Taranenko, 266Kg: The Untold Story

[John Prophet]

very cool article

http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/a_paul_coffa_about_taranenko.asp

[magicman531]

hah thats pretty good

[Domkratos]

Thank you, John Prophet.
Here's something I've found about the giant:
Leonid Arkadievich Taranenko

http://www.noc.by/imgs/champs/taranenko.jpg

Born on June 13, 1956/USSR, Belorussia the town of Malorita, Brest province/milling-machine operator/discovered by Pyotr Stasiuk/the Coach Ivan Longvinovich/the 'secret diet': honey, lard, nuts

The Olympic Games in Moscow, July 29, 1980: C&J – 529lb, total – 931lb
Outscored the Bulgarian Valentin Khristov for 38.5lb
1983 the spine treatment/Novocain shot/staphylococcus infection/sepsis/heaviest condition/rehabilitation

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1988 Australia, Canberra/ C&J – 586lb, total – 1047lb
1992 the Olympic Games in Barcelona, the Bronze Medal
Trainer's carrer:
India, prepared the first female Olympic medalist Marishvari
2004 the Olympic Games in Athens/steroids and diuretics scandal/two his female trainees allegedly found drug positive

19 World Records
The founder and trainer of 'The Leonid Taranenko Strong Men Club'.

[UtahRocks]

Sounds like self-aggrandizing bull**** to me. And it is degrading to the lifters...the motivation for the WR was this guy's $? Please.

[John Prophet]

Sounds like self-aggrandizing bull**** to me. And it is degrading to the lifters...the motivation for the WR was this guy's $? Please.

could be different if u walked a mile in his shoes. I am sure some things are different under Communist rule

[Ibanez]

Maybe the motivation was a lifetime supply of the finest Russian Vodka.

[UtahRocks]

could be different if u walked a mile in his shoes. I am sure some things are different under Communist rule

Maybe. But to me it looks like the guy who wrote is trying to insert himself into lifting history. AFAIK super star Soviet athletes were pampered by the Party/government, they embodied the superiority of the Soviet man over the capitalists.

[John Prophet]

well....from the outside it might seem that way...but then on the other hand there is a ton of evidence against that.

The Americans...who havent seemed to be able to win ANYTHING in OLY lifting since way back when...look at the facilities we have. Look at the shiny new uniforms.

Now, look at the Soviet era Russians, look at the run down gyms, look at the uniforms that didnt match half the time. I mean, their gyms look like typical high school gyms or prison gyms in the USA.

Seems more like they lived like Spartans while OUR guys were pampered.

[UtahRocks]

well....from the outside it might seem that way...but then on the other hand there is a ton of evidence against that.

The Americans...who havent seemed to be able to win ANYTHING in OLY lifting since way back when...look at the facilities we have. Look at the shiny new uniforms.

Now, look at the Soviet era Russians, look at the run down gyms, look at the uniforms that didnt match half the time. I mean, their gyms look like typical high school gyms or prison gyms in the USA.

Seems more like they lived like Spartans while OUR guys were pampered.

Americans have never been into OLY lifting while E. Europeans and the Soviets were very much into it. And I dont think the top Soviet Olympic athletes were training in run down gyms. The Soviet state had a lot of resources and Olympic success was a big priority.

Do you believe that, say, Nadia Comaneci trained in conditions that were inferior to the American girls'?

[raffiki]

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and on a similar note:

http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=225&Itemid=108

[John Prophet]

Do you believe that, say, Nadia Comaneci trained in conditions that were inferior to the American girls'?

absolutely, lol. plenty of pics and films exist. Really, Rocky 4 had it backwards

for instance, probably most of the athletes didnt own cars....how many americans didnt own cars??

you say the Soviet state had a lot of resources? in a sense, yes. In a sense no. Quite a lot of people lived in poverty. Quite a lot of athletes either agreed to lie about being payed very little or actually got paid very little.

when you hear their athletes in interviews, it was the might USA who had all the resources and best drugs etc

the grass is always greener......

[John Prophet]

This is by an American guy, John Abdo, based on when he toured the USSR in '89 and visited with Yuri Verkhoshansky.

"You’d think with all this ambition and ability they’d become the result of numerous long-term experiments in modern laboratories or high-tech computerized institutions. To say the least, the resources they have are not very impressive at all (maybe that’s the secret). Let me tell you that for the large part there’s nothing special about their equipment technology. Heck my high school weight room had better pulleys and leg machines. Their equipment [machines that is] is very antiquated. On the other hand, their Olympic sets are very good; that’s their national sport. The bars are very rotational and the bumper plates range were all international color coded and incremented. (I did see more 50 kg plates in their gym than any other gym I have ever visited in the world). "

[Dark_MadMax]

Americans have never been into OLY lifting while E. Europeans and the Soviets were very much into it. And I dont think the top Soviet Olympic athletes were training in run down gyms. The Soviet state had a lot of resources and Olympic success was a big priority.



Yes .Believe it or not top soviet sportsmen even at best times had very spartan condition of training. And generally were very poor (well as everyone was in USSR). Yes if you were a good athlete you were famous in USSR (weightlifters at one point were one of the most popular ones along with gymnasts) but thats about it.

[UtahRocks]

ok, live and learn.

[ThomasAnthony]

That is a great story, thanks for posting

I can totally believe a Soviet lifter doing it (breaking records) for the money because he would have got not much more than a the gratification of winning from the Soviet Government. He was already pretty much guaranteed to win the competition why push your self harder to get nothing in return this was pretty much the question. I dont feel the story debases a great lifter likewise I feel it debases the former USSR and how crummy they were to the vast majority of there people and even some of the greatest athletes to ever live.

[Big_fuzzy]

absolutely, lol. plenty of pics and films exist. Really, Rocky 4 had it backwards

for instance, probably most of the athletes didnt own cars....how many americans didnt own cars??

you say the Soviet state had a lot of resources? in a sense, yes. In a sense no. Quite a lot of people lived in poverty. Quite a lot of athletes either agreed to lie about being payed very little or actually got paid very little.

when you hear their athletes in interviews, it was the might USA who had all the resources and best drugs etc

the grass is always greener......


YOu have to look at the communist mindset.

The Bulgarains trained in a aircraft hangar with 50 platforms. I twas solid, perfectly good, not pretty and straight forward. The athletes were given sufficient housing, food and daily massage.

Same with the Russians, the mindset was to just lift, everything was taken care of for you.

[raffiki]

It's funny that people confuse using scientific methods with having high tech machinery. Training scientifically only involves a paper and pencil. And a calculator for us slackers. :D

[John Prophet]

look at Hossein Rezezadeh...every article you read is where he won another title yet didnt exert himself much at all...he is always commenting that he did just enough to win

[Govithoy]

look at Hossein Rezezadeh...every article you read is where he won another title yet didnt exert himself much at all...he is always commenting that he did just enough to win
I'd rather see Rezazadeh set WR's with ease for years than have him injure himself and forever end his career.

Really cool video, definitely interesting to watch...I just saw those 1980 Olympics on youtube 2-3 days ago.