Mladen Kuchev (Bulgaria) and His Eternal World Record in Press
History in Color:
August 30, 1972, Munich, Germany – 25-year old lightweight Mladen Kuchev of Team Bulgaria sets the last world record in press (157.5kg) in the 67.5kg weight class at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
By the end of that night in Munich, Kuchev won a silver Olympic medal for Bulgaria with a world record in press (157.5kg). After the elimination Olympic press from weightlifting competitions, Kuchev’s outstanding result became an “eternal” world record in the 67.5kg class – the press forever record forever!
Mladen Kuchev (b. 1947) was the member of the first national team assembled by Ivan Abadzhiev when he was appointed to run national weightlifting Team Bulgaria. He was a 2x Olympian. Besides a silver medal in the 67.5kg class in Munich (1972), he took the 9th place in the 60kg class in Mexico City (1968).
Mladen won 4 silver (1969, 1970, 1972, 1973) and 1 bronze (1975) medal at the World Championships. He was a 3x European champion (1969, 1970, 1972) and won 8 national titles in Bulgaria. Kuchev’s forte lift was his press. He set 10 world records in his career. 9 of them were in the press lift.