IWF120y/60 – 1976: David Rigert (URS), the lifter improving 65 WR!

Some say he was quite inconsistent, but statistics are there to confirm that David Rigert, representing the Soviet Union, was one of the greatest lifters of the 1970s, establishing no less than 65 World Records during his career! Born in March 1947 in Nagornoye (presently in Kazakhstan), he started weightlifting in 1966 and four years later, he was already part of the Soviet team competing at the World Championships (in Columbus, Ohio, US). On that first major appearance, he got the bronze in the 82.5kg. That would be his worst result at the IWF showcase: from 1971 to 1978, he earned five gold medals, mainly in the 90kg category. Despite this supremacy, his performances at the Olympic level weren’t so successful. At his first Games, in Munich 1972, he bombed out in the Snatch, a poor result that he would repeat eight years later, at home, in the Moscow 1980 Olympics. The honour was saved in Montreal 1976, when he clinched his only Games medal (gold), lifting 170-212.5-282.5. With nine European titles from 1971-1980, Rigert established during the “golden” decade of his career one WR in Press, 21 in Snatch, 21 in Clean & Jerk, 14 in Total (with two lifts), and eight in Total (with three lifts). In Snatch, his best was a 185kg successful attempt in 1981, while in C&J he lifted 230kg in 1980! After his retirement, Rigert was a successful coach, also developing weightlifting equipment and promoting the construction of sports facilities.