Soviet weightlifters in international competitions

Preparation and Participation of Juniors and Youths in the World and European Championships and the Friendship Tournament

M. S. Okunev, Senior Coach of the USSR Youth National Team

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1985 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1985), pp. 17–22: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels.

In 1984 Soviet juniors and youths took part in two international events: the World and European Junior Championships in Lignano, Italy (22–27 May) and the Friendship tournament for youths of socialist countries in Ulan Bator, Mongolia (18–22 October).

Preparation for the championships had two stages. The first, 9–29 April, comprised 18 training days and 29 sessions, with 2100 lifts, of which at 90–100%: 45–50 in the snatch and 35–45 in the clean and jerk, depending on class and individual. Each week held 4 double-session days and 2 single ones, 10 barbell sessions in all. Monday and Tuesday had two sessions, with a 10–15 minute swim after the first for recovery; Wednesday one morning session plus massage and sauna; Thursday and Friday doubles with a swim after the first; Saturday one morning session with recovery treatment; Sunday general physical training (volleyball, table tennis). Monday and Tuesday were heavy (100–150 lifts a session), Wednesday medium (75–95), Thursday light then heavy (55–65, then 125–160), Friday heavy, Saturday light. Morning exercises daily included barbell work at 20–50%, flexibility, hangs, jumps and abdominal exercises.

A sample week of the first stage

Weight is a percentage of the best snatch for snatch exercises, of the best clean and jerk for jerk exercises and squats. Lift totals as printed, though some do not match the sets and reps listed.

At the end of this stage control competitions were held after a morning session and, for weight-cutters, a sauna. Weight was cut by 1–1.5 kg, the weekly load was not reduced and there was no special preparation. A. Babayan (over 110 kg) lifted 231 kg, above the junior world record; other results are in Table 1.

Table 1. Juniors at the control competitions

As printed; A. Aldatov’s body weight of 59.05 kg does not fit his total.

The second stage, 30 April–18 May, comprised 15 training days and 20 sessions, with 1500 lifts, of which at 90–100%: 30–35 in the snatch and 20–25 in the clean and jerk. Double sessions were not risked; the team went to an ordinary cycle (two sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one on Tuesday and Saturday) with less load. This methodological error told in Italy, above all in the clean and jerk: R. Gasanov failed at his usual 165 kg, while Yu. Shevtsov, O. Chirito and B. Seregin would have become world and European champions with a third attempt they cleaned easily but could not fix. S. Kolevatov and L. Boyarchuk made only one good attempt each. The USSR team finished second, just 6 points behind Bulgaria (Table 2).

Table 2. Medallists of the World and European Junior Championships

Preparation for the Friendship tournament had three stages. First, 10–27 August: 12 training days, 18 sessions, 1650 lifts, at 90–100% 20–25 in the snatch and 18–20 in the clean and jerk. Second, 8–25 September: 14 days, 21 sessions, 2050 lifts, 30–35 and 28–30. Third, 26 September–15 October: 16 days, 26 sessions, 2600 lifts, 50–55 and 30–35. Having learned from the earlier mistakes, the coaches raised both total load and 90–100% lifts in the classic exercises, with 4 double-session days a week in the first and third stages. Everyone coped and performed confidently in Mongolia, winning 4 gold and 6 silver medals (Table 3).

Table 3. Medallists of the Friendship youth tournament

Friendship is in effect an unofficial world championship for 18-year-olds and a good school for young lifters; its winners score only a little below the junior world championship and in some classes above (Table 3). In the last two years Soviet juniors and youths have done best in the heavy classes, and the light classes remain the weak link: of the 12 gold medals won by youths at Friendship in 1981–1984 only one came at 52 kg (V. Sokolovsky, 1981) and one at 56 kg (E. Kharitonov, 1983). Load should be raised more boldly in the lagging classes, which will help solve the reserve problem.