Viktor Kurentsov

Viktor Kurentsov

File:Viktor Kurentsov 1964.jpg Viktor Kurentsov at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Born	15 April 1941 (1941-04-15) (age 83) Tukhinka, Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Sport	Weightlifting
Club	Soviet Army Khabarovsk/Moscow Oblast
Medal record Representing the Soviet Union Olympic Games 1964 Tokyo -75 kg 1968 Mexico City -75 kg World Championships 1964 Tokyo -75 kg 1965 Tehran -75 kg 1966 Berlin -75 kg 1968 Mexico City -75 kg 1969 Warsaw -75 kg 1970 Columbus -75 kg

Viktor Grigorevich Kurentsov (Template:Lang-ru, born 15 April 1941) is a retired Soviet middleweight weightlifter. He competed at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively.

Born in Belarus, Kurentsov started training in weightlifting aged 18, while serving in the Soviet Army in the Russian Far East. By 1964 he became the world top middleweight weightlifter, winning a silver medal at the 1964 Olympics, five world titles in 1965–1970, and seven European titles in 1964–1971. He also won silver at the 1972 European Championships and bronze in 1974. Domestically Kurentsov won nine Soviet titles (1964–70, 1972, 1974). Between 1964 and 1968 he set 18 official world records.

After ending his weightlifting career Kurentsov continued to serve in the Soviet Army, retiring in 1990 as a Colonel. He then became a politician and was elected to the Odintsovo city council. Between 1993 and 1998 he worked at the Russian embassy in Italy and later at the international relations office at the Odintsovo district government.