Eleiko History - 1967

A tire changes everything

While on vacation, Mr Stig Edebalk meets a weightlifter who ingeniously fastens a rubber tire around the steel weight plate to reduce damage to the floor and suppresses the loud sound of the weights hitting the floor. Inspired, Mr Edebalk collaborates with the Halmstad Rubber Factory to develop a custom rubber mix, and Eleiko’s first line of rubber weights is put into production. Working with the Swedish Weightlifting Federation, the green, yellow, red, and blue colour scheme is selected, laying the foundation for the equipment used throughout the sport to this day.

Fun fact: Eleiko’s rubber weights are still produced in the same rubber factory in Halmstad today.

Increasing the world records

Eleiko unveils its next innovation, needle roller bearings in the sleeves, at the World Championships in Greece with a bold claim that the new barbell design will increase every world record by 2.5 kg. The impressive bar performance has athletes worldwide demanding to train on Eleiko’s coveted new bars, and the notion of the “Eleiko Feeling” feeling is born.