Editing Vasily Alekseyev

{{Short description|Soviet weightlifter (1942–2011)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor    = 
| name           = Vasily Alekseyev
| image          = Vasily Alekseyev 1970.jpg
| image_size     = 
| caption        = Alekseyev {{c.|1970}}
| birth_name     = 
| fullname       = Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev
| nickname       = 
| nationality    = Russian
| residence      = 
| birth_date     = {{birth date|df=yes|1942|1|07}}
| birth_place    = [[Miloslavsky District|Pokrovo-Shishkino]], [[Ryazan Oblast]], [[Russian SFSR]], {{nowrap|[[Soviet Union]]}}
| death_date     = {{death date and age|df=yes|2011|11|25|1942|1|07}}
| death_place    = [[Badenhausen]], Germany
| height         = {{convert|1.86|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="va">{{cite web |url=http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=5 |title=Vasiliy Alexeev |publisher=Lift Up |access-date=27 July 2009}}</ref>
| weight         = {{convert|160|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/datenbanken/dbgwh/daten.php?spid=6F3304D258634466A42D0FBFE4826C55 |title=Alexeev Vasili (URS) |publisher=Database Weightlifting |access-date=27 July 2009}}</ref> 
| website        = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} -->
| country        = [[Soviet Union]]
| sport          = [[Olympic weightlifting]]
| club           = Trud Rostov oblast<br>Trud Ryazan 
| event          = + 110 kg
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]]}}
{{MedalCountry|the {{URS}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1972 Summer Olympics|1972 Munich]]|[[Weightlifting at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's +110 kg|+110 kg]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal]]|[[Weightlifting at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's +110 kg|+110 kg]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[World Weightlifting Championships]]}}<br />Total
{{MedalGold|[[1970 World Weightlifting Championships|1970 Columbus]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1971 World Weightlifting Championships|1971 Lima]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1972 World Weightlifting Championships|1972 Munich]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1973 World Weightlifting Championships|1973 Havana]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1974 World Weightlifting Championships|1974 Manila]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1975 World Weightlifting Championships|1975 Moscow]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1976 World Weightlifting Championships|1976 Montreal]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1977 World Weightlifting Championships|1977 Stuttgart]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Weightlifting Championships]]}}<br />Total
{{MedalGold|[[1970 European Weightlifting Championships|1970 Szombathely]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1971 European Weightlifting Championships|1971 Sofia]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1972 European Weightlifting Championships|1972 Constanţa]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1973 European Weightlifting Championships|1973 Madrid]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1974 European Weightlifting Championships|1974 Verona]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1975 European Weightlifting Championships|1975 Moscow]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1977 European Weightlifting Championships|1977 Stuttgart]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|[[1978 European Weightlifting Championships|1978 Havířov]]|+110 kg}}
{{MedalCountry|the Trud Sports Society}}
{{MedalCompetition|USSR Weightlifting Championships}}<br />Total
{{MedalBronze|1968 Luhansk|+102.5 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1970 Vilnius|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1971 Moscow|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1972 Tallinn|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1973 Donetsk|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1974 Tbilisi|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1975 Vilnius|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1976 Karaganda|+110 kg}}
{{MedalCompetition|Summer Spartakiad of the USSR}}<br />Total
{{MedalGold|1971 Moscow|+110 kg}}
{{MedalGold|1975 Vilnius|+110 kg}}
{{MedalCompetition|Cups of the USSR}}
{{MedalGold|1970 Vilnius|+110 kg Clean & Press}}
{{MedalGold|1970 Vilnius|+110 kg Snatch}}
{{MedalGold|1970 Vilnius|+110 kg Clean & Jerk}}
{{MedalGold|1970 Vilnius|+110 kg Total}}
{{MedalGold|1972 Sochi|+110 kg Clean & Jerk}}
{{MedalGold|1972 Sochi|+110 kg Total}}
{{MedalGold|1974 Zaporizhia|+110 kg Snatch }}
{{MedalGold|1974 Zaporizhia|+110 kg Clean & Jerk}}
{{MedalGold|1974 Zaporizhia|+110 kg Total}}
| show-medals    = no
}}

'''Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev''' ({{langx|ru|Василий Иванович Алексеев}}; 7 January 1942 – 25 November 2011) was a Soviet [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifter]]. He set 80 world-records<ref name="pantheon">{{cite web|url=https://strengthrecord.com/#Strength%20Record%20Pantheon%E2%80%8B |title=STRENGTH RECORD PANTHEON, the most prolific record breakers of all time across all strength sports |website=www.strengthrecord.com |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref> and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting and won Olympic gold medals at the [[Weightlifting at the 1972 Summer Olympics|1972]] and [[Weightlifting at the 1976 Summer Olympics|1976]] games.<ref name=sr/>

==Biography==
At the age of 18, Alekseyev began practicing weightlifting at Trud [[Voluntary Sports Societies of the Soviet Union|VSS]], trained by his coach [[Rudolf Plyukfelder]] until 1968, when he began to train solo. He was not a naturally large man like other super heavyweights but was encouraged to gain strength by adding weight. In January 1970, Alekseyev set his first world record, and during the 1970 World Weightlifting Championship in Columbus, he was the first man to clean and jerk 500 pounds (227&nbsp;kg) in competition.<ref name="srlandmark">{{cite web|url=https://strengthrecord.com/landmark-feats-and-other-records/ |title=STRENGTH RECORD, Landmark Feats and others Records |website=www.strengthrecord.com |access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref> During one of his early world records, Oscar State OBE remarked that the weight of over 460 pounds (209&nbsp;kg) in the Olympic press looked so easy it could have been a broomstick.<ref name="greatath">{{cite book |last1=Croft |first1=Lee B |editor1-first=Dawn P |editor1-last=Dawson |title=Great Athletes |edition=Revised |volume=1 |year=2002 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=Salem Press |isbn=1-58765-008-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatathletes0000unse/page/35 35–37] |url=https://archive.org/details/greatathletes0000unse/page/35}}</ref> This was the beginning of a series of 80 world records Alekseyev set between 1970 and 1977. He received bonus funds by the Soviet government every time he set a world record (Soviet athletics were funded by the state), so he made it a point to gradually increase his world records by 1.1 pounds or 0.5&nbsp;kg. 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&nbsp;kg in the triple event.<ref name="greatath"/>

Alekseyev's performance in the [[1980 Summer Olympics|Moscow Olympics]] of 1980 was a disappointment. He had by then become more of a recluse, training by himself without a coach. 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.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/weightlifting-alekseyev-idUSLDE7AO01U20111125 |title=Weightlifting-World-record-holder Alekseyev dies at 69 |last=Fyodorov |first=Gennady |date=25 November 2011 |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=25 November 2011}}</ref><ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/vasily-alekseyev-1.html |title=Vasily Alekseyev |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622034940/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/vasily-alekseyev-1.html |archive-date=22 June 2016 }}</ref>

In 1987, Alekseyev was elected to represent the [[Ryazan Oblast|Ryazan District]] for the Soviet Union's [[Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union|Congress of People's Deputies]].<ref name="greatath"/> Alekseyev worked as a coach between 1990 and 1992. Under his leadership, the [[Unified Team at the Olympics|Unified Team]] earned ten medals in weightlifting at the [[1992 Summer Olympics]], including five golds.<ref>{{Cite Sports-Reference |title= Unified Team Weightlifting at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games |url= https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/EUN/summer/1992/WLT/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200417163006/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/EUN/summer/1992/WLT/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= 17 April 2020 |access-date = 25 November 2011}}</ref>

From 1966 Alekseyev lived in [[Shakhty]], where in 1971 he graduated from the branch of the [[Novocherkassk]] Polytechnical Institute. He died on 25 November 2011 in Germany in a clinic where he had been sent for serious heart problems. He was 69.<ref name=Reuters/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Richard |author1-link=Richard Goldstein (writer, born 1942) |title=Vasily Alekseyev, 69, Champion Weight Lifter, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/sports/vasily-alekseyev-69-champion-weight-lifter-dies.html |access-date=14 January 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=27 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730102325/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/sports/vasily-alekseyev-69-champion-weight-lifter-dies.html |archive-date=30 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The Russian Weightlifting Federation reported his death and called him a "Soviet sports legend" and "one of the strongest people in the world".<ref>Original Russian text: "легендой советского спорта" and "один из сильнейших людей планеты". {{cite web |url=http://www.rfwf.ru/federation/news/845.html |script-title=ru:Ушел из жизни один из самых сильных людей планеты, Василий Иванович Алексеев |date=25 November 2011 |publisher=Russian Weightlifting Federation |language=ru |access-date=26 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404125635/http://www.rfwf.ru/federation/news/845.html |archive-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> He was survived by wife Olimpiada and sons Sergey and Dmitry. Dmitry competed nationally in weightlifting, placing fourth at the 1988 Soviet weightlifting championships.<ref name=sr/>

==Legacy and awards==
[[Vladimir Vysotsky]] devoted his "Song about weightlifter" ({{langx|ru|Песня о штангисте}}, 1971) to Alekseyev.<ref>{{cite book |author=Vysotsky, Vladimir |title=Собрание сочинений в одном томе |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ESqiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT391 |date=2015 |publisher=Эксмо |isbn=978-5-457-05335-9 |page=391}}</ref>

Alekseyev was featured on the cover of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' 14 April 1975, titled "World's Strongest Man."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8429/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720043550/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8429/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 July 2008 |title=April 14, 1975 – Volume 42, Issue 15 |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=14 April 1975 |access-date=13 December 2008}}</ref> 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 Honour]] (1970), and [[Order of the Red Banner of Labour]] (1972). In 1993, he was elected a member of the [[International Weightlifting Federation]] [[Hall of fame|Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Weightlifting Hall of Fame |publisher=International Weightlifting Federation |url=http://www.iwf.net/iwf/organization/members.php |access-date=7 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913235844/http://www.iwf.net/iwf/organization/members.php |archive-date=13 September 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In Shakhty, where he lived much of his life, there is a street and park named after him,<ref>Ivanova, Yekaterina (10 March 2012) [http://www.rostov.kp.ru/online/news/1109681/ В Шахтах появился проспект имени штангиста Василия Алексеева] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085210/http://www.rostov.kp.ru/online/news/1109681/ |date=4 March 2016 }}. rostov.kp.ru.</ref> as well as his monument installed in 2014.<ref>[http://tass.ru/sport/1672607 Памятник легендарному штангисту Василию Алексееву открыт в Шахтах Ростовской области] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913185721/http://tass.ru/sport/1672607 |date=13 September 2016 }}. tass.ru. 25 December 2014</ref>

===Career-bests===
* [[Snatch (weightlifting)|Snatch]]: 190.0&nbsp;kg (419&nbsp;lbs) on 1 September 1977 in [[Podolsk]];
* [[Clean and press]]: 236.5&nbsp;kg (521&nbsp;lbs) on 15 April 1972 in [[Tallinn]];
* [[Clean and jerk]]: 256.0&nbsp;kg (564&nbsp;lbs) on 1 November 1977 in [[Moscow]];
* Total: 645.0&nbsp;kg (clean and press+snatch+clean and jerk), on 15 April 1972 in Tallinn, the official world record total in 1972;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=50 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071029102527/http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=50 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 October 2007 |title=World Records from 1896 – 1972 |publisher=Weightliftingexchange.com |access-date=27 July 2009}}</ref>
* Total: 445.0&nbsp;kg (snatch + clean and jerk) in Podolsk.<ref name="va"/>

{{Collapse top|World records}}
*24 January 1970 Clean & Press  210.5&nbsp;kg (464lb)  Super Heavyweight  Velikie Luki<ref name="va"/>
*24 January 1970 Clean & Jerk  221.5&nbsp;kg Super Heavyweight  Velikie Luki
*24 January 1970 Total (3)  592.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Velikie Luki
*24 January 1970 Total (3)  595&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Velikie Luki
*18 March 1970 Clean & Press  213&nbsp;kg (469.5lb) Super Heavyweight  Minsk
*18 March 1970 Total (3)  600&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Minsk
*26 April 1970 Clean & Press  216&nbsp;kg (476lb)  Super Heavyweight  Vilnius
*26 April 1970 Clean & Jerk  223.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Vilnius
*26 April 1970 Total (3)  602.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Vilnius
*26 April 1970 Total (3)  607.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Vilnius
*28 June 1970 Clean & Press  219.5&nbsp;kg (483.9lb) Super Heavyweight  Szombathely
*28 June 1970 Clean & Jerk  225.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Szombathely
*28 June 1970 Total (3)  610&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Szombathely
*28 June 1970 Total (3)  612.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Szombathely
*20 September 1970 Clean & Jerk  227.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Columbus
*17 November 1970 Clean & Press  220.5&nbsp;kg (486lb) Super Heavyweight  Volgograd
*17 November 1970 Clean & Jerk  228&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Volgograd
*12/4/1970 Snatch  177&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Shakhty
*12/4/1970 Clean & Press  221&nbsp;kg (487.2lb) Super Heavyweight  Shakhty
*12/4/1970 Clean & Jerk  228.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Shakhty
*12/4/1970 Total (3)  615&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Shakhty
*12/4/1970 Total (3)  620&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Shakhty
*26 December 1970 Clean & Press  222&nbsp;kg (489.4lb) Super Heavyweight  Dnipropetrovsk
*26 December 1970 Clean & Jerk  229.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Dnipropetrovsk
*26 December 1970 Total (3)  622.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Dnipropetrovsk
*26 December 1970 Total (3)  625&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Dnipropetrovsk
*14 February 1971 Snatch  177.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Paris
*14 February 1971 Clean & Press  222.5&nbsp;kg (490.5lb) Super Heavyweight  Paris
*14 February 1971 Clean & Jerk  230&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Paris
*26 March 1971 Clean & Press  223&nbsp;kg (491.6lb) Super Heavyweight  Wienn
*4/7/1971 Clean & Press  223.5&nbsp;kg (492.7lb) Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*18 April 1971 Clean & Jerk  230.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Taganrog
*27 June 1971 Clean & Press  225&nbsp;kg (496lb) Super Heavyweight  Sofia
*27 June 1971 Clean & Jerk  231&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Sofia
*27 June 1971 Clean & Jerk  232.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Sofia
*27 June 1971 Total (3)  627.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Sofia
*27 June 1971 Total (3)  630&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Sofia
*24 July 1971 Snatch  180&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*24 July 1971 Clean & Press  225.5&nbsp;kg (497.1lb) Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*24 July 1971 Clean & Jerk  233&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*24 July 1971 Clean & Jerk  235&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*24 July 1971 Total (3)  632.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*24 July 1971 Total (3)  637.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*24 July 1971 Total (3)  640&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*26 September 1971 Clean & Press  227&nbsp;kg (500lb) Super Heavyweight  Lima
*26 September 1971 Clean & Press  230&nbsp;kg (507lb) Super Heavyweight  Lima
*26 September 1971 Clean & Jerk  235.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Lima
*19 March 1972 Clean & Press  231.5&nbsp;kg (510.3lb) Super Heavyweight  Bollnas
*19 March 1972 Clean & Press  235.5&nbsp;kg (519.1lb) Super Heavyweight  Bollnas
*15 April 1972 Clean & Jerk  236&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Tallinn
*15 April 1972 Clean & Press  236.5&nbsp;kg (521.3lb) Super Heavyweight  Tallinn
*15 April 1972 Clean & Jerk  237.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Tallinn
*15 April 1972 Total (3)  642.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Tallinn
*15 April 1972 Total (3)  645&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Tallinn
*29 April 1972 Clean & Jerk  238&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Donetsk
*18 June 1973 Clean & Jerk  240&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Madrid
*18 June 1973 Total  417.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Madrid
*1/3/1974 Clean & Jerk  242&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Glazov
*20 March 1974 Clean & Jerk  240.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Erevan
*28 April 1974 Clean & Jerk  241&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Tbilisi
*28 April 1974 Total  420&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Tbilisi
*6 June 1974 Snatch  187.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Verona
*6 June 1974 Total  422.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Verona
*23 September 1974 Clean & Jerk  245.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*29 September 1974 Clean & Jerk  241.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Manila
*29 September 1974 Total  425&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Manila
*27 November 1974 Clean & Jerk  242.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  London
*14 December 1974 Clean & Jerk  243&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Zaporizhia
*29 December 1974 Clean & Jerk  243.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Lipetsk
*7/11/1975 Clean & Jerk  245&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Vilnius
*23 September 1975 Total  427.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
*11 November 1975 Clean and Jerk  246&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Arkhangelsk
*11 November 1975 Total  430&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Arkhangelsk
*12/7/1975 Clean & Jerk  247.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Montreal
*15 May 1976 Total  435&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Karaganda
*27 July 1976 Clean & Jerk  255&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Montreal
*9/1/1977 Clean & Jerk  255.5&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Podolsk
*9/1/1977 Total  445&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Podolsk
*11/1/1977 Clean & Jerk  256&nbsp;kg  Super Heavyweight  Moscow
{{Collapse bottom}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|vasily-alekseyev|org_archive=20201115024006}}
* {{Olympedia|56889}}
* {{Lift Up profile|5|Vasily Alexeev}}
* [http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=5 Vasily Alexeev] at the [http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryForm.asp Lift Up Hall of Fame]

{{S-start}}
{{s-sports|oly}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Aleksandr Medved]]
|title=[[Standard-bearer|Flagbearer]] for {{URS}} (opening ceremony)
|years=[[1976 Summer Olympics|Montreal 1976]] (with [[Ivan Yarygin]])
|after=[[Nikolay Balboshin]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Weightlifting Super heavyweight}}
{{Footer World Champions Weightlifting Men Super heavyweight}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alekseyev, Vasiliy}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members]]
[[Category:Olympic weightlifters for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Russian male weightlifters]]
[[Category:Soviet male weightlifters]]
[[Category:Weightlifting coaches]]
[[Category:Weightlifters at the 1972 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Weightlifters at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Weightlifters at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in weightlifting]]
[[Category:Olympic coaches]]
[[Category:Russian strength athletes]]
[[Category:Soviet strength athletes]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour]]
[[Category:Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Ryazan Oblast]]
[[Category:European Weightlifting Championships medalists]]
[[Category:World Weightlifting Championships medalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian sportsmen]]