Olympic champion Leonid Taranenka set a world record in 1988 year. And his achievement has yet to be beaten. Watch the video of the history of the legendary Belarusian weightlifter.

Eight years after the triumphant gold at the Olympics-80, weightlifter Leonid Taranenko went to competitions in Australia. There he set a world record - lifted the barbell in the clean and jerk 266 kilograms, and this record is already held longer 30 years old. Until now, no one has been able to beat him.

Now the strongest man on the planet is retired. After finishing his sports career, he raised the Olympic weightlifting medalist for India. Taranenko has always been against women's weightlifting, and when I came as a coach to India, it was to the women's team that he was sent. Before, how the Belarusian coach started working with the national team, there were no Olympic medals.

Moreover, when Taranenko assured, that one of his pupils will become an Olympic medalist, looked at him with bewilderment. And once with the same perplexity they looked at the coach of Taranenko himself - the legendary Ivan Logvinovich. In, that his pupil will take gold in Moscow, he had no doubts. To do this, it was necessary to defeat the Bulgarian athlete Valentin Hristov., which four years before the Olympics announced, that he will come to Moscow for gold.

“And then some Belarusian appears”, - Taranenko laughs.

The athlete had no doubt, that the Olympics will be successful for him. Like there was no time to rest.

During all this time, that the Games were held in Moscow, Leonid Arkadievich visited the specially built Olympic Village only once. Workouts, preparation - all this took time, and strength.

A small part of athletes come to the Olympics to compete, the rest come to have fun and rest, says the athlete. He was in a competition, to take gold.

Many years later, his knowledge and experience were not in demand in Belarus, recognizes the athlete. He speaks not without sadness, what would I like to train, what feels the strength “cut a diamond” - lead a talented athlete to good results. But even for consultation with a person, whose record has not yet been broken, in Belarus do not apply.

So he spends his free time in the forest - he loves hunting. Does the competition follow? From weightlifting, Taranenko admits, there is nowhere to go. He still dreams of the barbell.

A source: Satellite Belarus