Kyiv Strong: Vladimir Belyaev

History in Color:
July 17, 1964, Kiev, Ukraine – 24-year old Vladimir Belyaev, middleweight of the Army Club in Kiev, sets a new world record in clean-and-jerk (176.5kg) in his 4th attempt in the 75kg class at the 1964 USSR Championships in Kiev.

Vladimir Belyaev (1940-2020) competed for the Army weightlifting club in Kiev and was one of the top middle and light heavyweight contenders in the world in the 1960s. In his career, Belyaev set 12 World, 5 USSR and 28 Ukrainian records.

Belyaev became a vice champion in the 82.5kg class at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico city, won gold medals at the World and European Championships (1966), a silver medal at the 1968 World Championships and 3 times won the Friendship Cup / Prize of Moscow international tournaments (1963, 1966, 1969). In 1963-1972, Belyaev won 4 silver (1962, 1964, 1965, 1969) and 2 bronze (1963, 1968) medals at the USSR Championships. He also won 3 gold (1963, 1965, 1967) and 2 silver medals (1961, 1962) at the Ukrainian Championships.

“Kyiv Strong” features historical portraits of legendary weightlifting champions from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Kyiv Strong is a mini-series within my History in Color series about old-time Olympic weightlifting in color. Of course, strength is not always about muscles and kilos being lifted in the trainings halls and competitions. Today, we are all watching TV reports about people of Kyiv fighting for their city in the war. Most of them are not athletes at all but they are strong with their spirit and determination to defend their land and the place they live in. It’s not about sets and reps. It’s dedicated people of Kiev, to their courage and unbreakable strength of character.