Leonid Taranenko

{{Infobox sportsperson

| image = Leonid Taranenko (URS) Moscow 1980.jpg

| caption = Taranenko at 1980 Moscow Olympics

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|6|13}}

| birth_place = Malaryta, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|the {{URS}}}}

{{MedalCountry|the {{flagIOC|EUN|1992 Summer}}}}

{{MedalCountry|{{BLR}}}}

}}

Leonid Arkadevich Taranenko ({{langx|ru|Леонид Аркадьевич Тараненко}}, born June 13, 1956) is a former Soviet/Belarusian weightlifter and coach.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iwrp.net/component/cwyniki/?view=contestant&id_zawodnik=6159 |title=IWRP Profile |access-date=30 October 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064628/http://www.iwrp.net/component/cwyniki/?view=contestant&id_zawodnik=6159 |url-status=live}} His 266 kg clean and jerk in 1988 was the heaviest lift in competition for 33 years,{{cite web |url=https://strengthrecord.com/weightlifting-world-records/ |title=STRENGTH RECORD, Weightlifting World Records |website=www.strengthrecord.com |access-date=15 April 2025}} until Lasha Talakhadze exceeded it, lifting 267 at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships.

Weightlifting career

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1986-0706-018, Leonid Taranenko.jpg

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.{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Leonid Taranenko |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ta/leonid-taranenko-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204015402/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ta/leonid-taranenko-1.html |archive-date=4 December 2016}}

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.{{Cite web |url=https://m.sports.ru/heavyathletics/1054206003.html? |title=Чемпион Москвы-1980 Леонид Тараненко: "Не буду кричать, что мы поднимали исключительно на сале и черной икре" |date=5 August 2017 |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715030319/https://m.sports.ru/heavyathletics/1054206003.html |url-status=live}}

= 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

{{cite web |url=http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=268 |title=Leonid Taranenko |publisher=Lift Up |accessdate=27 July 2009 |archive-date=25 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425124220/http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=268 |url-status=live}}

{{cite web |url=http://dynamicfitnessequipment.com/sportivny/library/news/nv005.html |title=Leonid Taranenko Interview}}

Major result

width=40\|1 ! width=40\|2 ! width=40\|3 ! width=40\|Rank ! width=40\|1 ! width=40\|2 ! width=40\|3 ! width=40\|Rank
class = "wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! rowspan=2 width=40\|Year ! rowspan=2 width=250\|Venue ! rowspan=2 width=60\|Weight !colspan=4\| Snatch (kg) !colspan=4\| Clean & Jerk (kg) !rowspan=2 width=40\| Total !rowspan=2 width=40\| Rank
colspan=13\|Olympic Games
1980	align=left\| {{flag icon\|URS}} Moscow, Soviet Union	110 kg	~~182.5~~	182.5	~~190~~	2	220	235	240	1	422.5	{{Gold1}}
1992	align=left\| {{flag icon\|ESP}} Barcelona, Spain	+110 kg	~~187.5~~	187.5\|
-	2	232.5	237.5	~~242.5~~	2	425	{{Silver2}}
1996	align=left\| {{flag icon\|USA}} Atlanta, United States	+108 kg \|
-\|
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-
colspan=13\|World Championships
1979	align=left\| {{flag icon\|GRE}} Thessaloniki, Greece	110 kg		175	182.5	{{Silver2}}	220			5	402.5	{{Bronze3}}
1980	align=left\| {{flag icon\|URS}} Moscow, Soviet Union	110 kg	~~182.5~~	182.5	~~190~~	{{Silver2}}	220	235	240	{{Gold1}}	422.5	{{Gold1}}
1985	align=left\| {{flag icon\|SWE}} Södertälje, Sweden	+110 kg	185			{{Bronze3}}	232.5			5	417.5	4
1986	align=left\| {{flag icon\|BUL}} Sofia, Bulgaria	+110 kg	200			{{Silver2}}			\|
-\|
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-
1987	align=left\| {{flag icon\|TCH}} Ostrava, Czechoslovakia	+110 kg		202.5		{{Bronze3}}	245	257.5	265.5	{{Gold1}}	467.5	{{Silver2}}
1990	align=left\| {{flag icon\|HUN}} Budapest, Hungary	+110 kg	195			{{Gold1}}	255			{{Gold1}}	450	{{Gold1}}
1993	align=left\| {{flag icon\|AUS}} Melbourne, Australia	+108 kg	185	190	~~195~~	4	232.5	~~242.5~~\|
-	5	422.5	4
colspan=13\|European Championships
1980	align=left\| {{flagicon\|YUG}} Belgrade, Yugoslavia	110 kg	190			{{Gold1}}	230			{{Gold1}}	420	{{Gold1}}
1985	align=left\| {{flagicon\|POL}} Katowice, Poland	+110 kg	185			{{Silver2}}	230			{{Gold1}}	415	{{Silver2}}
1986	align=left\| {{flagicon\|East Germany}} Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany	+110 kg	195			{{Silver2}}	242.5			{{Gold1}}	437.5	{{Silver2}}
1988	align=left\| {{flagicon\|UK}} Cardiff, United Kingdom	+110 kg	207.5			{{Gold1}}	255			{{Silver2}}	462.5	{{Gold1}}
1990	align=left\| {{flagicon\|DEN}} Ålborg, Denmark	+110 kg	205			{{Silver2}}	247.5			{{Bronze3}}	452.5	{{Bronze3}}
1991	align=left\| {{flagicon\|POL}} Władysławowo, Poland	+110 kg	200			{{Gold1}}	247.5			{{Gold1}}	447.5	{{Gold1}}
1996	align=left\| {{flagicon\|NOR}} Stavanger, Norway	+108 kg	~~180~~	180	182.5	{{Silver2}}	220	227.5	232.5	{{Silver2}}	415	{{Gold1}}
colspan=13\|USSR Weightlifting Championships
colspan=13\|Summer Spartakiad of the Soviet Union
colspan=13\|Cup of the Soviet Union

References

External links

[http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=268 Leonid Taranenko] at Lift Up
{{IWRP|6159}}
{{Olympics.com|org_archive=20190505152937}}
{{Olympedia}}
{{NOC Belarus|taranenko-leonid}}

Category:1956 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Malaryta district

Category:Soviet male weightlifters

Category:Belarusian male weightlifters

Category:Olympic weightlifters for the Soviet Union

Category:Olympic weightlifters for the Unified Team

Category:Olympic weightlifters for Belarus

Category:Weightlifters at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Category:Weightlifters at the 1992 Summer Olympics

Category:Weightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Category:Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union