Inside the Record Makers Invitational: The Weightlifting Showdown of the 80s

I started Olympic Weightlifting in 1981, and up to that point, I didn’t know much about weightlifting history or the athletes that made the sport great. I liked watching it when it was televised, which wasn’t too often. Other than seeing weightlifting in the Olympics every four years, the only other times it was televised was on Wide World of Sports.

Even then, they mainly focused on the Super Heavyweights. So, the only weightlifter I knew much about was the Soviet strongman Vasily Alexeyev, the first man to clean & jerk 500 lbs. To this day, he remains the only weightlifter to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 14, 1975).

It wasn’t until I began competing in weightlifting myself that I learned about other great lifters. My cousin, who had become my training partner, was a big fan of the sport and started showing me his collection of Strength & Health magazines.

I learned that there were nine other weight classes besides the Super Heavyweight class and that there were legendary names from the past that I needed to know about.

The Rise and Fall of American Weightlifting

In 1981, the Soviet Union was the dominant force in weightlifting, but there was a time when America dominated the sport of weightlifting. Names like John Grimek, Norm Schemansky, Dave Sheppard, Tommy Kono, John Davis, Paul Anderson, and Ike Berger were winning all the medals for Team USA.

But by the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union began to emerge as the new powerhouse in weightlifting, and Team USA began to fade. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, the Soviets won seven medals compared to only two for the United States.

American Heavyweight Bob Bednarski won a silver medal at the 1966 World Championships and was favored to win the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, but a devastating elbow injury in 1967 curtailed his training, causing him to miss the 68 Olympics. Superheavyweight Joe Dube won the bronze, the only US lifter to medal in 1968.

Bednarski, now recovered from his elbow surgery, won the gold medal at the 1969 World Championships in the new 110-kilo/242 lbs weight class. He won a bronze medal at the 1970 Worlds, but injuries continued to haunt him, and he did not qualify for the 1972 Olympics.

The new hope for Team USA was Superheavyweight Ken Patera, who became the first American to clean & jerk 500 lbs. Ken won a silver medal at the 1971 Worlds but did not perform well at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and retired afterward to become a Professional Wrestler.

New Jersey native Phil Grippaldi, lifting in the 90-kilo weight class, came close to winning a bronze medal in Munich but was unsuccessful on his final lift. Team USA failed to win a single medal in the Olympics for the first time. Additionally, no American won a medal at the 1973, 74, or 75 World Championships.

A Glimmer of Hope: Lee James and the 1976 Olympics

The era of the ‘Great American Weightlifter’ was officially over. But a new hope emerged when 22-year-old Lee James, lifting in the 90-kilo weight class, surprised everyone by winning a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Unfortunately, Lee had to undergo major knee surgery shortly after the Olympics. Some believed Lee would never be the same lifter after the surgery, but he proved everyone wrong by easily winning the 1978 USA Nationals.

After the Nationals, Lee began intensive training for the 1978 World Championships but again began feeling knee pain. A second surgery, followed by a third, didn’t go well, and just like that, the promising career of Lee James was over at only 24 years old.

American lifters won no medals at the 1977, 78, or 79 World Championships, and the 1980 Olympics in Moscow were boycotted by US President Jimmy Carter.

Witnessing Greatness: The Record Makers Invitational

I started lifting at the Belleville Barbell Club in New Jersey about six months after the Olympics and learned that three of the USA lifters who had qualified for the 1980 team had trained where I was now training. The disappointment of them not being able to compete for our country in the Olympics because of the boycott could still be felt in that gym.

In the spring of 1982, my cousin and I took a bus from Northern Jersey to Atlantic City to watch the Weightlifting Record Makers Competition. Having competed two times before this, I now had a much better understanding of the sport and its history.

Fifteen lifters were competing: five from the US, four from Bulgaria, four from the Soviet Union, and two from Hungary. Bulgarian Beloslav Manolov, lifting in the 60-kilo class, had close attempts at World Records in both the snatch and clean & jerk but was unsuccessful.

In the 75-kilo class, American Cal Schake performed amazingly, breaking an American record in the snatch with a lift of 150 kilos/330.5 lbs. As if that weren’t enough, he then snatched 152.5 kilos to break the record he had just set. The 152.5 was only 2.5 kilos less than his competitor Yanko Rusev of Bulgaria lifted, quite impressive considering Rusev was the defending World Champion in the 75-kilo class. Rusev attempted a World Record in the clean & jerk but was unsuccessful.

In the 82.5 weight class, Asen Zlatev of Bulgaria attempted a World Record snatch but failed. Soviet lifter Yurik Vardanyan, who usually lifted in the 82.5 class, weighed in at 84.4 kilos and lifted in the 90-kilo class. On a fourth attempt clean & jerk, Yurik attempted a World Record 228 kilos/502.5 lbs. Yurik racked the huge weight but was unable to stand up with it. But the effort was very much appreciated as the fans gave him a big applause. I was amazed that a man weighing only 186 lbs could pull himself under that massive weight.

Blagoi Blagoev of Bulgaria, also lifting in the 90-kilo class, broke a World Record in the snatch with a lift of 186.5 kilos/411 lbs. After seeing numerous failed attempts at World Records, this lift had the fans on their feet.

In the 100-kilo class, American Rich Shanko of New Jersey attempted an American record in both the snatch and clean & jerk but was unsuccessful. Another US lifter, Ken Clark, also in the 100-kilo class, broke the American Record in the clean & jerk with a lift of 208.5 kilos/459.5 lbs.

Lifting in the 110-kilo class for Team USA, Jeff Michaels put on a show, breaking the American record in the snatch on his opening attempt. He increased the record on his second attempt, and then on his third attempt, he became only the second American lifter in history to snatch over 400 lbs. To this day, Michaels is the only American lifter to snatch over 400 lbs who did not compete as a Super Heavyweight.

In the Super Heavyweight class, the 24-year-old Soviet Anatoli Pisarenko weighed only 265 lbs. After missing a World Record attempt snatch, Pisarenko asked for 258.5 kilos/570 lbs in the clean & jerk and came close to breaking the World Record but could not get the massive weight locked out overhead.

Although most of the records attempted in this competition were unsuccessful, the fans appreciated the gallant effort of each lifter. It’s a competition I’ll never forget.

My 2nd Record Makers Event

The following year, the Record Makers was in Allentown, PA, and my cousin and I attended again. This time, we drove in with our teammate Bruce Klemens, the well-known weightlifting photographer.

This time, there were fourteen lifters, seven returning from last year. The first lifter was a teenage sensation from Bulgaria by the name of Naim Suleymanoglu. He was barely more than a child, at only 15 years old. The 56-kilo lifter broke a Junior World Record in the snatch, lifting 125 kilos/275 lbs. He then proceeded to a Senior World Record attempt but was unsuccessful.

In the clean & jerk, he broke the Senior World Record on his second attempt. The lift of 160 kilos also gave him the World Record total. The fans roared with approval. Little did we know that the 15-year-old boy we were cheering for would become the greatest pound-for-pound lifter of all time.

Yuri Sarkisian of the USSR was overweight and had to lift in the 67.5-kilos category rather than his usual 60-kilos. Although not in top shape for this competition, he made respectable lifts of 125 snatch and 165 C & J.

Bulgarian Yanko Rusev, also not in top shape, snatched 155 and clean-and-jerked 192.5 in the 75-kilo class. Asen Zlatev, also from Bulgaria, was not in top condition either, making lifts of 165 and 210 in the 82.5 class.

Although the fans enjoyed the competition, some were getting restless, wishing to see some World Record attempts. After missing his third attempt snatch of 190 kilos, Blagoi Blagoev had the crowd up on its feet with a World Record attempt of 229/504 in the clean & jerk. He cleaned the weight easily but missed the jerk out front. Another attempt with that same weight was again missed out front.

In the 100-kilo class, American Ken Clark broke his US record in the clean & jerk with a lift of 210.5/464. Hungarian Peter Baczako outdid Clark with a clean & jerk of 212.5/468 for a new Hungarian record. Rich Shanko of Team USA hoped to attempt some American Records but had to withdraw due to injury. Soviet lifters Victor Sots and Sergei Arakelov were not in top shape and made no attempts at any records.

Lifting in the 110-kilo class was Soviet Leonid Taranenko, who made two attempts to break the World Record in the snatch with 197.5/435. He came close to making it on his second attempt but not close enough. Undaunted, he attempted another World Record in the clean & jerk with 242.5/534. He cleaned it solidly and almost made the jerk.

In the Super Heavyweight class, American Mario Martinez broke the American Record in the snatch with a lift of 183.5/405. On his next attempt, Mario tried to increase the record to 185 and almost made it. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury and had to skip the clean & jerk. Antonia Krastev of Bulgaria was not in top shape, which was disappointing since we hoped to see him break the World Record in the snatch.

Now we were down to just one lifter, the very popular Anatoli Pisarenko of the Soviet Union. Pisarenko did not disappoint as he took three attempts at the World Record in the snatch. He came close with 205/452 all three times but was unsuccessful. Pisarenko seemed a bit perturbed about not breaking the snatch record and came out laser-focused for the clean & jerk.

After making 245/540 on his opening attempt, he asked for 260.5/575, a World Record attempt. He cleaned the weight easily and then nailed the jerk as the fans roared with approval. Pisarenko bowed to the crowd in acknowledgment of their cheers. It was a fantastic ending to a great competition.

But wait, Pisarenko wasn’t finished yet. He raised five fingers, indicating he wanted five kilos more for his third attempt. 265 kilos/584 lbs was loaded on the bar as the fans cheered with delight. He racked the massive weight and began to stand with it, but perhaps he tried to stand before fully securing it, and the bar slid off his shoulders. Nonetheless, we all cheered the great effort. Sadly, Pisarenko, who always seemed to appreciate the fans, never got to compete in the Olympics. The 1984 Summer Olympics, just like the 1980 Olympics, were boycotted.

There was a banquet held afterward. Our teammate Bruce Klemens was invited. My cousin and I were not, so we sat in the lobby and waited for Bruce until the banquet ended. As we sat out there, we saw many of the lifters coming and going. I was surprised to see many of the Soviet and Bulgarian lifters coming out to the lobby to smoke a cigarette. Most of them were friendly and conversed with the fans even though they spoke very little English.

Had we thought to bring a camera we could have had our picture taken with some of the best weightlifters in the world. But it was 1983, long before anyone carried a camera around everywhere they went. Still, having the opportunity to see some of the world’s best weightlifters attempting and sometimes succeeding with World Record weights two years in a row is something I’ll always remember.

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Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)