Leonid Arkadevich Taranenko (Russian: Леонид Аркадьевич Тараненко, born June 13, 1956) is a former Soviet/Belarusian weightlifter and coach.[1] His 266 kg clean and jerk in 1988 was the heaviest lift in competition for 33 years, until Lasha Talakhadze exceeded it, lifting 267 at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships.
_Moscow_1980.jpg) Taranenko at 1980 Moscow Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 13, 1956 Malaryta, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Weightlifting career edit
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, but competed in the 1984 Friendship Games, where he 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 kg in the clean and jerk, and 476 kg in the total, having lifted 210 kg in the snatch.
While these results are no longer recognized as official world records due to subsequent restructuring of the competitive weight classes (in 1993, 1998 and 2018), as of 2019, his 266 kg clean and jerk remained the highest ever achieved in competition till broken December 2021 by Lasha Talakhadze’s 267 kg, while his total of 476 kg remained the highest ever achieved until broken by Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships while also setting the new clean and jerk record of 264 kg for the restructured weight classes. He achieved this by breaking Hossein Rezazadeh's world record from 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for 263.5 kg.
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 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.
Taranenko has served as a coach for female weightlifters in India.
Career bests edit
- Snatch: 210 kg in the class over 110 kg
- Clean and jerk: 266 kg (No longer an official world record due to restructuring of weight classes)
- Total: 442.5 kg (200 + 242.5) 1984 in Varna in the class to 110 kg
- Total: 476 kg (210 + 266),[2] in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988, in the class over 110 kg.
- Back Squat: 380 kg with a two-second pause at rock-bottom
- Front Squat: 300 kg for a triple
- Olympic Press: 230 kg
Major result edit
| 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 | 
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| 1992 |  Barcelona, Spain |
+110 kg | 187.5 | -- | 2 | 232.5 | 237.5 | 2 | 425 | 
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| 1996 |  Atlanta, United States |
+108 kg | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| World Championships | ||||||||||||
| 1979 |  Thessaloniki, Greece |
110 kg | 175 | 182.5 | |
220 | 5 | 402.5 | 
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| 1980 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
110 kg | 182.5 | |
220 | 235 | 240 | |
422.5 |
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| 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 | |
245 | 257.5 | 265.5 | |
467.5 |
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| 1990 |  Budapest, Hungary |
+110 kg | 195 | |
255 | |
450 |
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| 1993 |  Melbourne, Australia |
+108 kg | 185 | 190 | 4 | 232.5 | -- | 5 | 422.5 | 4 | ||
| European Championships | ||||||||||||
| 1980 |  Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
110 kg | 190 | |
230 | |
420 |
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| 1985 |  Katowice, Poland |
+110 kg | 185 | |
230 | |
415 |
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| 1986 |  Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany |
+110 kg | 195 | |
242.5 | |
437.5 |
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| 1988 |  Cardiff, United Kingdom |
+110 kg | 207.5 | |
255 | |
462.5 |
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| 1990 |  Ålborg, Denmark |
+110 kg | 205 | |
247.5 | |
452.5 |
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| 1991 | Władysławowo, Poland |
+110 kg | 200 | |
247.5 | |
447.5 |
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| 1996 |  Stavanger, Norway |
+108 kg | 180 | 182.5 | |
220 | 227.5 | 232.5 | |
415 |
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| USSR Weightlifting Championships | ||||||||||||
| Summer Spartakiad of the Soviet Union | ||||||||||||
| Cup of the Soviet Union | ||||||||||||
References edit
- ^ "IWRP Profile". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
- ^ While Taranenko actually lifted 476 kg, the total was normalized to the standard interval of 2.5 kg under the rules at the time, being recorded as 475 kg in the competition results.
- ^ "Leonid Taranenko". Lift Up. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ "Leonid Taranenko Interview".
External links edit
- Leonid Taranenko at Lift Up
- Leonid Taranenko at the International Weightlifting Results Project
- Leonid Taranenko at Olympics.com
- Leonid Taranenko at Olympic.org (archived)
- Leonid Taranenko at Olympedia
