Vasiliy Alekseyev
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Men's weightlifting | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for the  Soviet Union |
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| Gold | 1972 Munich | Super heavyweight |
| Gold | 1976 Montreal | Super heavyweight |
Vasiliy Ivanovich Alekseyev (Russian: Василий Иванович Алексеев; born January 7, 1942 in the village of Pokrovo-Shishkino, Ryazan Oblast) is a former competitor from the Soviet Union,[1] who may be considered the greatest super heavyweight weightlifter of all time. He set 80 world records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting.
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[edit] Biography
He began practicing weightlifting at age 18. Alekseyev was trained at Trud Voluntary Sports Society by his coach Rudolf Plyukfelder until 1968, when he began to train alone there. For this purpose he invented a special, very hard training system, which was much different from the methods commonly used at that time. One of his unique training methods was diving into a river, a lake or a pool with the barbell, and pressing it out of the water.
In January of 1970 Alekseyev set his first world record,[1] beginning a series of 80 world records set between 1970 and 1977. He was unbeaten and held the World Championship and European Championship titles for those eight years. He was the first man to total over 600 kg in the triple event.[1]
However, his performance in the Moscow Olympics of 1980 was a disappointment. In the snatch he set his opening weight too high and was unable to lift it, scoring zero kilograms as the result. He retired from weightlifting after the Moscow Olympics.
In 1987, Alekseyev was elected to represent the Ryazan District for the Soviet Union's Congress of People's Deputies.[1] Alekseyev worked as a coach between 1990 and 1992. Under his leadership the Unified Team earned ten medals in weightlifting at the 1992 Summer Olympics, including five golds.
In 1999, in Greece, Alekseyev was acknowledged as the best sportsman of the 20th century. He was also awarded Order of Lenin (1972), Order of Friendship of Peoples, Order of the Badge of Honor (1970), Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1972). In 1993 he was elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.[2]
Since 1966 he has lived in Shakhty. In 1971 Alekseyev graduated from the branch of the Novocherkassk Polytechnical Institute in Shakhty.
Alekseyev featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on April 14, 1975, titled "World's Strongest Man".[3]
[edit] Statistics and career bests
Until 1972:
- Clean and press: 236.5 kg, official world record.
- Snatch: 180.0 kg, official world record.
- Clean and jerk: 237.5 kg, official world record.
- Total: 645.0 kg (clean and press + snatch + clean and jerk), in 1972-04-15, on Tallinn, official world record until 1972. [6]
After 1972:
- Snatch: 190.0 kg
- Clean and jerk: 256.0 kg in 1977-11-01 on Moscow.
- Total: 445.0 kg (snatch + clean and jerk) in 1977-09-01 on Podolsk.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Croft, Lee B (2002) [1992]. Dawson, Dawn P. ed. Great Athletes. 1 (Revised ed.). Salem Press. pp. 35-37. ISBN 1-58765-008-8.
- ^ "Weightlifting Hall of Fame". International Weightlifting Federation. http://www.iwf.net/iwf/organization/members.php. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
- ^ "April 14, 1975 - Volume 42, Issue 15". Sports Illustrated. 1975-04-14. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8429/index.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.
- ^ "Alexeev Vasili (URS)". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. http://www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/datenbanken/dbgwh/daten.php?spid=6F3304D258634466A42D0FBFE4826C55. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
- ^ a b ."Vasiliy Alexeev". Chidlovski, Arthur R.. http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=5. Retrieved on 2009-05-23.
- ^ Konze, Arthur. World Records from 1896 - 1972. In: <http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=50|publisher=weightliftingexchange.com/>. Retrieved on 2009-05-23
[edit] Bibliography
- D. I. Ivanov (1977) (in Russian). Vasily Alekseyev. Heroes of the Olympic Games. Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. http://www.sportlib.ru/books/heavy/alekseev/.
[edit] External links
- World Records and titles of Vasily Alekseyev
- The Best At Everything, by William O. Johnson
- Biography (in Russian) with many photos
- Vasily Alekseyev - Hall of Fame at Weightlifting Exchange
- Britannica entry on Alekseyev
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