Weightlifting is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead. The snatch is a wide-grip lift, in which the weighted barbell is lifted overhead in one motion. The clean and jerk is a combination lift, in which the weight is first taken from the ground to the front of the shoulders, and then from the shoulders to over the head.
Benjamin Sinclair Johnson, is a Canadian former sprinter. During the 1987–88 season he held the title of the world's fastest man, breaking both the 100m and the 60m indoor World Records. He won the 100 metres at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics; and at the 1988 Summer Olympics, but was disqualified for doping and stripped of the gold medal; and later he also lost most of the other medals he had achieved while being doped - with anabolic steroids. He was the first man who beat 9.9 and 9.8 seconds.
Kakhi Kakhiashvili is a Georgian-Greek weightlifter, one of only five weightlifters to have won three consecutive gold medals at Olympic Games. He won his first at Barcelona 1992, competing with the Unified Team, and later as a citizen of Greece at Atlanta 1996 and in Sydney 2000. He won three Senior World Championships, was twice a silver medalist at the Senior World Championships, and set seven world records during his career. He was named the 1996 and 1999 Greek Male Athlete of the Year.
Oleg Perepetchenov is a Russian powerlifter and former weightlifter.
The Wilks coefficient or Wilks formula is a mathematical coefficient that can be used to measure the relative strengths of powerlifters despite the different weight classes of the lifters. Robert Wilks, CEO of Powerlifting Australia, is the author of the formula.
Shay-Oren Smadja is a former Israeli judoka and a judo coach. Smadja won the Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics, making him the first Israeli man to win an Olympic medal, and the second Israeli overall after Yael Arad won silver in judo the day before.
Stefan Khristov Botev is an Olympic weightlifter who represented Bulgaria and later for Australia. He was coached by Ivan Abadzhiev.
Zoran Primorac is a retired male table tennis player from Croatia. He is a two-time winner of the World Cup and one of only three table tennis players to have competed at seven Olympic Games. His highest ITTF world ranking was number 2, in 1998.
Judith Miriam Oakes is a female retired English shot putter, powerlifter, and weightlifter.
Chen Wei-ling is from Tainan, Taiwan. She is an Olympic weightlifter and powerlifter.
Ivan Chakarov, also known as "James Dean" of weightlifting, born 1966, is a Bulgarian world class weightlifter who won gold medals in the 91 kg class at the 1993 World Weightlifting Championships in Melbourne, Australia and in the 90 kg class at the 1991 European Weightlifting Championships in Władysławowo, Poland. He also competed in the men's middle heavyweight event at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He began training in 1979 at the Chernomorets Burgas Club. His first coach is Konstantin Darov. Chakarov competed for Chernomorets until 1985. After that, until the end of his long and successful career, he competed only for CSKA Sofia. His personal coaches were Andon Nikolov, Rumen Alexandrov and Neno Terziyski. Chakarov has set two world records.
Aurélio Fernández Miguel is a Brazilian judoka and Olympic champion, and later politician. Among his best sporting achievements are his gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Frank Wieneke is a German judoka and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the half middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He is a member of Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.
Szymon Piotr Kołecki is a Polish former Olympic Champion weightlifter and current mixed martial artist. He was the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and a gold medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, both in the 94 kg categories.
Manfred Nerlinger is a German former weightlifter, trainer and entrepreneur.
Evgeny Alexandrovich Chigishev is a former Russian weightlifter.
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.
Angel Angelov Genchev is a Bulgarian weightlifter who competed for Bulgaria. He claimed the gold medal in weightlifting at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 67.5 kg but was disqualified after he tested positive for furosemide, an IOC banned substance. It became a scandal because earlier in the meet fellow Bulgarian weightlifter Mitko Grablev had also been disqualified, after claiming a gold medal in his division, when his drug test came back positive, also for furosemide. The Bulgarian weightlifting team was forced to withdraw midway through the Weightlifting competition. Of six athletes known to have lifted more than triple their bodyweight, Genchev's 202.5 kg world record was the heaviest ever performed in competition. Genchev is a European champion in the 75 kg category from Cardiff in 1988. He was also a bronze medalist at the 1994 World Championships in Istanbul. He won the European Cup in 1987 from the tournament in Miskolc, Hungary, with the team of Bulgaria. There he set a world record in snatch - 170 kg. Angel is a four-time World and European junior champion.
Andor Szanyi is a weightlifter who competed for Hungary. His entire career has been marred by controversy after he was stripped of the silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics for cheating.
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