Valery Shary in 1973
Olympic champion (1976), Valery Shary performs a snatch lift at the 1973 national championship in Donetsk. It was a difficult period in his career. He just bombed out at the 1972 Summer Olympics and...
Tagged: Lift Up
Joe Di Pietro
The cover photo from the History in Color series features American bantamweight Joseph Di Pietro (1914-1999) competing at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. At the time, Di Pietro was 34. At the size...
Magnificent Seven From Hungary
The Lift Up: History in Color showcases the photo of Team Hungary Weightlifting of the 1960s. That was one of the best teams in the history of the 20th century and, no doubts, the...
Dave Sheppard
Dave Sheppard of Team USA is one my favorite Olympic weightlifters of that era. People like Sheppard are usually being called “classy guys” with a loud “Wow” with it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a...
Kurynov
History in Color @LiftUp One of the strongest middleweight lifters of the 1960s, Alexander Kurynov performs clean-and-jerk lift in training. Kurynov won the Olympic gold medal when he managed to win over the legendary...
Ivan Abadzhiev (1932-2017)
Legendary Olympic weightlifting coach and athlete Ivan Abadzhiev of Bulgaria has passed way. He died after a complication of open heart surgery. He was 85. Ivan Abadzhiev needs no special introduction in the world...
Alexander Kidyaev
The Lift Up project features Alexander Kidyaev of Avangard Lugansk performing the snatch lift at the 1968 USSR championship in Lugansk. By the end of the day, he finished second after Jaan Talts in...
Imre Foldi
One of the best Olympic weightlifters of all times, Imre Foldi was the first Hungarian to win the Olympics in this sport. Despite of a physical disability, Imre Foldi competed at five Summer Olympics...
Coaches and Athletes: Itkin and Osmanaliev
Semyon Itkin and Kanybek Osmanaliev of Kyrgyzstan were one of the most inspiring coach-and-athlete teams of the 1970s and early 1980s. Kanybek Osnanaliev was a super reliable and clutch type of Olympic weightlifter with...
Mighty Voronin
History in Color: He was only 142 cm tall. 4′ 7″, if you are not comfortable with centimeters. But he was a little strongman with unmatched dedication and will to become a champion. Alexander Voronin (1951-1992) was...
