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Derrick Crass (born August 6, 1960) was an Olympic weightlifter for the United States. In his early years he lifted under Coach and Mentor Ted Frank at the Belleville Weightlifting Club (IL) who laid the foundation for all future lifting achievements. In his early twenties he was selected to train at the Colorado Springs Training Facility and from then on was coached by Harvey Newton and Jim Schmitz. In 1996, he had the honor of gracing the cover of a CD, entitled Amazing Disgrace, by the rock band The Posies. The image was taken from the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
With his daughter, Rachel, they became the second father and daughter to compete together at a USA Senior National Championship (2002). To date, they are the only known father and daughter pair in the world to compete at the Junior World Championships and Senior World Championships. In 2010 Derrick Crass invented DC Blocks; stackable and portable weightlifting blocks made in the USA from 100% recycled plastic. Derrick currently resides in Ormond Beach, Florida.
In 2013 Derrick graduated from Saint Louis University as a Physician Assistant, but has retired. He has an internet business to sell and promote his invention: DC Blocks. DC Blocks products are an extremely versatile, lightweight, stackable, interlocking, and virtually indestructible system to raise the barbell from the floor to perform various weightlifting exercises, as well as being an integral piece of equipment while performing other exercises. www.dcblocksusa.com
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USA Weightlifting, otherwise known as USAW, is the national governing body overseeing the sport of weightlifting in the United States. USAW is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), responsible for conducting weightlifting programs throughout the country, and a member of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). Top competitors are selected by USAW to compete in major international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Junior Championships, Pan American Championships and Pan American Games.
Judy Glenney is an American National Weightlifting Champion and former IWF referee and coach. She is noted for her influence as a pioneer in women's weightlifting. Glenney has been recognized as the strongest woman in history based on her accomplishments throughout her career in professional competitive powerlifting.
Yoto Vasilev Yotov is a Bulgarian weightlifter. Yotov is one of the greatest Bulgarian weightlifters of all time. He is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, three-time world champion, six-time European champion, winner of the 1991 World Cup. Holds a total of 51 medals from the Olympic Games, World and European Championships in total, snatch and clean and jerk - 22 gold, 22 silver and 7 bronze. Because of his long career and many medals, he has been called the Professor. He was voted Sportsperson of the Year of Bulgaria for 1997. In 2020 he was awarded the highest state honors of Bulgaria in the field of sports - the Wreath of the winner. He began training in 1984. He has competed for the clubs Minor Pernik, Levski and Dobrich. At the 1988 World and European Junior Championships in Athens became second. A year later in Fort Lauderdale, USA, he became the World Junior Champion. Following is a great career for men with three world titles, six European titles and two silver medals from the Olympics, as well as many other medals from major championships. Among them three bronze medals from the Goodwill Games in 1990 in Seattle. At the end of his career, he competed for Croatia but did not win medals.
Roberto Antonio Urrutia Herdez, known as Tony Urrutia, was a Cuban-American Olympic weightlifter. He later defected to, and competed for, the United States.
Yurik Sarkisyan is a former Soviet Armenian weightlifter. He was awarded the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR title in 1982. In 2007, Yurik Sarkisyan included into the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame weightlifting.
Yuri Norayrovich Vardanyan was a Soviet Armenian weightlifter. Vardanyan won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the world's first weightlifter to achieve a 400 kilogram total in the 82.5 kg weight category. During his career he set several world records. He trained at Lokomotiv in Leninakan, Armenia. He earned the title Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1977 and was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1985. In 1994 he was elected a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.
Stefan Khristov Botev is an Olympic weightlifter who represented Bulgaria and later for Australia. He was coached by Ivan Abadzhiev. Botev is a two-time world and European champion, winner of the World Cup in 1988 and was voted as Bulgaria's Sportsperson of the Year in 1990. Stefan is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist - once for Bulgaria in 1992 and once for Australia in 1996. Botev is a three-time gold medalist from the Goodwill Games in Seattle in 1990.
Wesley ("Wes") T. Barnett is an American Olympic weightlifter. He competed for the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Barnett is USA Weightlifting junior, collegiate, and senior national champion, and earned silver and bronze medals in 1997 at the World Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Ivan Ivanov Ivanov is a Bulgarian former weightlifter and current head coach of the national Bulgarian weightlifting teams. He claimed one gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games, four time World Champion, and five time European Champion. He won the 1990 World Cup. Ivan also won 1991 World Cup Final in Barcelona and 1990 World Cup Final in Tainan, and in 1989 in Lisbon he finished second. In 1990, he became a gold medalist in Total and Clean, and Jerk and silver, medalist in Snatch of the Goodwill Games in Seattle. Ivanov was named the Best Weightlifter in the World by the International Weightlifting Federation for 1989 and 1990. Ivanov is also a three-time World Junior Champion and twice European Junior Champion. He was elected as the best coach of Bulgaria for 2019 by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the country together with the trainer on rhythmic gymnastics Vesela Dimitrova.
Mario Alvarez Martinez was an Olympic weightlifter for the United States. His coach was Jim Schmitz.
Blagoy Blagoev is a retired Bulgarian weightlifter. Between 1976 and 1984 he claimed seven gold and five silver medals at the Summer Olympics and World and European championships. He set 18 world records. 13 of them were in the snatch. His last snatch world record was 195.5 kg in the 90 kg weight class, set on 1 May 1983 in Varna and remains the heaviest weight ever snatched by a middle heavyweight. Blagoev was twice declared the Best Weightlifter in the World by the International Weightlifting Federation - in 1982 and 1983. Blagoev was named Sportsperson of the Year in Bulgaria for 1982.
Asen Zlatev is a former Bulgarian weightlifter.
Oksen Mirzoyan is a former Armenian weightlifter and European, World and Olympic Champion. Mirzoyan was awarded the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR title in 1984 and the Honored Coach of Armenia title in 1998.
David Cameron Lee is an American volleyball player, currently working as the head coach for Indian Club, Bengaluru Torpedoes. As a member of the United States men's national volleyball team, he is an Olympic Champion at the 2008 Summer Olympics, an Olympic bronze medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a three-time Olympian. He is also a two-time NORCECA Champion, a gold medalist at the 2015 World Cup, and a gold medalist of the World League.
Aleksandar Varbanov was a weightlifter for Bulgaria. Varbanov is one of the greatest weightlifters of all-time. Alexander has the 9th highest Sinclair ever of 485.78 made up of a 167.5 kg snatch and a 215 kg clean and jerk at under 75 kg in body weight! He is without a doubt the greatest clean and jerker of that bodyweight of all-time. As well as being a sensational athlete, Alexander Varbanov was part of the most dominant team in weightlifting history: The Bulgarian national team of the 1980s. He was also coached by the most successful coach of all-time, the great Ivan Abadjiev, a man whom Varbanov referred to as being ‘closer to me than my father. Alex has won numerous World Championships and European Championships in the 67.5 and 75 kg bodyweight divisions and a Bronze Medal from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He has earned 10 official world records two still current to this date, 215.5 kg Clean and Jerk and 382.5 kg Total. He started training in 1977. Until 1981 he was a competitor of the native Novi Pazar. Then in the period 1981-1984 he competed for CSKA Sofia. Then until 1990 he was part of the Levski club. From 1990 to 1995 Varbanov competed for the German team AC Mutterstadt in Weightlifting Bundesliga. He has built a strong reputation of a weightlifting professional. He has a Master’s degree from the National Sports Academy of Bulgaria and is a Honored Master of Sports. Alex is NCCP certified Olympic Weightlifting Competition Development coach. He now lives and works as a weightlifting trainer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Stefan Petrov Topurov, is a former weightlifter, Olympian and World Champion from Bulgaria.
Antonio Krastev was a Bulgarian super heavyweight Olympic-style weightlifter best known for his 1987 heaviest ever snatch in IWF competition, at 216 kg. This was only equalled by Behdad Salimi of Iran at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and finally surpassed at the 2017 European Championships by Lasha Talakhadze, who now holds the record of 225 kg. Krastev's record was no longer official after the restructuring of the weight classes in 1993 and 1998. Krastev is a two-time world and European champion. He was also world junior champion in 1981 and runner-up in 1979. Antonio has six gold medals from World Cup tournaments and has a silver medal from the 1986 World Cup final in Melbourne. The Bulgarian giant is also a two-time Balkan champion and a ten-time Bulgarian champion - five for men and five for juniors. In 1987, he won the Golden Boot award for best performance at the European Championships in Reims, France.
István Javorek is a United States sports conditioning coach. Coach Javorek is the retired head strength and conditioning coach at Johnson County Community College, Kansas, United States. He supervised the strength and conditioning program for JCCC’s 18 sports and serves as a professor emeritus of fitness in the physical education department. He has been married to Julia Javorek since 1968, and they have one child, Dr. Henriette A. Javorek. He now lives in Overland Park, Kansas. He is the new strength and conditioning coach at Overland Park racquet club.
Fares Ibrahim Saed Hassouna El-Bakh, commonly known as Meso Hassouna, is a Qatari weightlifter of Egyptian origin. He is an Olympic Champion, World Champion and two time Junior World Champion competing in the 85 kg, and 94 kg categories until 2018 and 96 kg and 102 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories.
Akbar Djuraev is an Uzbekistani weightlifter, Olympic Champion and Junior World Champion. He won the gold medal in the men's 109 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He also won the gold medal in the men's 109 kg event at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.