Yuri Petrovich Vlasov (13 photos). Biography Soviet weightlifter Vlasov

Yuri Vlasov biography

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov born on December 5, 1935 in the city of Makeevka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, in the family of Soviet intelligence officer and diplomat Pyotr Parfenovich and the head of the library Maria Danilovna.

Education

In 1946, Yuri Vlasov entered the Saratov Suvorov Military School, from which he graduated in 1953 with honors. During his studies, he repeatedly proved his superiority in many sports disciplines. Vlasov completed the men's category in athletics, he put the shot, threw a grenade and easily conquered snowy mountains on skis.

By the age of 15, Yuri’s own weight was about 90 kg. At the same age, he began to become interested in strength sports.

After graduating from the Suvorov Military School, Vlasov entered the Moscow Air Force Engineering Academy named after Zhukovsky, where he graduated in 1959 with honors and a military specialty: “Aviation Radio Communications Engineer”. It was while studying at the academy that Yuri began to engage in weightlifting, which he had previously only read about in books.

Sports career

In the spring of 1957, training under the guidance of Evgeniy Nikolaevich Shapovalov, Yuri Vlasov fulfilled the standard of a master of sports in weightlifting, becoming the USSR record holder in the snatch and clean and jerk. Later, he set a number of records of the all-Union rank, thanks to which he secured his place in the list of the best weightlifters of the Soviet Union. In the same year, at a competition in Lvov, Yuri suffered a leg and spine injury. The support of his wife and friends helped the athlete get back into action and achieve incredible results in iron sports.

In 1959, Yuri Vlasov was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. In the same 1959, the athlete successfully performed at the World and European Championships, where the champion pushed a barbell weighing 197.5 kg and collected a fantastic 500 kg in triathlon total.

1960 Olympics in Rome

In August 1960, at the Rome Olympics, Yuri Vlasov fought with his main heavyweight rivals - American athletes Norbert Shemansky and Jim Bradford. Then Vlasov became the absolute champion, breaking the records of Paul Anderson, whose results at that time seemed unattainable for at least several decades.

Thanks to his successful performance, Vlasov was recognized as the best athlete of the 1960 Olympics and received the “Strongest Man on the Planet” award.

1964 Olympics in Tokyo

Yuri Vlasov came to the 1964 Olympics as the absolute world record holder. His main opponent was teammate Leonid Zhabotinsky. At that time, Vlasov did not yet know how dramatically wrestling on the Olympic platform would affect him. In the bench press, Yuri Vlasov set a world record, lifting a weight bar of 187.5 kg. Already by the third movement he was approaching the leader, and it was clear to many who would win, but then the incredible happened. In the first and second approaches in the clean and jerk, Vlasov achieved weights of 205 kg and 210 kg, respectively. In the second approach, Jabotinsky ordered 217.5 kg, but pulled the bar just above his knees and dropped it. Vlasov decided that Leonid had given up, and in the last approach he went for the world record - 217.5 kg, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Zhabotinsky, in turn, went on the third approach and lifted a seemingly impossible 217.5 kg over his head, as a result of which he beat Yuri Vlasov by 2.5 kg and became the Olympic champion.

Later, in one of his books, Vlasov wrote that Jabotinsky used a tactical trick. After the first approach in the clean and jerk, Leonid in the warm-up room began to complain that he was not feeling well and would most likely withdraw.

Meet Arnold Schwarzenegger

At the very peak of Yuri Vlasov’s career, at one of the world championships, 15-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger approached him between approaches. Then Yuri, being excited by the competition, gave Arnold parting words not to give up and to love sports. Many years later, the legendary bodybuilder sent his photograph to the no less legendary weightlifter, which he signed: “To my idol Yuri Vlasov.”

End of competitive career

Being depressed by the result of the Tokyo Olympics, Yuri Vlasov put aside hard training and devoted himself entirely to literature. After some time, due to financial problems, the athlete resumed training with hardware. A year later, in 1967, at the Moscow Championship, Yuri set his last world record, for which he received 850 rubles.

In 1968, Vlasov officially announced the end of his professional career and retired from military service, leaving behind 41 USSR records and 31 world records. The following year, Vlasov was awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1964 he received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Yuri Vlasov as a writer

Since 1959, Yuri Vlasov began publishing essays and stories. Two years later, he won second prize in the 1961 competition for the best sports story. The outstanding weightlifter went to the 1962 World Championships not as a competitive athlete, but as a special correspondent for the Izvestia newspaper.

The first collection of stories, “Overcome Yourself,” was published back in 1964, shortly before the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In 1973, after 7 years of work with KGB data archives and interviews with eyewitnesses, the book “Special Region of China. 1942-1945". Vlasov published this publication under the pseudonym Vladimirov, in memory of his father.

Social activity

From 1985 to 1987, Yuri Vlasov headed the USSR Weightlifting Federation. In April 1987, the USSR State Sports Committee recognized athletic gymnastics (bodybuilding) as a sport, which resulted in the formation of a federation, the first president of which was Vlasov from 1987 to 1988.

In 2005, Yuri Vlasov celebrated his 70th birthday. In one of his interviews, he said that shortly before his 70th birthday, he managed to weigh 185 kg. Yuri Petrovich also admitted that despite his age, he devotes 2-3 times a week to hardware.

Time to tell about a wonderful person who wrote his name in the history of world sports. One of the most famous weightlifters of the world, a true professional in his field, an intellectual, a strongman, an Olympic champion, a patriot of his country - the famous weightlifter received such a positive assessment from the lips of Yuri Nikulin himself. Vlasov is a man of the capital, he was able to inspire millions of people to play sports, even Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. Yuri is the winner of the Olympic Games in Rome, winner of the championship in four world championships. Also a weightlifter, winner of six European championships. This is the ideal of a real man, which is still imitated by a generation of young athletes who set records.

Yuri Vlasov weightlifter

The legend of weightlifting was born in Ukraine in 1935 on December 5, in the small town of Makeevka, Donetsk region. His father was a Soviet intelligence officer, and his mother was a diplomat. During the Great Patriotic War, Maria Vlasova and her two children, Yuri and Boris, moved to the distant Urals. Since childhood, the mother instilled a love of books in young children. The boy loved books about adventures, and he also dreamed of becoming a famous correspondent. Therefore, Yuri decided to enter the military intelligence school.

The champion's first victories

The beginning of the first victories weightlifter began within the walls of the Saratov School. The Soviet champion graduated from college with honors in 1953. The young guy was well-developed in terms of muscles, which made it possible to easily win various competitions at the city level. Already at the age of fifteen, Vlasov weighed more than 90 kg, just pure muscles without fat. Vlasov was fond of many sports. He had a rank in athletics and skiing. Also weightlifter stood out in the shot put competition, where he won first place. Another boy won the freestyle wrestling championship.

Such a diverse sports life does not prevent the champion from entering the military academy. Yuri graduated from the Academy and received a higher military education. I became seriously interested in weightlifting at a military university. Already in 1957, the athlete set a new record for the Soviet Union with the following results:

• Snatch 144.5 kg;
• Clean and jerk 183 kg;

Then Yuri met a charming art school student, and the couple got married. The athlete’s first failure was at a competition in Lvov, where Vlasov received a very serious spinal injury. The support of his beloved wife and coaches helped the champion regain his place on the competition platform:

Victory over yourself

Since 1959, Yuri has not been inferior to anyone in the world for five years. In 1960, the most famous athlete of the Soviet Union, Yuri Vlasov, stepped onto the champion’s platform. At that time, only James Bradford and Paul Anderson could compete with him. There was deathly silence in the hall, everyone was waiting for the athlete from the USSR to come onto the platform. Vlasov took to the platform and showed phenomenal results:

• Bench press – 180 kg;
• Snatch – 155 kg;
• Clean and jerk – 202.5 kg;
• Amount – 537.5 kg.

A new absolute world record for all Soviet sports.

Victories of Yuri Vlasov:

• Warsaw. 1959 Europe championship. Bench press – 160 kg, Snatch – 147.5 kg, Clean and jerk – 192.5 kg;
• Milan. 1960 Press - 170 kg, Snatch - 145 kg, Clean & Jerk - 185 kg. Amount 500 kg;
• 1961 World Championship. Amount 525 kg. Soviet weightlifter becomes two-time world champion;
• In 1962, in Budapest, Yuri collected an amount of 540 kg. Where he became, for the third time, world champion, and four-time European champion;
• 1963 Amount – 557.5 kilograms. Another gold medal from the European Championship for the Soviet Union;
• 1964 A new world record, where Yuri became the European champion for the sixth time;

"Tokyo Zaruba"

In 1964, Yuri’s opponent was Leonid Zhabotinsky. The whole planet watched the unreal duel for Olympic gold. Vlasov sets a new world record, beating Leonid by 10 kg. Then in the snatch Jabotinsky does 167.5 kg, reducing the amount by 5 kg. Vlasov performs 162.5 kg only on the 3rd attempt. The moment of truth, Olympic gold is played out in the last exercise - the clean and jerk.

Leonid sets 200 kg and fulfills them clearly. Vlasov 205 kg. Leonid and Yuri recorded a weight of 210 kilograms. The scoreboard showed 217.5 kilograms, and only Leonid Zhabotinsky was able to take this weight.

Yuri Vlasov and Arnold Schwarzenegger

17-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger also watched the duel of the great weightlifters of the 20th century. It was Yuri’s competitive spirit that inspired the legend of bodybuilding and cinema to engage in sports.

Literary life

In 1959, the athlete tried himself as a writer. He goes to the World Cup in 1962 as a newspaper correspondent. In 1968, Yuri ends his sports career and completely immerses himself in literary life. The first book was about the sport “Overcome Yourself.” The athlete really liked literary activity. In 1973, the novel “Special Region of China” was published, where Vlasov talked about the life of his father. Many books about the revolution, novels, and the lives of athletes were never published.

Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3Photo 4Photo 5Photo 6Photo 7

Parents

His father, Pyotr Parfenovich Vlasov (1905-1953), a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies named after N. N. Narimanov, worked as a TASS correspondent in China from 1938 to 1940, and from 1942 to 1945 as a liaison officer for the Comintern under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee. In 1946, Pyotr Parfenovich went to work at the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1948 to 1951 he served as Consul General of the USSR in Shanghai, and since 1952 as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR to Burma.

Mother - Maria Danilovna, originally from Kuban, worked as the head of a library. From an early age, Maria Danilovna instilled in her sons, Yuri and Boris, a love of reading books. She passed away in 1987.

Suvorov Military School

In 1946, Yuri Vlasov entered the Saratov Suvorov Military School, which he graduated with honors in 1953. Dreaming of being like his father, he wants to become a diplomat.

While studying at the school, Yuri repeatedly achieved success in the sports field. Completing the second men's category in athletics, he easily skied, skated, shot put and threw a grenade. At the wrestling championship held in Saratov, he takes first place.

By the age of fifteen, Yuri weighs about 90 kg, begins to be interested in strength sports, but for now mostly from books. Reads “The Path to Strength and Health” by the legendary strength athlete and wrestler Georg Hackenschmidt.

Air Force Engineering Academy

After Suvorov Military School, Yuri Vlasov entered the Moscow Air Force Engineering Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky. After graduating from it, in 1959 he received a honors diploma and a military specialty - aviation radio communications engineer.

It was while studying at the academy that Yuri became involved in weightlifting, which, by and large, he had not been interested in before. But his first steps and first successes in his new field were phenomenal - already in 1957, training under the guidance of his first coach Evgeniy Nikolaevich Shapovalov, Yuri fulfilled the standard of a master of sports in weightlifting. His first all-Union record: clean and jerk - 185 kg, snatch - 144.5 kg. The Master of Sports badge is presented to Yuri Vlasov by the legendary Marshal Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny himself. In the same year, Vlasov set a number of records of the all-Union rank, which ensured his place in the list of the best weightlifters of the USSR.

After graduating from the academy, Yuri begins to train under the auspices of CSKA, Suren Petrosovich Bagdasarov becomes his coach, and then his friend. As a cadet, Yuri devotes all the time remaining after classes at the academy to training, sometimes denying himself his favorite pastime - reading books.

1957 for Yuri also became a year of testing - at a competition in Lvov, while trying to lift a record weight, he injured his leg and spine. In the same year, Yuri Vlasov met his future wife, art student Natalya Modorova, who by chance made sketches in the hall where Yuri trained. The support of his wife and true friends, Bagdasarov and Shapovalov, helps Yuri get back into action and win all imaginable and inconceivable records.

In 1959, he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. In the same year, at the World and European Championships, held in Warsaw, an already certified military engineer pushes a barbell weighing 197.5 kg and in the triathlon total shows the coveted 500 kg, which demonstrates to the sports community the intention to continue to destroy the records of the American weightlifting team hitherto , as it seemed to many, unattainable.

1960 Olympics in Rome

The 1960 Olympics, held in the Italian capital, were decisive in the fate of Yuri Vlasov. On August 25, Vlasov, easily holding the flag of our country with one hand, walked through the Olympic stadium along with the USSR team. He had to fight with American weightlifters Norbert Shemanski and Jim Bradford, his main heavyweight competitors. Vlasov emerged from the battle of the titans as an absolute winner, even crushing the results of another American, Paul Anderson, which dominated weightlifting at that time and, according to the American media, would be unattainable for at least another hundred years.

At the Olympics in Rome, Vlasov refuted all the existing canons of weightlifting and for the first time demonstrated to the public and the world community that a champion can be a comprehensively developed person, an individual. A highly educated intellectual appeared before the public, with the ability to easily talk with journalists about world literature and art. Yuri Vlasov knew French and Chinese. He won the attention and respect of the journalistic community, which not many have achieved.

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov was recognized as the best athlete of the Rome Olympics and was awarded the title “The Strongest Man on the Planet.” Thanks to Vlasov’s victory, weightlifting became a popular sport on all continents and all over the world for many decades.

In Rome on September 10, 1960, Vlasov competed in the super heavyweight division, bench pressed 180 kg, lifted 155 kg, and in the third attempt pushed a record 202.5 kg. In the sum of three movements, he gains 537.5 kg - an unprecedented figure at that time, breaking the monopoly of Paul Anderson (Anderson’s official record is 512 kg and 533 kg, shown at domestic competitions in Texas, both in 1956). Yuri Vlasov overtook Olympic silver medalist Jim Bradford by as much as 25 kg, leaving him far behind.

At the closing ceremony of the XVII Olympic Games, Yuri Vlasov again triumphantly carries the banner of the Soviet team. The 1960 Olympics deservedly bears the name of the legendary Yuri Vlasov.

1964 Olympics in Tokyo

In 1964 in Tokyo, the Olympic weightlifting competitions aroused increased interest. Yuri Vlasov remained the undisputed leader of our team. His main opponent in Tokyo was his USSR national team colleague Leonid Zhabotinsky.

The main clash of heavyweights (Vlasov weighed 136.4 kg, Zhabotinsky - 154.4 kg) took place on October 18. In the first competitive movement, the bench press, Vlasov is 10 kg ahead of Zhabotinsky, setting a new world record of 197.5 kg. In the snatch, Yuri takes 162 kg against Leonid’s 167.5 kg, in the fourth attempt, which is no longer included in the official count, he breaks the world record of 172.5 kg. But the gap in total is reduced to 5 kg, Vlasov is still in the lead.

The main intrigue of the Tokyo Olympics took place in the third exercise, the clean and jerk. According to the recollections of both its participants, it was a strategic game in which Jabotinsky was destined to win - in the third attempt he pushes 217.5 kg, overtaking Vlasov (210 kg) and becoming the Tokyo Olympic champion. Yuri Vlasov is an Olympic silver medalist, a true idol of millions.

Latest record

Being devastated by the constant struggle on the platform and in the hall, after the Tokyo competition, Yuri Petrovich Vlasov stops professional training, completely devoting himself to his second favorite activity - literature. But having resumed training in 1966, in 1967, at the Moscow championship, Yuri set the last world record in the bench press - 199 kg, for which he received 850 rubles. In 1968, Vlasov officially retired from big sport, retiring from military service, leaving 41 USSR records, 31 world records, 4 world championships and 6 European championships conquered.

In 1960, Vlasov was awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1964 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Yuri Petrovich Vlasov was recognized as the best athlete of the country, the year and the entire twentieth century.

Writer

Since 1959, Vlasov has been publishing essays and stories; in 1961, he won the second prize in the competition for the best sports story (the first prize was not awarded). In 1962, he came to the European Championship not only as an athlete, but also as a special correspondent for the Izvestia newspaper. “Overcome Yourself” is the first collection of stories by Yuri Vlasov, published in 1964, even before the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In 1973, after seven years of work, the book “Special Region of China. 1942-45” was published, published under the pseudonym Vladimirov, in memory of his father. In 1984, Yuri Vlasov’s book “Fairness of Force,” well-known in sports and other circles, appeared, which was republished in 1989 and 1995. In 2005, "Red Jacks" was released.

In the literary field, Yuri Vlasov proved himself as a historian and publicist, a person who is not indifferent to the future of our country, for which in Soviet times he wrote “on the table” for a long time.

Social and political figure

In 1985, Yuri Petrovich Vlasov headed the USSR Weightlifting Federation. From 1987 to 1988 - the USSR Athletic Gymnastics Federation (bodybuilding), after its long-awaited recognition at the state level.

In the difficult years of 1993-95, Yuri Vlasov was elected to the State Duma. He works in the Security Committee, until the summer of 1994 he was a member of the Russian Way deputy group, and in February 1994 he nominated himself for the post of Chairman of the State Duma. Later in 1996, he ran for the presidency of the Russian Federation, but dropped out of the election race in the first round, officially gaining 0.2% of the vote. During the same period, Vlasov’s opponents initiated a “Special Issue” with a fictitious obituary, reporting his death. Afterwards, Yuri Petrovich Vlasov decides to leave big politics.

Today

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov was elected President of the Independent Pushkin Academy.

In 2005 he celebrated his 70th anniversary. In one of his interviews, Yuri Petrovich said that at the turn of his seventh decade he copes with a weight of 185 kg. Trains two to three times a week.

Previously, Yuri Petrovich had undergone several operations on his spine, but thanks to his fortitude he was able to return to sports again.

On December 5, 2010, on the day of Yuri Petrovich Vlasov’s 75th birthday, the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev congratulated him, thanking him for “a bright mark in the history of weightlifting”, for “victories at the Olympics and international championships”, for “dozens of world records” and for serving “the development of elite sports in our country.”

User comments

Total 3 pages 1

Great Athlete.

In 1967, when Yuri returned to big-time sports due to financial problems and set his 31st world record in weightlifting, the USSR paid him 850 rubles. In 1968, Vlasov left big sport forever. But let's talk about this great man from the very beginning.

Record holder with glasses

In those days, naturally, the word “hipster” was not known, but by today’s standards, the stylish frame of Yuri Petrovich’s constant glasses is quite in line with the current trend. It's a shame he doesn't wear them now.

Vlasov was born on December 5, 1935 into an intelligent family: his father is a diplomat, intelligence officer, GRU colonel and specialist on China, his mother is the head of a library. The sources say practically nothing about Vlasov’s fate during the war years, so let’s get down to his great journey straight away.

As a boy, while studying at the Suvorov School, Yuri was struck to the heart by the book “The Path to Strength and Health” by Georg Hackenschmidt, published in 1911, even with the signs “yat” (by the way, you can download it), and he knew for sure that his path was predetermined . At the age of 14, he already began his brilliant sports career.

By the way, his fate was repeated in his time by the famous Arnold Schwarzenegger, for whom Vlasov was the main idol. Arnold also became firmly convinced of his path as a bodybuilder early on and at the same age began to show athletic success. Once at a competition, during a break between approaches, a 15-year-old boy, Arnold, was brought up to Vlasov. “I don’t remember what I said to him then. I was excited and kept repeating: don’t give up the sport! Love sports! Everything will be great. I myself went through such trials. He left with tears in his eyes.”

Meeting between Vlasov and Schwarzenegger many years later

Another quality that Arnold noticed in Vlasov was psychological pressure on his opponent. He showed his opponents even before entering the platform that the winner was known and there was no use in resisting. In sports, where a lot depends on attitude, this worked flawlessly.

Well, and, of course, work - hard, persistent, measured. Vlasov trained daily from 10 am to 4 pm. “My hair burned from sweat, I shaved it off,” recalls Vlasov, “from 19 to 33 years old I saw nothing but one very hard work.”

Yuri Vlasov fights for records

At the age of 21 in 1957, Yuri first became the USSR record holder in the snatch (144.5 kg) and clean and jerk (183.0 kg) and this was the beginning of Vlasov’s “ten-year run”.

In 1959 he won the World Championships in Warsaw.

And the next year, Yuri’s triumph took place at the Olympics in Rome - that Olympics was called the “Vlasov Olympics.” Vlasov stepped onto the platform for the last exercise (jerk and jerk) in a cool way: he started when all the competitors had already finished the competition. The first successful attempt immediately with a weight of 185 kg - and Vlasov receives Olympic gold and a world record in triathlon - 520 kg. The second attempt is 195 kg - and the world record in triathlon is already 530 kg. The third attempt - 202.5 kg (world record in the clean and jerk) and another in triathlon - 537.5 kg. The closest opponent was 25 kilograms behind Yuri.

This record became not only an official world record, but also exceeded the phenomenal achievements of the American Paul Anderson - official (512.5 kg) and unofficial (533 kg), removing all questions.

Vlasov at the 1960 Olympics:

“I have never seen such a triumph in my life! A huge hall of thousands of people jumped out of their seats, everything turned upside down, they burst onto the stage and took me in their arms. The police fought me off. When I crossed the street in Rome, the police blocked the road for me alone - in any unauthorized places,” Vlasov rejoices. Back then the athletes were fantastic legends.

For the next 2 years, Vlasov’s main rival was another American, Norbert Shemanski. Despite the fact that he was 11 years older than the Soviet weightlifter, he twice (in 1961 and 1962) temporarily took the world records in the snatch from Vlasov and twice (1962 and 1963) became second after him at the world championships.

Vlasov arrived at the next Olympics in Tokyo in 1964 as the main favorite. He was idolized not only in the USSR. His glasses, which he did not take off during his approaches, drew the attention of journalists to other aspects of his personality. “...He combined in himself all the qualities that can be required from an athlete. Strength, harmony, form and at the same time friendliness and intelligence. This engineer, who speaks several languages, is an example of a perfect person,” Swedish journalist Torsten Tanger wrote about Vlasov.

However, they failed to win in Tokyo. Vlasov’s opponent was teammate Leonid Zhabotinsky. A few months before the Olympics, Jabotinsky set world records in the snatch, clean and jerk and total, but by the beginning of the Games Vlasov managed to return these records. A battle of Soviet weightlifters was planned. The first exercise (press) is won by Vlasov with a world record of 197.5 kg, his teammate is 10 kg behind. In the snatch, Vlasov took 162.5 kg, allowing Zhabotinsky to reduce the gap to 5 kg (he took 167.5 kg). Apparently, this encouraged Yuri, and he does the incredible - he goes for the fourth approach, which does not count towards the competition (!), and sets a world record - 172.5 kilograms.

“With all my appearance I demonstrated that I was giving up the fight for gold and even lowered my starting weight. Vlasov, feeling like the master of the platform, rushed to conquer records and... cut himself off,” Leonid Zhabotinsky later commented. In the last exercise, Zhabotinsky pushed 200 kg, Vlasov - 210.

After this, the weight was set higher than the world record - by 217.5 kg. Vlasov’s third attempt to take this weight was unsuccessful, but Zhabotinsky succeeded the third time and ended up 2.5 kg ahead of the invincible Vlasov. Vlasov later recalled: “I had to push 212.5 kg, Zhabotinsky would then have to push 222.5 and he would not have been able to do this, and then I pushed 212.5 many times in training. Why didn't I do that? Because he did not consider Jabotinsky a rival. Why didn't you count? By his behavior behind the scenes. And that was my biggest mistake.”

If you are interested in understanding this most dramatic story, watch the program dedicated to this struggle:

After this Olympics, Vlasov gave up training and decided to leave big-time sports. One of the Japanese newspapers wrote: “The two strongest men in Russia - Nikita Khrushchev and Yuri Vlasov - fell almost on the same day.” The competition was held 4 days after Khrushchev was removed.

Vlasov himself said: “I left young. He could still compete for 5 years and win. I used to wake up at night, I was still strong, and a voice said, “Come back!” Come back! You will still have all the victories. In 2-3 years it will be too late.” So I lay there until the morning with these thoughts. It's not like playing chess or bridge at the world championship - you pay with your life. I saw how the hands stuck into the platform and the bones came out.” However, Vlasov’s departure was not final. Due to financial problems, Vlasov was forced to return: in the fall of 1966, he resumed training, and on April 15, 1967, at the Moscow Championship, he set his last world record, for which he received 850 rubles.

Yuri Vlasov - politician

“In the 60s and 70s, my name was erased from sports. They showed a film about the Olympics in Rome, praised other athletes, but not a word about me. I returned to people’s memory already in the 80s.” – says Yuri Petrovich.

In the late 80s, Vlasov went into politics. In 1989-1991 he was a people's deputy of the USSR, in the fall of 1989 he left the CPSU and publicly criticized the party and the KGB. In 1993-1995 he was a deputy of the State Duma, defeating Konstantin Borovoy in the elections: 24.5% voted for Vlasov then. But in 1995, Borovoy took revenge and defeated Yuri Petrovich in the elections.

Vlasov’s last political step was that in 1996 he ran for the post of President of Russia when Yeltsin was elected. Then he received 0.2% of the votes.

Unlike Vlasov, Schwarzenegger, who completely copied the fate of his hero, still succeeded in entering politics

“Whether under socialism or under capitalism, sycophants live well. You have no backbone, you are ready to crawl and lick - and in any system you will be a very necessary person. You will have a good career. You have a core, your own principles - under any system you will be erased and crushed, such people are not needed. I had a core, but it took superhuman strength and vital energy. The fact that I managed to survive - God forbid anyone else should experience this. And the most difficult operations, and lack of money, and not a single step in literature, and a silent blockade - they didn’t do anything to me,” recalls Yuri Vlasov. “I did it for the country, for the people. This may sound immodest, but it was the only thing that illuminated my life with meaning.”

Yuri Vlasov - writer

Even before finishing his sports career, Vlasov began to write. In the year of the 64 Olympics in Tokyo, his book “Overcome Yourself” was published, highly appreciated by his friend and writer Lev Kassil. Then, according to my father’s recollections, “Special Region of China,” which sold hundreds of thousands of copies and was translated into several languages.

“I wanted to write, I loved literature. I needed to get on my feet while I was young. But there was a danger of getting sucked into victories - after all, it is very flattering to be a champion. But I didn’t want to be dependent on sports and at the same time I didn’t want to be a dependent on sports,” recalls Vlasov. Literature is still the main work of his life - Vlasov continues to publish books. Two years ago, Yuri Petrovich’s two-volume book “The Great Repartition” was published - about relations between Russia and Japan from the end of the 19th century to 1945. But his most famous book, reprinted three times, is “Justice of Force” (which is still on sale on Ozone).

“I have started so many books that I need another 60 years to finish them all. “I love life very much,” recalls Vlasov in a documentary about him.

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov (b. December 5, 1935, Makeevka) - Soviet weightlifter, Russian writer, Russian politician.

He graduated with honors from the Saratov Suvorov Military School (1953) and the N. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow (1959). Upon graduation from the academy, he received the rank of senior lieutenant (specialty - aviation radio communications engineer).

In 1960-1968 - sports inspector for CSKA. In May 1968, he submitted his resignation to the reserve; dismissed with the rank of captain.

In the spring of 1957, Vlasov first became the USSR record holder in the snatch (144.5 kg) and clean and jerk (183.0 kg); less than a month later, Alexey Medvedev regained his records. Vlasov achieved his first success at the USSR championships in 1958, taking 3rd place (470 kg). And in 1959 he took the lead in the heavyweight division and did not lose in competitions until the 1964 Olympic Games.

At the Olympic Games in Rome, September 10, 1960, Vlasov bench-pressed 180 kg (the same as James Bradford from the USA, who eventually became the silver medalist), snatched 155 kg (5 kg ahead of his closest pursuers) and clean-and-jerk 202.5 kg , which gave a total of 537.5 kg (Bradford was 20 kg behind in the clean and jerk, and 25 kg in total).

Vlasov started the push when all the competitors had already finished the competition. The first attempt - 185 kg, Olympic gold and the world record in triathlon - 520 kg (the former belonged to the American Paul Anderson since 1955. The second attempt - 195 kg - and the world record in triathlon becomes 530 kg. The third attempt - 202.5 kg (world record); the final result in triathlon - 537.5 kg - became not only a world record, but also exceeded Anderson's phenomenal achievements - official (512.5 kg) and unofficial (533 kg) - shown in 1956.

In 1959-1963, Vlasov’s main rivals on the international stage were US athletes, primarily Norbert Shemanski. Shemanski, despite his age - he was born in 1924 - twice (1961, 1962) took the world records in the snatch from Vlasov and twice (1962, 1963) became second at the world championships. The competition was especially intense at the 1962 World Championships, when Shemanski lost by only 2.5 kg, winning the bench press and snatch.

Vlasov came to the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo as a favorite. His main rival was teammate Leonid Zhabotinsky, who in March set world records in the snatch, clean and jerk and total (by the beginning of the Games, Vlasov had returned the records). Zhabotinsky had a larger body weight (154.4 kg versus 136.4 kg), so in the event of equal results, Vlasov received an advantage.

Vlasov won the bench press with a world record of 197.5 kg, Zhabotinsky was 10 kg behind. In the snatch, Vlasov took 162.5 kg only on the third attempt, allowing Zhabotinsky to reduce the gap to 5 kg - he took 167.5 kg (the third attempt at 172.5 kg was unsuccessful). Unexpectedly, Vlasov went for a fourth, additional (not included in the triathlon) approach, in which he set a world record - 172.5 kg.

In the first attempt of the clean and jerk, Jabotinsky lifted 200 kg. “With all my appearance I demonstrated that I was giving up the fight for gold, and even lowered my starting weight. Vlasov, feeling like the master of the platform, rushed to conquer records and... cut himself off.” - this is how Jabotinsky later commented on the progress of the struggle. Vlasov pushed 205 kg, and then 210 kg. After this, the weight of the bar was set higher than the world record - 217.5 kg. Jabotinsky's second attempt was unsuccessful (later many believed that Jabotinsky did not lift the weight on purpose), Vlasov's third attempt was also unsuccessful, and Jabotinsky in his third attempt pushed the barbell and became an Olympic champion.

As Vlasov himself recalled, immediately after the Games in Tokyo he abandoned active training. However, due to financial problems, he resumed training in the fall of 1966. On April 15, 1967, at the Moscow Championship, Vlasov set his last world record (for which he received 850 rubles), and in 1968 he officially said goodbye to big-time sports.

Since 1959, Vlasov has been publishing essays and stories, and two years later he became the winner of the second prize in the competition for the best sports story in 1961 (organized by the editorial office of the newspaper "Soviet Sport" and the Moscow branch of the Writers' Union; the first prize was not awarded). Vlasov went to the 1962 World Championships not only as an athlete, but also as a special correspondent for the Izvestia newspaper.

The first book, a collection of short stories “Overcome Yourself,” was published in 1964 (even before the defeat at the Tokyo Games).

In 1968, after leaving big sport and being discharged from the army, Vlasov became a professional writer. In subsequent years, the story “White Moment” (1972) and the novel “Salty Joys” (1976) were published.

The book “Special Region of China. 1942-1945" (1973), which Yuri Vlasov published under the pseudonym of his father (Vladimirov). The book was the result of 7 years (as Vlasov later recalled) of work in archives, interviews with eyewitnesses, and the diaries of P. P. Vlasov were used in it.

Then followed a long break, during which Yuri Vlasov wrote mainly “on the table.” In 1984, the book “Justice of Force” was published, and in 1989 its new, revised edition was published (the book indicates the years of writing: 1978-1979 and 1987-1989). An autobiography in form, the book contains numerous excursions into the history of weightlifting, reflections on sports - and more.

Most of Vlasov's subsequent books are historical and journalistic, both of these genres are closely intertwined.

• 1985-1987 - President of the USSR Weightlifting Federation.
• 1987-1988 - President of the USSR Athletic Gymnastics Federation.

After the USSR State Sports Committee recognized athletic gymnastics (bodybuilding) as a sport in April 1987, a federation was formed, the first president of which was Vlasov.

Awards

• Order of Lenin (1960)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1969)
• Order of the Badge of Honor (1965)