Highlights:
NOTE:
The "Junior National Championship" was
a
contest for those who
had never won a national championship,
and was not related to age.
As the
Junior Nationals was itself a national championship,
you could only win it once. After that, you were no
longer eligible to compete
in it. The Junior
Nationals was a national championship competition,
one step below the "Senior Nationals" (again,
"Senior" had nothing
to do with age).
The Junior Nationals was a competition for lifters
of considerable quality.
Background:
The
Maccabiah Games are quadrennial Jewish Olympics,
held in Israel the year following the Olympic Games.
A Maccabiah participant who lives in and competes
for another country can compete for another country when he or she changes
his or her country of residence. The Maccabiah is
staged under the auspices of
the
Maccabi World Union (MWU), a worldwide youth and sports organization
devoted to furthering Jewish identity and traditions
through cultural, social, and
educational activities. The MWU is headquartered in Israel.
1965
– The 7th Maccabiah
Competed in the Lightweight Division for the U.S. Team,
at the Ramat Gan Stadium, in Ramat Gan, Israel
Won:
Bronze Medal
1968
U.S. Olympic Trials
Competed in the Middleweight Division
Won: Fourth Place
David did his best 165 lb. lifting at the 1968
Olympic Trials, where he totaled 920 to win fourth place in
a very elite field. His lifts were 286, 275, and 358.
He took two shots at a 385 Clean & Jerk, but missed it. He missed a
259 snatch twice, then jumped to 275 and made it. He
racked in the 385 clean, world caliber
at that time.
NOTE: When
David Berger won the 1969 Junior Nationals, he
was already a contender on the overall national
scene, having finished a respectable fourth
at the
1968 U.S. Olympic Trials.
1969 –
U.S. Junior Nationals Championship
Competed in the Middleweight
Division
Won:
Gold Medal
1969
– The 8th Maccabiah
Competed in the Middleweight Division for the U.S. Team
Won: Gold Medal
All Maccabiah athletes make a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Western
Wall. An impressive ceremony on Mt. Scopus was
attended by Israel’s Deputy Prime
Minister, Yigal Allon, and Prime Minister Golda Meir. For the
first time an International Youth Camp was held
within the framework of the Maccabiah. The corner
stone was laid for a Museum and Archives in the Maccabiah
Village.
1971
Asian Weightlifting Championship
Competed in the Light Heavyweight Division for the Israeli Team
Won:
Silver Medal
Israel is recognized as an Asian country by several
international sports organizations.
The first Asian Weightlifting Championships held in the auditorium of the
Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines. The day before the
championships the first
Asian Weightlifting Congress was held, and David Berger was the official spokesman
for his team. When it was his turn to speak, the
hall was spellbound by the
beauty and eloquence of his language.
1972
Olympics, Munich, Germany
Competed in the Light Heavyweight Division for the Israeli
Olympic Team
His first attempt on the Press with 292 pounds was a success, then
increased to 308 pounds and missed it twice. On the
Snatch He started with 270 pounds and
missed. He lifted it on his second attempt, then increased to 286 pounds
and missed. On the Clean and Jerk he started with
363 pounds and missed three times.