a russian bodybuilding legend..should have worked his legs more tho
No, as a matter of fact, the Soviet Union’s Yuri Vlasov had absolutely nothing to do with bodybuilding and was strictly an Olympic weightlifter! As a matter of fact, Vlasov’s leg development was absolutely massive(!) and he possessed tremendous core body strength and development (lower back/glutes/hips/thighs). On the contrary, relative to his lower body development, Vlasov’s upper body development was relatively slender.
Peary Rader once commented in Iron Man Lifting News…"upon seeing Vlasov’s upper body, one wonders where he gets his tremendous strength, until you see his massive leg development" (words to the effect)!
In his 70's Yuri claims he lifts 185 kgs/407lbs. I guess its overhead.
While I am sure you guys are very knowledgeable on other aspects of the broad field of weight-training (e.g. BB and powerlifting), it is unfortunate that you guys are not knowledgeable of the great Yuri Vasov. Vlasov totally dominated international Olympic heavyweight (now superheavyweight) weightlifting from 1959 through 1964. During that time, he set no less than 34 world Olympic weightlifting records!!
The following website chronicles a history of Vlasov’s weightlifting records. In those days, there were three (3) Olympic lifts (of course, all overhead lifts)…the two hand Olympic press, the two-hand snatch, and the two-hand clean and jerk…
http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_athleteResult.asp?a_id=290 From a review of these world records, you can see why Vlasov was a “hero”/role model to fans/admirers of Olympic weightlifting like Arnold and legions of aspiring Olympic weightlifters of that era (early 1960’s)!
While Paul Anderson was stronger than Vlasov, sadly, Anderson had turned professional in 1957 and, as a result, in those days (1950’s-1960’s) professionals were not allowed (inelgible) to compete in Olympic weightlifting, which was designated as an “amateur-only” competition.
Vlasov was also a practicing engineer and was the flag bearer for the Soviet Union’s Olympic team at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
In the 1964 Olympic heavyweight (now superheavyweight) weightlifting competition, Vlasov was an absolute “sure thing” to win the gold medal a second time at Tokyo...but, he was shockingly “psyched-out”/”faked-out” by fellow countryman Leonid Zhabotinsky in one of the greatest “con jobs” and upsets in the history of the Olympic Games!
Briefly, it was a combination of Zhabotinsky faking an injured back in his next to his last clean and jerk attempt, hobbling off of the platform in apparent great pain, conceding the championship to Vlasov and even shaking his hand and congratulating him as the winner of the gold medal. But, Zhabotinsky still had a remaining third attempt in the clean and jerk left! And, Vlasov's overconfidence/arrogance...this combination apparently cost him the gold medal at Tokyo!
Vlasov, in his overconfidence, had allowed the weight on the bar to move up to 479 lbs. (a world record at the time). Believing that Zhabotinsky was injured and finished in the competition, Vlasov cleaned the world record poundage of 479, but did not go all-out in the jerk and missed the lift. This was on Vlasov’s third and final attempt and he was finished in the competiton.
All of a sudden, Zhabotinsky jumps up, his apparent injured back “miraculously healed”, and comes out and lifts the world record 479 lbs., in his remaining lone third attempt, to win the competition and “steal” the Olympic world heavyweight/superheavyweight gold medal/title from Vlasov!
Afterward, it is said that Vaslov threw his silver medal out a window and accused Zhabotinsky of poor sportsmanship with his deception!
Vlasov, after Olympic pressing a world record 435 lbs. and snatching a world record 380 lbs. (unfortunately on an extra 4th attempt that didn’t count in the competition!), had a full 11 lb. lead over Zhabotinsky going into the clean and jerk. Vlasov was even the 'lighter man", so if Zhabotinsky was to win he had to not only make up this 11 lb. arrears, but lift an additional 5 lbs. to make up for his heavier bodyweight to actually win the competition!
At the time, Vlasov held the world record in the clean and jerk at approx. 475 lbs. and could easily have taken this weight, or a slightly lesser weight, and thus have forced Zhabotinsky to take an “impossible” poundage (e.g. 486 lbs.) in an apparent vain effort to make up the 16 lbs. he needed for victory.
But, in Vlasov’s overconfidence (arrogance?) he jumped from a success with approx. 462 lbs. all the way up to the world record weight of 479 lbs.??! Thinking he had already won the gold medal as the result of Zhabotinsky’s deception/concession, Vlasov just did not give the 479 an all-out effort and it cost him the gold medal!!