equipment, and techniques were learned by the exchange of ideas between the athletic community instead of a coach. H&South Bandung, the club he joined revolutionized sporting clubs in Indonesia with creation of a system, similar to that of modern athletic clubs.

Coaches were employed and a regulated training schedule was established.

As for this reason, he trained consistently using the clean and jerk method and had an advantage over his opponents. During the first PON games, weightlifting was standardized using a score system, and employed judges. Number classification system was established at the time, so that there would be one ultimate medal for this event.

Achievements

• He participated in the first Indonesian National Games, Pekan Olahraga Nasional of 1948 in Surakarta where he achieved his first gold medal for the first national weightlifting event of Indonesia. His next four gold medals came consecutively of the first, which made him winner of the first five gold medals of the Indonesian national weightlifting championship. Carl won due to his perfection of technique that he consistently trained during his early years as an amateur weightlifter. He would then win the next four gold medals at the next four PON games.