Super Heavyweight Winners in December 1973
History in Color:
December 18, 1973, Tuapse, Russia – Super heavyweight winners at the medal ceremony of the 110+kg class at the 1973 USSR Cup held at the Seaman Palace in Tuapse (left to right):
Valentin Kuzmin (silver medal, Dynamo, Volgograd, Russia), Vladimir Kaplynov (Team Army, head coach), Leonid Zhabotinsky (gold medal, Army, Zaporozhye, Ukraine), Evgeny Schmidt (bronze medal, Army, Novosibirsk, Russia).
The were 143 althetes and 12 teams competing at the 1973 USSR Cup. Based on the tournament results, the top 3 teams were:
- Team Army
- Team Dynamo
- Team Avangard
For a 35-year old super heavyweight legend Leonid Zhabotinsky, 2x Olympic champion, 4x World champion and 5x USSR champion, it was the last gold medal in the major national contests. He set a new world record in snatch (183.5kg) and won the Cup with a 395kg total.