Last Friday one of history’s greatest weightlifters died at the age of 69. Vasily Alekseyev won two Olympic gold medals, eight World Championships, and set 80 World Records. Yes, 80. He was the first man to clean and jerk 500 pounds, and the first to total 600kg (when the clean and press was still in competition). He also had one of the first legitimate power bellies in strength sports. I’ll recap his life by linking various articles that have been published in the last few days, including two by Dr. Michael Hartman and Nick Horton.
“The ‘Babe Ruth’ of Olympic Weightlifting” is how I described Vasily Alexeev to my wife over the weekend when I learned of his passing. Winning 8 world championships (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1977), 2 Olympic gold medals (1972 and 1976), while setting 80 World records, and basically going unbeaten for the eight years at the peak of his career is a testament to his strength, power, and ability in the sport…doing so in a very competitive weight class, while being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and profiled on Wide World of Sports is a testament to his legacy and fame.
From Dr. Hartman’s blog.
Dr. Hartman also has some cool pics, including the famed “Alekseyev doing cleans in the water” photo. There is also a photo set by Bruce Klemens (one of the photos is below).
Best Ever Lifts
His best ever snatch was 190k.
His best ever Clean and Jerk was 256k.
His best ever Clean and Press (they did that still in the early part of his career) was 236.5k!
From Horton’s website
Horton also compiled a thorough list of YouTube videos of Alekseyev that include some of his big lifts, some documentaries, and a video of him water skiing like a boss.
Photo by Bruce Klemens
“For some performers, there is a psychological problem,” he told Sports Illustrated. “As the weight is greater, the more the mind makes the weight seem to be. But we are from the U.S.S.R., and such a psychological situation is no problem. To successfully lift the weight cannot be avoided. I experience the tortures and the celebration. But I lift as well as I lift because it cannot be avoided.”
From the New York Times
This article also details Alekseyev’s dad was a lumberjack, how his last couple meets went, and how he enjoys reading.
The Wikipedia article talks about his life after lifting, which included coaching and was elected into the IWF Hall of Fame. His profile on Lift Up includes all of his World Records and when they were set. During his eight year reign, he hit multiple World Records every year. We will never again see an athlete this dominant in the sport of weightlifting. Rest in peace, Vasily.
The man didn’t wear a whole lot of singlet, did he?
Peace, Vasily.
Can we talk about power bellies? I’ve never heard the term though I’m pretty sure I get the meaning.
Rest in POWAH Big Vas.
WTF is a power belly? Does it have anything to do with bacon?
Power bellies are just big muscular bellies. They aren’t flabby but consist of a lot of muscle with a layer of fat on them. They look kinda silly if the rest of the body isn’t muscular or if the dude is flabby.
–Justin
that picture of him in the water is ill as fuck
on a more important note, i created a damn unimpressive blog
pls follow it:
http://springfieldstylee.wordpress.com/
criticism welcomed
fuck you, vale
I think I know several blue collar men with power bellies. They have huge guts but they don’t jiggle at all.
Vasili on his power belly:
“Besides, speaking about the physical make-up of heavyweights, some experts
feel that the ability to get high scores should be combined with the
development of a trim figure. I have departed from this quite a bit. What is
the weakest part of a person’s constitution? You don’t know? In my opinion,
the part of the spine at the waist. And I constantly reinforce it by growing
a ‘corset’ with my muscles. Yes, we
superheavyweights are not too pretty to look at, but our body makeup is
expedient for picking up record barbells.”
“I’ll have time to work on my figure when I retire from weightlifting,”
Vasily said, smiling. “For the moment, I do and will continue to do only that
which makes me stronger. I notice some talented athletes spend more time
building their muscles for the sake of form and that this muscular
development impedes their ability to lift maximum weights. They aren’t too
concerned with their ability to defend the honor of Soviet sports abroad.
What is the sense of their beautiful figures?!”
What a patriot
“Power Belly”? When I was a kid growing up, I remember watching him on the TV and thinking “what a lard ass”. Now that I’ve tried to do a few of the Olympic lifts, I can appreciate that he was very, very quick and athletic. But I still prefer the weight class lifters over the unlimited guys.
Still, a giant of the sport. RIP Vasily.
When I was a kid I remember seeing a special on ESPN Classic that showed footage from the 70’s of a bodybuilding contest, featuring Arnold himself, then contrasted it with footage of Olympic SHWs which of course featured Vasily dominating.
I already knew Arnold was jacked, but Vasily really showed me what it meant to be STRONG. It was that special that piqued my interest in strength sports, and that passion is still going strong today thanks in part to sites like 70sbig.
Thank you Vasily for getting me started, and a thank you to you guys here at 70sbig for keeping lifting fun.