Weightlifting World record holder Vasily Alekseyev dies at 69

Reuters ^ | November 25, 2011 | Gennady Fyodorov;

[PallMal]

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Former Soviet weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev, who won two Olympic and eight world super heavyweight titles and set 80 world records during his illustrious career, died on Friday following a long illness.

[PallMal]

Just came across this today.

If you were around watching the Munich '72 and Montreal 76 Olympics, he was the rotund Russian guy setting all sorts of world records in weightlifting, getting a lot of face time with American audiences.

He was a big deal back then, at least big enough to make the cover of Sports Illustrated. Also, from what I remember, one of his lifts was part of the "Thrill of Victory/Agony of Defeat" opening segment of Wide World of Sports.

[Mr. K]

I think he was the first guy to break 500 pounds

and he did it because his trainers told him he was doing 499 and 1/2 (a weight he knew he had done before) when he really had 501.

[runninglips]

I would never describe Alekseyev as rotund. He was a massive bull of a man, built like Atlas must have been. None of the “cut” pretty boy build, but more of the look of a man that could eat armies.

[RetiredArmy]

I remember him well. I was stationed in Germany in the 1972 Olympics and went to the Games. Shortly after I returned to my duty station, Bad Kissingen, we went to the border camp to pull east-west border patrol and the murdering Black September thugs murdered the Israeli athletes. I saw him lift many times on the old ABC Wide World of Sports program. At the time he was the best in the business by a long distance.

[the invisib1e hand]

will they have to embalm him, what with all the steroids he took?

[BipolarBob]

I remember watching him. Thanks for posting.

[TSgt]

Anyone ever notice that the strongest men aren't necessarily beach body muscle heads? They just have raw genetic power.

[null and void]

[TSgt]

World records

1/24/1970 Clean & Press 210.5 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki[8]
1/24/1970 Clean & Jerk 221.5 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki
1/24/1970 Total (3) 592.5 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki
1/24/1970 Total (3) 595 kg Super Heavyweight Velikie Luki
3/18/1970 Clean & Press 213 kg Super Heavyweight Minsk
3/18/1970 Total (3) 600 kg Super Heavyweight Minsk
4/26/1970 Clean & Press 216 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
4/26/1970 Clean & Jerk 223.5 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
4/26/1970 Total (3) 602.5 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
4/26/1970 Total (3) 607.5 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
6/28/1970 Clean & Press 219.5 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
6/28/1970 Clean & Jerk 225.5 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
6/28/1970 Total (3) 610 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
6/28/1970 Total (3) 612.5 kg Super Heavyweight Szombathely
9/20/1970 Clean & Jerk 227.5 kg Super Heavyweight Columbus
11/17/1970 Clean & Press 220.5 kg Super Heavyweight Volgograd
11/17/1970 Clean & Jerk 228 kg Super Heavyweight Volgograd
12/4/1970 Snatch 177 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
12/4/1970 Clean & Press 221 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
12/4/1970 Clean & Jerk 228.5 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
12/4/1970 Total (3) 615 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
12/4/1970 Total (3) 620 kg Super Heavyweight Shakhty
12/26/1970 Clean & Press 222 kg Super Heavyweight Dnepropetrovsk
12/26/1970 Clean & Jerk 229.5 kg Super Heavyweight Dnepropetrovsk
12/26/1970 Total (3) 622.5 kg Super Heavyweight Dnepropetrovsk
12/26/1970 Total (3) 625 kg Super Heavyweight Dnepropetrovsk
2/14/1971 Snatch 177.5 kg Super Heavyweight Paris
2/14/1971 Clean & Press 222.5 kg Super Heavyweight Paris
2/14/1971 Clean & Jerk 230 kg Super Heavyweight Paris
3/26/1971 Clean & Press 223 kg Super Heavyweight Wienn
4/7/1971 Clean & Press 223.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
4/18/1971 Clean & Jerk 230.5 kg Super Heavyweight Taganrog
6/27/1971 Clean & Press 225 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
6/27/1971 Clean & Jerk 231 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
6/27/1971 Clean & Jerk 232.5 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
6/27/1971 Total (3) 627.5 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
6/27/1971 Total (3) 630 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia
7/24/1971 Snatch 180 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
7/24/1971 Clean & Press 225.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
7/24/1971 Clean & Jerk 233 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
7/24/1971 Clean & Jerk 235 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
7/24/1971 Total (3) 632.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
7/24/1971 Total (3) 637.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
7/24/1971 Total (3) 640 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
9/26/1971 Clean & Press 227 kg Super Heavyweight Lima
9/26/1971 Clean & Press 230 kg Super Heavyweight Lima
9/26/1971 Clean & Jerk 235.5 kg Super Heavyweight Lima
3/19/1972 Clean & Press 231.5 kg Super Heavyweight Bollnas
3/19/1972 Clean & Press 235.5 kg Super Heavyweight Bollnas
4/15/1972 Clean & Jerk 236 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
4/15/1972 Clean & Press 236.5 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
4/15/1972 Clean & Jerk 237.5 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
4/15/1972 Total (3) 642.5 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
4/15/1972 Total (3) 645 kg Super Heavyweight Tallinn
4/29/1972 Clean & Jerk 238 kg Super Heavyweight Donetsk
6/18/1973 Clean & Jerk 240 kg Super Heavyweight Madrid
6/18/1973 Total 417.5 kg Super Heavyweight Madrid
1/3/1974 Clean & Jerk 242 kg Super Heavyweight Glazov
3/20/1974 Clean & Jerk 240.5 kg Super Heavyweight Erevan
4/28/1974 Clean & Jerk 241 kg Super Heavyweight Tbilisi
4/28/1974 Total 420 kg Super Heavyweight Tbilisi
6/6/1974 Snatch 187.5 kg Super Heavyweight Verona
6/6/1974 Total 422.5 kg Super Heavyweight Verona
9/23/1974 Clean & Jerk 245.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
9/29/1974 Clean & Jerk 241.5 kg Super Heavyweight Manila
9/29/1974 Total 425 kg Super Heavyweight Manila
11/27/1974 Clean & Jerk 242.5 kg Super Heavyweight London
12/14/1974 Clean & Jerk 243 kg Super Heavyweight Zaporozhe
12/29/1974 Clean & Jerk 243.5 kg Super Heavyweight Lipetsk
7/11/1975 Clean & Jerk 245 kg Super Heavyweight Vilnius
9/23/1975 Total 427.5 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow
11/11/1975 Clean and Jerk 246 kg Super Heavyweight Arkhangelsk
11/11/1975 Total 430 kg Super Heavyweight Arkhangelsk
12/7/1975 Clean & Jerk 247.5 kg Super Heavyweight Montreal
5/15/1976 Total 435 kg Super Heavyweight Karaganda
7/27/1976 Clean & Jerk 255 kg Super Heavyweight Montreal
9/1/1977 Clean & Jerk 255.5 kg Super Heavyweight Podolsk
9/1/1977 Total 445 kg Super Heavyweight Podolsk
11/1/1977 Clean & Jerk 256 kg Super Heavyweight Moscow

[dfwgator]

NOOOOOOO!

Not the great Alekseyev!

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Strong like bull

[dfwgator]

I remembered as kids we would practice weightlifting and we’d all pretend we are Alekseyev. Another icon of my youth gone.

[hitchwolf]

Guy was as strong as an ox. Also everyone always said he was a really nice guy too who would never say a bad thing about anyone.

[grumpygresh]

He would have made a great nose tackle.

[Revolting cat!]

You can’t fake that. That’s a man to commemorate unlike the dead U.S. Commie journalist on another thread today.

[PallMal]

You're right.

If anything a "strong-man" rotund, as opposed to a "dough-boy" rotund.

[PallMal]

Same here -- Alexseyev was the "gold standard" when it came to weightlifting back then.

At that time I was just starting my teen years -- if you said "Alexseyev" practically anyone who followed sports knew who you were talking about. That's how big (not only in size) he was.

[stormer]

Um... you know Atlas wasn’t a real guy, right?

[dfwgator]

I dunno, if he had taken that many steroids, I doubt he would have made it to 69.

[vladimir998]

He was incredible; tenacious as they come: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7erVblY7aiU