Jon Frederic Cole (April 1, 1943 – January 10, 2013) was a discus thrower,powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter and strongman from the United States.

[4] Having set world records in the squat, deadlift and Total during his career, he was multiple times AAU US National Powerlifting Champion[1] as well as an outstanding Olympic weightlifter, discus thrower and shot-putter.

[9] While past his prime as a lifter, he competed in the first annual World's Strongest Man competition in 1977, where he finished in 6th place.

[10] Cole graduated with academic and athletic honors, and accepted a four-year full scholarship from Arizona State University.

While at ASU he set the School, State, and Conference Records in the Discus and Shot Put, and was named an NCAA and AAU All American in 1965 and 1966.

[11] Cole held more than 200 marks in U.S. and European meets in discus and the shot put, according to Sports Illustrated, which ranked him No.

[3] Becoming a three time Arizona National Champion and totaling up to 1,200 pounds while competing in the super heavyweight division, however, he proved to be one of the best Olympic weightlifters in the United States during those days, in which Ken Patera was the most dominant American super heavyweight lifter with a total of 1,300 pounds.

[3] Cole began to compete in powerlifting during his college time and in 1968, he decided to participate in his first AAU National Power Lifting Championships.

[13] Lifters in the early days of the sport went largely without supportive gear, which makes Cole's lifting stats even more impressive.

Although Cole had vowed to take the challenge, he injured himself shortly before the championships to the point, where he was physically unable to lift, and would therefore not attend.