Spartakiad Diary

29.07.1971 (Dzimtenes Balss)

July 29 is the last day of the final competitions of the V Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, but the grand closing of this year's largest and most impressive sporting event will take place on July 30.

Following the example of the Latvian women's basketball team and our best track and field athletes —We already reported on their medals and records in the previous issue of «Dz. B.» - representatives of several other sports also achieved success in the Spartakiad competitions.

Our weightlifters showed the most determination — an honorable fourth place in the team competition behind the teams of the CPSU, Ukraine and Moscow, one gold, silver and bronze medal each, three international class achievements, a number of Latvian records. And this was achieved in a competition that, with its record achievements (16 world record corrections) and high density of results (for example, in the first heavyweight, even the eighth place winner's triathlon total was 540kg, for which he was awarded a silver medal at the world championships in Columbus last year), according to the unanimous opinion of Soviet and foreign specialists, overshadowed all the world and European weightlifting championships of recent years.

From our athletes, the gold medal was won by the world and two-time European champion in the middleweight category Gennady Ivanchenko with a classic triathlon total of 500 kg once again, which only a few athletes can achieve, and not every time. The absolute Latvian record in the triathlon will continue to belong to the former track and field athlete Artūrs Sliedes (2nd heavyweight), and now it is 545 kg.  In the competition of Soviet super athletes where the legendary Vasily Alekseev broke seven world records one after another in one evening within three hours, the Riga resident managed to win fifth place.