Leonid Taranenko

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Leonid Taranenko
Personal information
Born (1956-06-13) June 13, 1956 (age 67)
Malaryta, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow 110 kg
World Weightlifting Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Saloniki 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow 110 kg
Silver medal – second place 1987 Ostrava +110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1990 Budapest +110 kg
European Weightlifting Championships
Gold medal – first place 1980 Beograd 110 kg
Silver medal – second place 1985 Katowice +110 kg
Silver medal – second place 1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt +110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1988 Cardiff +110 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Aalborg +110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1991 Wladyslawowo +110 kg
USSR Weightlifting Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Ratov Na Donu 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1979 Leningrad 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1983 Moscow 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1987 Arkhangelsk +110 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Frunze +110 kg
Summer Spartakiad of the Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place 1979 Leningrad 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1983 Moscow 110 kg
Cup of the Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place 1981 Donetsk 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1982 Moscow 110 kg
Gold medal – first place 1986 Lipetsk +110 kg
Representing the  Unified Team
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona +110 kg
Representing  Belarus
European Weightlifting Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Stavanger +108 kg

Leonid Arkadevich Taranenko (Russian: Леонид Аркадьевич Тараненко, born June 13, 1956) is a former Soviet/Belarusian weightlifter and coach.[1] His 266 kg clean and jerk in 1988 was the heaviest lift in competition for 33 years, until Lasha Talakhadze exceeded it, lifting 267 at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships.

Weightlifting career[edit]

Taranenko in 1986

Taranenko trained at VSS Uradzhai in Minsk. His first major success took place at the 1980 Olympics, when, competing for the Soviet Union, he won the gold medal in the 110 kilogram class with a 422.5 kg total.

He was unable to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles due to the Soviet boycott, but competed in the 1984 Friendship Games, where he won the 110 kg class with a world record total of 442.5 kg, exceeding the winning total in Los Angeles (by Norberto Oberburger) by 52.5 kg.

After this, Taranenko moved up to the super-heavyweight class. Lifting in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988, he set a world record of 266 kg in the clean and jerk, and 476 kg in the total, having lifted 210 kg in the snatch.

While these results are no longer recognized as official world records due to subsequent restructuring of the competitive weight classes (in 1993, 1998 and 2018), as of 2019, his 266 kg clean and jerk remained the highest ever achieved in competition till broken December 2021 by Lasha Talakhadze’s 267 kg, while his total of 476 kg remained the highest ever achieved until broken by Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships while also setting the new clean and jerk record of 264 kg for the restructured weight classes. He achieved this by breaking Hossein Rezazadeh's world record from 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for 263.5 kg.

In 1992, Taranenko represented the Unified Team at the Olympics in Barcelona. He took the silver medal in the super-heavyweight class with a total of 425 kg.

Taranenko's other victories include the 110 kg class titles at the 1980 World and European championships, and super-heavyweight titles at the 1990 World championship and 1988, 1991, and 1996 European championships.

Taranenko has served as a coach for female weightlifters in India.

Career bests[edit]

  • Snatch: 210 kg in the class over 110 kg
  • Clean and jerk: 266 kg (No longer an official world record due to restructuring of weight classes)
  • Total: 442.5 kg (200 + 242.5) 1984 in Varna in the class to 110 kg
  • Total: 476 kg (210 + 266),[2] in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988, in the class over 110 kg.
  • Back Squat: 380 kg with a two-second pause at rock-bottom
  • Front Squat: 300 kg for a triple
  • Olympic Press: 230 kg

[3] [4]

Major result[edit]

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Olympic Games
1980 Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union 110 kg 182.5 182.5 190 2 220 235 240 1 422.5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1992 Spain Barcelona, Spain +110 kg 187.5 187.5 -- 2 232.5 237.5 242.5 2 425 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1996 United States Atlanta, United States +108 kg -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
World Championships
1979 Greece Thessaloniki, Greece 110 kg 175 182.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 220 5 402.5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1980 Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union 110 kg 182.5 182.5 190 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 220 235 240 1st place, gold medalist(s) 422.5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1985 Sweden Södertälje, Sweden +110 kg 185 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 232.5 5 417.5 4
1986 Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria +110 kg 200 2nd place, silver medalist(s) -- -- --
1987 Czechoslovakia Ostrava, Czechoslovakia +110 kg 202.5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 245 257.5 265.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 467.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1990 Hungary Budapest, Hungary +110 kg 195 1st place, gold medalist(s) 255 1st place, gold medalist(s) 450 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1993 Australia Melbourne, Australia +108 kg 185 190 195 4 232.5 242.5 -- 5 422.5 4
European Championships
1980 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Belgrade, Yugoslavia 110 kg 190 1st place, gold medalist(s) 230 1st place, gold medalist(s) 420 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1985 Poland Katowice, Poland +110 kg 185 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 230 1st place, gold medalist(s) 415 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1986 East Germany Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany +110 kg 195 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 242.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 437.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1988 United Kingdom Cardiff, United Kingdom +110 kg 207.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 255 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 462.5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1990 Denmark Ålborg, Denmark +110 kg 205 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 247.5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 452.5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1991 Poland Władysławowo, Poland +110 kg 200 1st place, gold medalist(s) 247.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 447.5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1996 Norway Stavanger, Norway +108 kg 180 180 182.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 220 227.5 232.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 415 1st place, gold medalist(s)
USSR Weightlifting Championships
Summer Spartakiad of the Soviet Union
Cup of the Soviet Union

References[edit]

  1. ^ "IWRP Profile". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  2. ^ While Taranenko actually lifted 476 kg, the total was normalized to the standard interval of 2.5 kg under the rules at the time, being recorded as 475 kg in the competition results.
  3. ^ "Leonid Taranenko". Lift Up. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  4. ^ "Leonid Taranenko Interview".

External links[edit]