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The name of Leonid Taranenko might not raise an eyebrow in most social circles, but to anyone who is a strength aficionado the name of Leonid Taranenko is likely to inspire gasps, pauses of silence as well as more than a few bent knees from time to time. In short, the man is not only a legend in the sport of Olympic Weight Lifting, but he is simply one of the strongest men to have ever walked on the face of the planet. When all is said and done, he will go down as one of the top ten strongest men to have ever lived.

It has been more than ten years since Taranenko last competed in the 1996 Senior European Chamionships (which he won 4 times), so his accomplishments on the weight lifting platform have receded somewhat in order to make room for some of the future luminaries of the sport today. It is because of this that I wanted to pay homage to the great Leonid Taranenko once again with a another post and video of this incredible athlete. I am including a brief bio, with a list of his accomplishments in competition.

Leonid Taranenko was burn June 13, 1956, making him over 52 years of age today.

Taranenko began to compete in earnest at the 1980 Olympic Games which were held in the former Soviet Union. Taranenko took the Gold Medal on that day. Surprisingly, despite his unequaled strength throughout the years in the Clean and Jerk, this would be his first and only Gold medal in the Olympics. He competed in the ’84 Friendship Games, bypassing that years Olympics due to a Soviet boycott, taking the Silver.

In addition to his Olympic meets, Taranenko competed in numerous other competitions over a 16 year span, winning several Silver and Bronze medals along the way. By 1996, Taranenko had claimed four Senior European Championships!

In the video below, we see Taranenko’s crowning achievement: a successful Clean and Jerk of Herculean proportions – a colossal 265.5 Kg. That is just over 586 pounds, folks! Look, when I am healthy I am fairly strong. I have lifted some fairly heavy weighs in my day, but I know if I tried to simply hold a bar with that much weight on it, I would not be able to crap right for three weeks. This is simply jaw dropping. Have a look.

Here is an overview of Taranenko’s accomplishments:

• Olympic Gold Medal Champion (1980)
• He was unable to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles due to the Soviet boycott. However, competing in the 1984 Friendship Games, Taranenko 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.
• Silver Medal Winner Olympic Games (1992)
• Two Time Senior World Champion 1980 and 1990
• Bronze Medalist in the 1979 Senior World Championships.
• Silver Medalist in the 1987 Senior World Championships.
• Four Time Senior European Champion (1980, 1988, 1991 and 1996)
• Two Time Silver Medal Winner Senior European Championships (1985 and 1986)
• Bronze Medal Winner Senior European Championships (1990)

Whew, I am out of breath.

I think it is safe to say that Leonid Taranenko will be in the history books for many, many decades to come.

Personal Bests:

• Snatch: 215.0 Kg (Unofficial), 212.5 Kg (Official)
• Clean and Jerk: 265.5 Kg (Official world record, though this record has been expunged due to restructuring of weight classes, however this is the largest amount ever lifted in competition)
• Clean: 270.0 Kg (Unofficial World record)
• Front Squat: 300.0×3 Kg(probable value of around 320 kilos single)
• Back Squat: 380.0 Kg

Convert Those Pesky KG’s To Pounds:

(Note: Both squats were done with a 2 second pause at the bottom, so therefore it can be assumed maximal numbers for a regular squat would be higher)

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