Farewell To Strong Arms
Before 1972, Olympic weightlifting consisted of three types of lifts – snatch, clean-and-jerk and press.
The press was discontinued in 1972 and it changed the outlook of a typical Olympic weightlifter. Dynamic athletes with great speed and flexibility took over the sport. The old time power lifters with big arms and huge biceps and triceps began to fade into the past.
The all time record in Olympic press was set by legendary Vasily Alexeev. He pressed 236.5 kilos. 521 lbs! Of course, it wasn’t a super strict military press but still it is absolutely unthinkable poundage!
The looping cover animation shows how Vasily Alexeev won the press lift at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He pressed 235 kilos. Infact he pressed more than he sj’d in 1972!
All together through his career, Alexeev set 18 world records in the press lift. He managed to raise the world record from 210.5 kilos in 1970 to 236.5 kilos in 1972.
