Ukrainian Oleksiy Torokhtiy Goes Golden at 2012 Olympics

Kyiv, August 7, 2012. Ukrainian weightlifter Oleksiy Torokhtiy won gold medal in the 105 kilogram category among men at the Games of the XXX Olympiad. “I had a new dream which was to get onto the [Olympic] podium, and I didn’t care which place I would get. I didn’t come here as a tourist but as a person with a dream. I don’t know what happened today, it was just destiny,” commented his victory Torokhtiy, 26, as quoted by MSN News.

Torokhtiy lifted a total of 412 kilograms, including the clean and jerk of 227 kilograms and 185 kilograms in the snatch. This result exceeded the achievement of tournament’s runner-up Iranian athlete Navab Nasirshelal by one kilogram only as Nasirshelal’s result was 411 kilograms. Nasirshelal failed with his final to lift 229kg in the clean and jerk and received a silver medal, informs BBC.

Bronze went to Polish Bartlomiej Bonk. He lifted 190 kilogram in the snatch and a total of 410 kilograms. According to the Canadian edition of The Huffington Post, the top medal bidders in this weight class didn’t compete due to injuries, having heightened the chances of the Ukrainian athlete. Another Ukrainian athlete Serhiy Tagirov took the tenth spot in the 105 kilogram category among men. He lifted 374 kilograms (174 in the snatch and 200 in the clean and jerk).

In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing Torokhtiy finished 11^th. He lifted 185 kilograms in the snatch, occupying the fourth spot in this section of the competition. He came third in the 2011 World Weightlifting Championship, having lifted the total of 410 kilogram.

In 2011, Ukrainian weightlifter Vasyl Martyniuk set a world record in weightlifting during the European Master Weightlifters Championship. His combined score reached 321 kg, beating the previous world record by one kilogram.

The history of weightlifting in Ukraine goes back to 1895. The most celebrated Olympic champions representing Ukraine are Ihor Rybak (1956), Leonid Zhabotynskyi (1964, 1968), Petro Korol (1976), Sultan Rahmanov (1980), and Timur Taimazov (1996).

Weightlifting is currently one of the most popular sports in the world. The International Weightlifting Federation has 189 member-countries from 5 continents. Ukraine belongs to the most successful countries in this sport, along with China, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Belarus, Germany, and Poland, according to miytrener.com.