IWF120y/90 – 1952: The start of an Olympic saga for Arkady Vorobyov (URS)

In the multitude of Soviet lifters that excelled at Olympic and world level between the 1950s and 1980s, Arkady Vorobyov emerges as the most successful and prolific one at the Games level, with two gold and one bronze medal. Born in 1924, Vorobyov serves in the Soviet Army during World War II, mainly clearing mines in the port of Odessa, as a diver. It is there that he starts practicing weightlifting, with notable results at the national level. In 1950, he takes part in the World Championships in Paris, finishing second in the 82.5kg category. Two years later, he travels to Helsinki (FIN) for his first Olympic appearance – in the same category, he earns bronze with a result of 120-127.5-160-407.5. He will do much better in the subsequent two editions – Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960 – where he clinches gold on both occasions. In Australia, he lifts 147.5-137.5-177.5-462.5, while in the Italian capital, his winning performance is 152.5-142.5-177.5-472.5. His supremacy in the 1950s is reinforced by the five world titles between 1953 and 1958, a silver in 1959, and a bronze in 1961. During his golden years, he sets 16 new World Records, including nine in Snatch, his most successful movement (with a best of 145kg, lifted in 1957). After his retirement, he becomes a coach of the Soviet team and is one of the first in his country to apply computer programmes to the training methodologies. With a renowned academic career, he was a member of the IWF Technical Committee, the IWF Scientific and Research Committee. Vorobyov passed away in 2012, at the age of 88.