George, Peter T.

Ohioan Peter T. George was an Olympic medalist in weightlifting during the 1940s and 1950s.

George was born on June 29, 1929, in Akron, Ohio. His parents, Tryan and Paraskeva Taleff (also known as Tony and Para George) were immigrants from Macedonia. As a child, Peter George excelled in sports and especially developed a fondness for weightlifting. In 1948, at only nineteen years of age, George won a silver medal in weightlifting as a middleweight at the Summer Olympic Games in London, England. In 1952, he won a gold medal in weightlifting at the Summer Olympic Games at Helsinki, Finland and won a silver medal in weightlifting at the Summer Olympic Games at Melbourne, Australia in 1956, competing in the middleweight division each time. Between 1947 and 1952, George also won five world championships as a middleweight in weightlifting.

During his last Olympics, George was serving in the United States Army. He eventually attended Kent State University, The Ohio State University, and Columbia University. Upon retiring from sports, George became an orthodontist and served on the faculty of the University of Hawaii.