Olympic Weightlifting, 1982 & 83 Record Makers Invitational: I Was There.
I started Olympic weightlifting in 1981, and until then, I knew little about its history or the athletes who contributed to the sport. I enjoyed watching it when it was televised, though that wasn’t very often. Besides the Olympics every four years, the only other time I saw it on TV was on Wide World of Sports.
Even then, they mainly focused on the Super Heavyweights. So, the only weightlifter I knew much about was the Soviet strongman Vasily Alexeyev, the first man to clean & jerk 500 lbs. To this day, he remains the only weightlifter to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 14, 1975).
It wasn’t until I started competing in weightlifting that I learned about other great lifters. My cousin, who became my training partner, was a big fan of the sport and began showing me his collection of Strength & Health magazines.
I learned there were nine other weight classes besides the Super Heavyweight class, and I needed to know about these legendary names from the past.
The Rise and Fall of American Weightlifting
In 1981, the Soviet Union was the dominant force in weightlifting, but there was a time when America led the sport. Names like John Grimek, Norm Schemansky, Dave Sheppard, Tommy Kono, John Davis, Paul Anderson, and Ike Berger were winning all the medals for Team USA.
But by the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union started to rise as the new power in weightlifting, while Team USA began to decline. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, the Soviets won seven medals compared to just two for the United States.
American Heavyweight Bob Bednarski won a silver medal at the 1966 World Championships and was considered a favorite to win the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. However, a severe elbow injury in 1967 limited his training and caused him to miss the 68 Olympics. Superheavyweight Joe Dube took home the bronze, the only US lifter to medal in 1968.
Bednarski, now recovered from his elbow surgery, won the gold medal at the 1969 World Championships in the new 110-kilo/242 lbs weight class. He earned a bronze at the 1970 Worlds, but ongoing injuries kept affecting him, and he failed to qualify for the 1972 Olympics.
The new hope for Team USA was Superheavyweight Ken Patera, who became the first American to clean & jerk 500 lbs. Ken won a silver medal at the 1971 Worlds but did not perform well at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and retired afterward to become a professional wrestler.
New Jersey native Phil Grippaldi, competing in the 90-kilo weight class, nearly secured a bronze medal in Munich but was unsuccessful on his final lift. For the first time, Team USA failed to win a single medal at the Olympics. Additionally, no American athlete medaled at the 1973, 74, or 75 World Championships.
A Glimmer of Hope: Lee James and the 1976 Olympics
The era of the ‘Great American Weightlifter’ was truly over. However, new hope arose when 22-year-old Lee James, competing in the 90-kilo weight class, stunned everyone by earning a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
Unfortunately, Lee had to undergo major knee surgery shortly after the Olympics. Some believed Lee would never be the same lifter after the surgery, but he proved everyone wrong by easily winning the 1978 USA Nationals.
After the Nationals, Lee started intense training for the 1978 World Championships, but again felt knee pain. Multiple surgeries, including a second and a third, didn’t go well, and suddenly, Lee James’s promising career ended at just 24 years old.
American lifters did not win medals at the 1977, 78, or 79 World Championships, and US President Jimmy Carter boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Greatness: The Record Makers Invitational
I began lifting at the Belleville Barbell Club in New Jersey about six months after the Olympics and discovered that three USA lifters who had qualified for the 1980 team also trained there. The disappointment of them being unable to compete for our country in the Olympics because of the boycott still lingered in that gym.
In the spring of 1982, my cousin and I took a bus from Northern New Jersey to Atlantic City to watch the Weightlifting Record Makers Competition. Having competed twice before, I now had a much better understanding of the sport and its history.
Fifteen lifters competed: five from the U.S., four from Bulgaria, four from the Soviet Union, and two from Hungary. Bulgarian Beloslav Manolov, competing in the 60-kilo class, had close attempts at world records in both the snatch and clean & jerk but failed.
In the 75-kilo class, American Cal Schake performed incredibly well, setting an American record in the snatch with a lift of 150 kilos/330.5 lbs. As if that wasn’t enough, he then snatched 152.5 kilos to break the record he had just set. The 152.5 was only 2.5 kilos shy of what his competitor, Yanko Rusev of Bulgaria, lifted, which is impressive considering Rusev was the defending World Champion in the 75-kilo class. Rusev also tried for a World Record in the clean & jerk but was unsuccessful.
In the 82.5 kg weight class, Asen Zlatev of Bulgaria attempted a world record snatch but failed. Soviet lifter Yurik Vardanyan, who usually competed in the 82.5 kg class, weighed in at 84.4 kg and competed in the 90 kg class. On his fourth attempt, during the clean & jerk, Yurik attempted a world record 228 kg/502.5 lbs. Yurik racked the heavy weight but couldn’t stand up with it. Nonetheless, the effort was greatly appreciated, and the crowd applauded him. I was amazed that a man weighing only 186 lbs could pull himself under such a massive weight.
Bulgarian Blagoi Blagoev, also competing in the 90-kilo class, broke a World Record in the snatch with a lift of 186.5 kilos / 411 lbs. After witnessing numerous failed attempts at World Records, this lift had the fans on their feet.
In the 100-kilo class, Rich Shanko from New Jersey tried to set American records in both the snatch and clean and jerk but fell short. Another U.S. lifter, Ken Clark, also competing in the 100-kilo category, set the American Record in the clean and jerk with a lift of 208.5 kilos/459.5 lbs.
Lifting in the 110-kilo class for Team USA, Jeff Michaels put on a show, breaking the American record in the snatch on his opening attempt. He further increased the record on his second try, and then, on his third attempt, he became only the second American lifter in history to snatch over 400 lbs. To this day, Michaels remains the only American lifter to snatch over 400 lbs who did not compete as a Super Heavyweight.
In the Super Heavyweight class, 24-year-old Soviet Anatoli Pisarenko weighed only 265 lbs. After missing a World Record attempt snatch, Pisarenko requested 258.5 kilos/570 lbs in the clean and jerk and nearly broke the World Record, but couldn’t lock out the massive weight overhead.
Although most of the attempts in this competition were unsuccessful, the fans appreciated each lifter’s brave effort. It’s a competition I’ll never forget.
My Second Record Makers Event
The Record Makers were in Allentown, PA, the following year, and my cousin and I attended again. This time, we drove in with our teammate Bruce Klemens, the well-known weightlifting photographer.
This time, there were fourteen lifters, seven returning from last year. The first lifter was a teenage sensation from Bulgaria named Naim Suleymanoglu. At only 15 years old, he was barely more than a child. The 56-kilo lifter broke a Junior World Record in the snatch by lifting 125 kilos/275 lbs. He then attempted a Senior World Record, but was unsuccessful.
In the clean & jerk, he broke the Senior World Record on his second attempt. The lift of 160 kilos also set the World Record total. The fans roared with excitement. Little did we know that the 15-year-old boy we cheered for would become the greatest pound-for-pound lifter of all time.
Yuri Sarkisian of the USSR was overweight and had to compete in the 67.5-kilo category instead of his usual 60-kilo class. Although not in top condition for this competition, he managed respectable lifts of 125 in the snatch and 165 in the clean & jerk.
Bulgarian Yanko Rusev, also not in top shape, managed to snatch 155 and clean-and-jerk 192.5 in the 75-kilo class. Asen Zlatev, also from Bulgaria, was not in top condition either, completing lifts of 165 and 210 in the 82.5 class.
Although the fans enjoyed the competition, some were getting restless, eager to see some World Record attempts. After missing his third attempt snatch of 190 kilos, Blagoi Blagoev had the crowd on their feet with a World Record attempt of 229/504 in the clean & jerk. He cleaned the weight easily but missed the jerk out front. Another attempt with the same weight was again missed out front.
In the 100-kilo class, American Ken Clark set a new US record in the clean and jerk with a lift of 210.5/464. Hungarian Peter Baczako surpassed Clark with a clean and jerk of 212.5/468, setting a new Hungarian record. Rich Shanko of Team USA aimed to attempt some American records but had to withdraw due to injury. Soviet lifters Victor Sots and Sergei Arakelov were not in top shape and made no record attempts.
Lifting in the 110-kilo class was Soviet Leonid Taranenko, who made two attempts to break the world record in the snatch with 197.5 kg (435 lbs). He came close to making it on his second attempt, but not close enough. Undaunted, he attempted another world record in the clean and jerk with 242.5 kg (534 lbs). He cleaned it solidly and almost made the jerk.
In the Super Heavyweight class, American Mario Martinez broke the American record in the snatch with a lift of 183.5 kg (405 lbs). Mario tried to increase the record to 185 kilograms on his next attempt and nearly succeeded. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury and had to skip the clean & jerk. Antonia Krastev of Bulgaria was not in top shape, which was disappointing since we hoped to see him break the world record in the snatch.
Now we were down to just one lifter, the popular Anatoli Pisarenko of the Soviet Union. Pisarenko did not disappoint as he took three attempts at the World Record in the snatch. He came close with 205/452 all three times but was unsuccessful. Pisarenko seemed a bit perturbed about not breaking the snatch record and came out laser-focused for the clean & jerk.
After making 245/540 on his opening attempt, he requested 260.5/575, aiming for a World Record. He easily cleaned the weight and nailed the jerk as the fans roared with approval. Pisarenko bowed to the crowd in acknowledgment of their cheers. It was a fantastic ending to a great competition.
But wait, Pisarenko wasn’t finished yet. He held up five fingers, indicating he wanted to add five kilos for his third attempt. 265 kilos/584 lbs was loaded onto the bar as the fans cheered excitedly. He racked the heavy weight and started to stand with it, but maybe he tried to stand before fully securing it, and the bar slipped off his shoulders. Still, we all cheered his great effort. Sadly, Pisarenko, who always seemed to appreciate the fans, never got the chance to compete in the Olympics. The 1984 Summer Olympics, like the 1980 Olympics, were boycotted.
There was a banquet held afterward. Our teammate Bruce Klemens was invited, but my cousin and I were not, so we sat in the lobby and waited for Bruce until the banquet ended. As we waited, we saw many of the lifters coming and going. I was surprised to see many of the Soviet and Bulgarian lifters stepping out to the lobby to smoke cigarettes. Most were friendly and talked with the fans, even though they spoke very little English.
Had we remembered to bring a camera, we could have taken our picture with some of the best weightlifters in the world. But it was 1983, long before everyone carried a camera everywhere. Still, seeing some of the world’s top weightlifters attempt, and sometimes succeed with, World Record weights over two years is something I’ll never forget.
