Latvian Weightlifting — 72

30.01.1973 (Sports)

World Weightlifting - 72 and the classic triathlon has already been consigned to the archives of history. At the Olympic Games the Bulgarian weightlifting team won in Munich, but the Soviet athletes learned a bitter lesson. Pressing. It was pressing that "squeezed" our middleweight athletes B. Pavlov and V. Sharia out of the fight for Olympic medals.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) congress decided to abandon the clean and jerk and instead hold competitions in the two-handed snatch and clean and jerk.

It seems that this decision of the FHI will stimulate the growth of results, free athletes from unnecessary nervousness. At the republican championships held last fall, which for the first time were held according to the duel program, eight athletes immediately fulfilled the norm of the USSR Master of Sports! Moreover, not only the title of master is new to these athletes, but also the number of their own years does not exceed a quarter of a century. But in the whole of 1972, our republican coaches prepared 19 new masters of sports! We had never achieved such success before. In «Vārp» (senior coach master of sports P. Josts) 7 were prepared, «Dinamo» (Merited coach of the USSR M. Fraifelds) - 7, «Daugava» (master of sports O. Bergmanis) - 4, ASK (master of sports N. Belousovs) - 1. 

It is pleasing that a talented new team is growing. Last year, 22 republican junior records were broken. Just like the year before, last year the record holder was Master of Sports Jezups Kivlāns («Dinamo», coach A. Majasins), who broke republican junior records 15 times! Six new republican junior records were set by Master of Sports Sergey Solomonovs («Dinamo», coach A. Majasins). It was these young, 20-year-old masters of sports who took prize-winning places at the All-Union competitions in Kharkov (in spring) and Tomsk (in autumn).

Adults set 31 new republican records last year (one less than in 1971), of which 10 in the snatch, 7 in the clean and jerk, 5 in the clean and jerk, 8 in the classic triathlon sum, 1 in the combined sum. G. Ivanchenko achieved two USSR and one world record in the middleweight category. However, it turned out that not enough to get to the Olympic weightlifting podium. G. Ivanchenko started unsteadily last year, apparently hampered by old injuries.

Vladimir Anikins (ASK) showed good performance throughout the year. In the spring, he won the bronze medal of the USSR Championship in the lightweight classic triathlon, and at the end of the year he added the title of winner of the USSR Cup in the combined event and the national champion titles in the snatch and clean and jerk.

Vladimir Anikin's wrestling record (250 kg) is the first republican record in wrestling, it corresponds to the norm of the USSR International Master of Sports! A. Dinnikovs («Dinamo», coach M. Fraifelds) was third in both the USSR Championship in the classic triathlon sum and the USSR Cup in the two-event sum.

Last year, the dynamic Juris Kļaviņš (coach M. Fraifelds) successfully competed in the lightweight division. He became as the bronze medalist of the USSR Championship in the shot put, came close to the republic's record starting norm in the combined total.

The "500" and "600" clubs have gone down in history. Last year, the Latvian "500 Club" welcomed its tenth member - "Daugava" representative Ilmārs Tērauds (coach O. Bergmanis), and then the club closed its doors...

Here is the roster of our republic's «500 club».

1. sksm Kārlis Pumpuriņš (Dinamo) light heavyweight 500 (160+147,5+192,5) 22. XI 69.

2. sm Artūrs Sliede (Dinamo) second heavyweight 510 (167,5+142,5+200)  28. XI 69.

3. sksm Valentīns Bročs (Dinamo) first heavy 507,5 (175+135+197,5) 1. III 70.

4. skms Sergejs Poltorackis (Daugava) light heavyweight 502,5 (175+142,5+185) 17. III 70.

5. Nbsm Genadijs Ivančenko (Dinamo) average 500 (165+150+185) 24. IV 70.

6. sm Guntis Kalns (Daugava) second heavyweight 510 (175+150+185) 20. XII 70.

7. sm Vilis Pērkons (Dinamo) light heavyweight 500 (160+147,5+192,5) 25. XII 70.

8. sm Valdis Alksnītis (Vārpa) second heavyweight 505 (170+145+190) 25. XII 70.

9. sm Jānis Balgalvis (Daugava) second heavyweight 520 (167,5+152,5+200) 25. XII 71.

10. sm llmārs Tērauds (Dinamo) first heavy 500 (165+145+190) 13. VIII 72.

At present, when experience in training methodology for the duel has only just begun to be accumulated, it is already clear that young weightlifters can develop their talents even better in these conditions, create serious competition for their more experienced comrades. But the demands on young talents are very high to achieve such results that they can honorably represent our republic at the 6th Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, to maintain the positions that our currently strongest athletes won at the 5th Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR.

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