Leonid Taranenko
 Taranenko (center) at Moscow Olympics, 1980 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born |
June 13, 1956 Malaryta, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Leonid Arkadevich Taranenko (Russian: Леонид Аркадьевич Тараненко, born June 13, 1956) is a former Soviet/Belarusian weightlifter. His 266 kg clean and jerk in 1988 is still the largest amount ever lifted in competition, though no longer an official world record due to restructuring of weight classes.
Weightlifting career
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. However, competing in the 1984 Friendship Games, Taranenko 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 266.0 kg in the clean and jerk, and 475.0 kg in the total. Due to the restructuring of the competitive weight classes that took place in 1993 and 1998, these lifts are no longer recognized as the official world records. However, these remain the highest figures ever posted in competition.
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 425.0 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.
Career bests
- Snatch: 210.0 kg in the class over 110 kg
- Clean and jerk: 266.0 kg (the largest amount ever lifted in competition, but no longer an official world record due to restructuring of weight classes)
- Total: 442.5 kg (200.0 + 242.5) 1984 in Varna in the class to 110 kg
- Total: 476.0 kg (210.0 + 266.0),[1] in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988, in the class over 110 kg.[2]
Major result
| Year | Venue | Weight | Snatch (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Total | Rank | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | Rank | |||||
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||
| 1980 |  Moscow, Soviet Union | 110 kg | 182.5 | 2 | 220 | 235 | 240 | 1 | 422.5 |  | ||
| 1992 |  Barcelona, Spain | +110 kg | 187.5 | -- | 2 | 232.5 | 237.5 | 2 | 425 |  | ||
| 1996 |  Atlanta, United States | +108 kg | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| World Championships | ||||||||||||
| 1979 |  Thessaloniki, Greece | 110 kg | 182.5 | | 220 | 5 | 402.5 |  | ||||
| 1980 | Moscow, Soviet Union | 110 kg | 182.5 | | 220 | 235 | 240 | | 422.5 | | ||
| 1985 |  Södertälje, Sweden | +110 kg | 185 | | 232.5 | 5 | 417.5 | 4 | ||||
| 1986 |  Sofia, Bulgaria | +110 kg | 200 | | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 1987 |  Ostrava, Czechoslovakia | +110 kg | 202.5 | | 265 | | 467.5 | | ||||
| 1990 |  Budapest, Hungary | +110 kg | 195 | | 255 | | 450 | | ||||
| 1993 |  Melbourne, Australia | +110 kg | 185 | 190 | 4 | 232.5 | -- | 5 | 422.5 | 4 | ||
| European Championships | ||||||||||||
| 1980 |  Belgrade, Yugoslavia | 110 kg | 190 | | 230 | | 420 | | ||||
| 1985 |  Katowice, Poland | +110 kg | 185 | | 230 | | 415 | | ||||
| 1986 |  Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany | +110 kg | 195 | | 242.5 | | 437.5 | | ||||
| 1988 |  Cardiff, United Kingdom | +110 kg | 207.5 | | 255 | | 462.5 | | ||||
| 1990 |  Ålborg, Denmark | +110 kg | 205 | | 247.5 | | 452.5 | | ||||
| 1991 | Władysławowo, Poland | +110 kg | 200 | | 247.5 | | 447.5 | | ||||
| 1996 |  Stavanger, Norway | +110 kg | 180 | 182.5 | | 220 | 227.5 | 232.5 | | 415 | | |
| USSR Weightlifting Championships | ||||||||||||
| Summer Spartakiad of the Soviet Union | ||||||||||||
| Cup of the Soviet Union | ||||||||||||
Notes and references
- ↑ Taranenko lifted 476.0 kg in the total, but for the competition results, the weight was normalized to the standard interval of 2.5 kg.
- ↑ "Leonid Taranenko". Lift Up. Retrieved 2009-07-27.