Leonid Arkadevich Taranenko (, born June 13, 1956) is a Soviet former weightlifter and coach. His 266 kg clean and jerk in 1988 was the heaviest lift in competition for 33 years, until Lasha Talakhadze exceeded it, lifting 267 kg at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships.
Weightlifting career
Taranenko trained at VSS Uradzhai in Minsk. His first major success took place at the 1980 Olympics, when, competing for the Soviet Union, he won the gold medal in the 110 kilogram class with a 422.5 kg total.
He was unable to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles due to the Soviet boycott, but competed in the 1984 Friendship Games, where he 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.
After this, Taranenko moved up to the super-heavyweight class. Lifting in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988, he set a world record of 266 kg in the clean and jerk, and 476 kg in the total, having lifted 210 kg in the snatch.
While these results are no longer recognized as official world records due to subsequent restructuring of the competitive weight classes (in 1993, 1998 and 2018), as of 2019, his 266 kg clean and jerk remained the highest ever achieved in competition till broken December 2021 by Lasha Talakhadze’s 267 kg, while his total of 476 kg remained the highest ever achieved until broken by Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships while also setting the new clean and jerk record of 264 kg for the restructured weight classes. He achieved this by breaking Hossein Rezazadeh's world record from 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for 263.5 kg.
In 1992, Taranenko represented the Unified Team at the Olympics in Barcelona. He took the silver medal in the super-heavyweight class with a total of 425 kg.
Taranenko's other victories include the 110 kg class titles at the 1980 World and European championships, and super-heavyweight titles at the 1990 World championship and 1988, 1991, and 1996 European championships.
Taranenko has served as a coach for female weightlifters in India.
In 2017, Taranenko admitted having used performance-enhancing drugs.
Career bests Snatch: 210 kg in the class over 110 kg Clean and jerk: 266 kg (No longer an official world record due to restructuring of weight classes) Total: 442.5 kg (200 + 242.5) 1984 at the Friendship Games in Varna, Bulgaria, 110 kg class Total: 476 kg (210 + 266), at Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988, 110+ kg class. Back Squat: 380 kg with a two-second pause at the bottom Front Squat: 300 kg for three reps Olympic Press: 230 kg
Major result
YearVenueWeight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank123Rank123RankOlympic Games1980 Moscow, Soviet Union 110 kg 182.5182.519022202352401422.51992 Barcelona, Spain +110 kg 187.5187.5--2232.5237.5242.524251996 Atlanta, United States +108 kg --------------------World Championships1979 Thessaloniki, Greece 110 kg 175182.52205402.51980 Moscow, Soviet Union 110 kg 182.5182.5190220235240422.51985 Södertälje, Sweden +110 kg 185232.55417.541986 Sofia, Bulgaria +110 kg 200------1987 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia +110 kg 202.5 245257.5265.5467.51990 Budapest, Hungary +110 kg 1952554501993 Melbourne, Australia +108 kg 1851901954232.5242.5--5422.54European Championships1980 Belgrade, Yugoslavia 110 kg1902304201985 Katowice, Poland +110 kg1852304151986 Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany +110 kg195242.5437.51988 Cardiff, United Kingdom +110 kg207.5255462.51990 Ålborg, Denmark +110 kg205247.5452.51991 Władysławowo, Poland +110 kg200247.5447.51996 Stavanger, Norway +108 kg180180182.5220227.5232.5415USSR Weightlifting ChampionshipsSummer Spartakiad of the Soviet UnionCup of the Soviet Union
References
External links Leonid Taranenko at Lift Up