Arkady Vorobyev took an interest in weightlifting while serving in the Russian Navy during WWII and it led to a hall of fame career. Vorobyev was one of the most dominant lifters of the 1950’s, taking gold in two Olympic Games (1956, Melbourne, 1960, Rome) five World Championships (1953-1955, 1957-58) and five European championships (1950, 1953-1955, 1958). Vorobyev set 16 World records over the course of his career. He went on to become a noted strength researcher and his “Textbook on Weightlifting,” written in 1978, is thought of as a modern classic in the field.
A look at the great soviet weightlifter Grigori Novak’s World Record standing press of 315 pounds (at 5’3″ and a bodyweight of only 181 pounds!) This would have been in 1949 in a meet in Moscow. Novak’s career was marred by an elbow injury which necessitated an operation – you can tell his left arm is a bit “off” here.
The Russian Champion Vasily Alexeev is one of the greatest weightlifters who ever lived. One of Alexeev’s most unusual training techniques was to practice his cleans in waist-deep water. This famous shot was taken of Alexeev as he trained in the Don River in Mother Russia. Unconventional… but certainly effective: Alexeev set the first of his 80 world records in 1970 and was undefeated for the remainder of his career which also included two Olympic Gold medal winning performances (1972, Munich and 1976, Montreal).
Ivan Poddubny was one of the greatest of the Russian Strongman /Wrestlers (of which there were many). He was born in a small village and worked hard jobs even from a young age.
After some training, he joined the Russian circus, performing feats of strength and wrestling all comers. The sash he is wearing in this picture is most likely from the 1908 World Championship, which he won by defeating his friend Ivan Zaikin. This was his fifth World Championship title. Even to this day, Poddubny is still a well-known sports hero in Russia and several big wrestling tournaments bare his name.
Arkady Vorobyev
