Lift Up: In Memoriam (2023)
Remembering Olympic weightlifting legends, athletes, coaches, administrators and many more, that we lost in 2023.
Category: Sports History
Sultan Rakhmanov Returns to the Izmailovo Weightlifting Hall
History in Color: December 19, 1982, Moscow, USSR – Super heavyweight champion of the 1980 Summer Olympics, Sultan Rakhmanov of the Avangard Club (Dnepropetrovsk) competes for Team Ukraine in the 110kg+ class at the...
Kaarlo Kangasniemi (Leningrad, 1968)
History in Color: June 24, 1968, Leningrad, USSR – Kaarlo Kangasniemi, 27-year old middle heavyweight of Pori, Finland, wins a bronze medal in the 90kg weight ciass at the 1968 European Championships in Leningrad....
Farewell to Olympic Press: Last USSR Heavyweight Champions (1972)
April 14, 1972, Tallinn, Estonia – National medal winners in the 110kg weightclass at the 1972 USSR Championships in Tallinn(left to right): Jaan Talts (Estonia, silver medal), Yury Kozin (Moscow, gold medal), Karl Pumpurins...
Nikolay Zakharov Sets a New World Record in Snatch
History in Color: August 4, 1971, Lubeck, Germany – 23-year old Nikolay Zakharov, bantamweight of Kemerovo, Russia snatches 125.5kg and sets a new world record in the 56kg weightclass at the USSR Cup in...
Vladimir Anikin (Latvia) in Donetsk (1973)
History in Color@LiftUp: April 26, 1973, Donetsk, Ukraine, USSR– Bantamweight Vladimir Anikin of the Army Club (Riga, Latvia) competes in the 56kg class at the 1973 USSR Championships in Donetsk. Anikin won a silver...
Vladimir Anikin at the 1971 Baltic Cup
History in Color: August 4, 1971, Lubeck, Germany – Soviet featherweight Vladimir Anikin of Riga, Latvia competes in the 60kg class at the 1971 Baltic Cup in Lubeck. Vladimir Anikin (1946-1981?) was one of...
Kanybek Osmonaliev is 70
Legendary flyweight champion Kanybek Osmonaliev of Kyrzgyzstan turns 70! Kanybek Osmonaliev was a phenomenal flyweight of Team CCCP. From mid 1970s to mid 1980s, he won the 1980 Olympics, 4 World championships, 2 European...
Kulta-Kalle
History in Color: Kaarlo Kangasniemi, also known as “Kulta-Kalle” competes at one of the Nordic tournaments in 1968. Kaarlo Kangasniemi of Pori, Finland is a true legend of Olympic weightlifting. 3x Finnish Olympian, author...
Jaan Talts: Lifting in the Late Period of His Career
History in Color: Estonia, Spring 1973 – Olympic champion Jaan Talts of Tallinn, Estonia competes in the 110kg class at one of the local meets in Estonia. After winning gold at the 1972 Summer...
