Weightlifters
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Know about famous weightlifters who have left us awestruck by their enormous power and weightlifting capacity. This list of famous weightlifters contains names such as Mark Henry, David Prowse, Tony Atlas, Dmitry Klokov and Dot Jones and many more.
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1
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: August 8, 1994
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Imphal East district
2
Lasha Talakhadze
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: October 2, 1993
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Sachkhere, Georgia
3
Naim Suleymanoglu
(Bulgarian World Champion Weightlifter and 3-Time Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: January 23, 1967
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ptichar, Bulgaria
Died: November 18, 2017
Nicknamed The Pocket Hercules for his 4’10” frame, Bulgarian weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu was one of the world’s greatest in the sport. While he initially won 2 World Championships for Bulgaria, he later won 3 Olympic gold medals and 5 World Championships for Turkey. He has also joined the Nationalist Movement Party.
4
Dmitry Klokov
(Russian Former Olympic Weightlifter and World Champion)
Birthdate: February 18, 1983
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Balashikha, Russia
5
Matthias Steiner
(Austrian-German Former Weightlifter)
Birthdate: August 25, 1982
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Matthias Steiner is a Austrian-German former weightlifter best known for winning a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He also won a silver medal at the World Championships as well as two silver medals at the European Championships during his career.
6
Tommy Kono
(Japanese-American Weightlifter and Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: June 27, 1930
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Sacramento, California, United States
Died: April 24, 2016
7
Hossein Rezazadeh
(Iranian Politician and One of the Greatest Weightlifters of All Time)
Birthdate: May 12, 1978
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Ardabil, Iran
Hossein Rezazadeh is an Iranian politician. Also a former weightlifter, he is a two-time Olympic champion and four-time World Weightlifting champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest weightlifters of all time. The Rezazadeh Stadium was built in his honor. He entered politics in 2013 and was elected as a member of the City Council of Tehran.
8
Paul Anderson
(American Weightlifter and Two-Time National Champion in Olympic Weightlifting)
Birthdate: October 17, 1932
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Toccoa, Georgia, United States
Died: August 15, 1994
9
Vasily Alekseyev
(Russian Weightlifter and Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: January 7, 1942
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Pokrovo-Shishkino, Ryazan Oblast, Russia
Died: November 25, 2011
10
Pyrros Dimas(One of the Greatest Weightlifters of All Time and Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: October 13, 1971
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Himarë, Albania
Pyrros Dimas is a Greek politician who represented the Panhellenic Socialist Movement between 2012 and 2015. A former weightlifter, Dimas is counted among the greatest weightlifters of all time. Having won three gold medals in Olympic Games, Pyrros Dimas is the most successful Greek athlete in the history of the Olympics. He also won three gold medals in World Championships.
Birthdate: May 24, 1988
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan
12
Lidia Valentín
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: February 10, 1985
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ponferrada, Spain
13
Shi Zhiyong
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: October 10, 1993
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Lingui District, Guilin, China
Shi Zhiyong is a Chinese professional weightlifter best known for winning a gold medal at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. A three-time world champion, Shi has set 13 world records so far in his illustrious career. He also holds the current records for the snatch, total, and clean and jerk in the 73 kg category.
14
Óscar Figueroa
(Colombian Weightlifter and Olympic Gold Medallist)
Birthdate: April 27, 1983
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Zaragoza, Colombia
Óscar Figueroa is a Colombian weightlifter who specializes in the 62 kg category. He is best known for winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He also has an Olympic silver medal under his belt. Figueroa first achieved popularity in 2006 when he won a silver medal at the World Championships in Santo Domingo.
15
Tia-Clair Toomey
(Australian Weightlifter)
Birthdate: July 22, 1993
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Nambour, Queensland, Australia
Tia-Clair Toomey is an Australian CrossFit Games athlete and weightlifter. As a weightlifter, she won a gold medal for Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Toomey has also won five CrossFit Games Championship titles so far; she won these titles in five successive CrossFit Games starting from 2017.
16
Halil Mutlu
(Bulgarian-Born Turkish Weightlifter and 3-Time Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: July 14, 1973
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Postnik, Bulgaria
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Bulgarian-born Turkish weightlifter Halil Mutlu has also been a 5-time World Champion and a 9-time European Champion. He also enjoys wrestling in his leisure time. He was disqualified from the 2005 Sofia European Championship due to a 2-year ban for testing positive for a banned steroid.
17
Hidilyn Diaz
(Filipino Weightlifter and the First Filipino to Win an Olympic Gold for the Philippines)
Birthdate: February 20, 1991
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Zamboanga City, Philippines
Hidilyn Diaz is a Filipino airwoman and weightlifter. She achieved national fame in 2020, when she became the first Filipino to win an Olympic gold for the Philippines. Hidilyn Diaz earned her first Olympic medal in 2016, when she won a silver medal in Rio de Janeiro. She has also won medals at the World Championships and Asian Championships.
18
Oleksiy Torokhtiy
(Ukrainian Weightlifter Who Lost His Olympic Gold After Being Disqualified for Doping)
Birthdate: May 22, 1986
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Donetsk, Ukraine
19
Harold Sakata
(American Olympic Weightlifter and Professional Wrestler)
Birthdate: July 1, 1920
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Holualoa, Hawaii, United States
Died: July 29, 1982
20
Sara Sigmundsdóttir
( Icelandic Weightlifter and CrossFit Athlete)
Birthdate: September 12, 1992
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Reykjanesbær, Iceland
Icelandic weightlifter and CrossFit athlete Sara Sigmundsdóttir was placed 3rd in the CrossFit Games twice. She has also won the 2016 Dubai Fitness Championship and appeared in the documentary Fittest on Earth: A Decade of Fitness. She now works as a trainer at CrossFit Sudurnes in Reykjanesbaer.
21
Jeremy Buendia
(American Professional Bodybuilder and Four-Time Olympia Champion)
Birthdate: October 26, 1990
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Roseville, California, United States
Birthdate: July 27, 1984
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Hubei, China
Apart from being a 5-time world champion, Lü Xiaojun is also a 2-time Olympic gold medalist. His gold win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at 37, made him the oldest weightlifter to achieve the feat. He also won a silver at the Rio Olympics. He is married to fellow world-class weightlifter Guo Xiyan.
23
Mark Henry(American Professional Wrestler, Former Powerlifter and Weightlifter)
Birthdate: June 12, 1971
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Silsbee, Texas, United States
Mark Henry is an American powerlifter, strongman, Olympic weightlifter, and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance in WWE, where he was often referred to as the world's strongest man. In 2018, he was made an inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame. A three-time USA National Weightlifting Champion, Henry holds several weightlifting records.
24
Long Qingquan
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: December 3, 1990
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Longshan, China
Olympic gold medal-winning Chinese weightlifter Long Qingquan created history during the Rio Olympics, when he broke Halil Mutlu's Sydney 2000 world record of 305kg by lifting 307kg. He is also a former world champion and has had two silver wins and a bronze win at the World Championships, too.
25
Andrei Aramnau
(Belarusian Weightlifter Who is a Olympic and World Champion)
Birthdate: April 17, 1988
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Barysaw, Belarus
Belarusian weightlifter Andrei Aramnau is not just an Olympic champion but also has a World Championship gold in his kitty. Born with 6 fingers on one hand, which he believed was due to the Chernobyl disaster, he had to cut his 6th finger at age 14 to compete professionally.
Birthdate: March 5, 2000
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: China
Olympic gold medalist Li Wenwen is one of the most well-known weightlifters of China. She is also a national champion, an Asian champion, and a world champion. She made headlines when she revealed that she had slept on the floor in the Olympic village in Tokyo, as she found the beds too soft.
27
Kakhi Kakhiashvili
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: July 13, 1969
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tskhinvali, Georgia
28
Fares El-Bakh
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: June 4, 1998
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Qatar
Birthdate: October 28, 1988
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Pyongyang, North Korea
30
Jang Mi-ran
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: October 9, 1983
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Gangwon, South Korea
31
Yurik Vardanyan
(Soviet Armenian Weightlifter Who was a Seven-Time World Champion)
Birthdate: June 13, 1956
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Gyumri, Armenia
Died: November 1, 2018
Yurik Vardanyan was a Soviet Armenian weightlifter best remembered for winning a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. One of the most decorated weightlifters of his generation, Yurik Vardanyan was a seven-time world champion and five-time European champion. In 1994, he was made an inductee of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.
32
Kjell Nilsson
(Swedish Olympic-Class Weight Lifter and Actor)
Birthdate: December 19, 1949
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Gothenburg, Sweden
33
Rim Jong-sim
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: February 5, 1993
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Pyongyang, North Korea
34
Karnam Malleswari
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: June 1, 1975
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India
35
Yossef Romano
(Former Israeli Weightlifter Who was Killed in the 1972 Munich Massacre)
Birthdate: April 15, 1940
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Benghazi, Libya
Died: September 5, 1972
Yossef Romano was an Israeli weightlifter who competed in the 1972 Munich Oympics in West Germany. An Israeli weight-lifting champion for nine years, Romano was among the 11 Israeli team members who were killed in the 1972 Munich massacre, an attack by a terrorist group named Black September. Romano was 32 years old at the time of his death.
36
Julius Naranjo
(Guamanian Weightlifter, Coach and Filmmaker)
Birthdate: June 14, 1991
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tamuning, Guam, United States
37
Behdad Salimi
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: December 8, 1989
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Ghaemshahr, Mazandaran, Iran
Former Iranian super heavyweight weightlifter Behdad Salimi is not just an Olympic gold medalist but has also won gold medals at the Asian Games, the Asian Championships, and the World Championships. Known as the Iranian Hercules, he was once dismissed for criticizing coach Kourosh Bagheri for using abusive language.
38
Sarah Robles
(American Weightlifter and Olympic Medalist)
Birthdate: August 1, 1988
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: San Diego, California, United States
39
Leonid Zhabotinsky
(Soviet and Ukrainian Weightlifter Who Made 19 Superheavyweight Class World Records)
Birthdate: January 28, 1938
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Krasnopillya, Ukraine
Died: January 14, 2016
40
Holley Mangold
(American Weightlifter)
Birthdate: December 22, 1989
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kettering, Ohio, United States
41
Tatiana Kashirina
(Russian Olympic Weightlifter, Olympic Silver Medalist, Five Time World Champion and Eight Time European Champion)
Birthdate: January 24, 1991
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Noginsk, Russia
42
Kianoush Rostami
(Weightlifter)
Birthdate: July 23, 1991
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Kermanshah, Iran
Iranian weightlifter Kianoush Rostami has 2 Olympic medals in his kitty, one of them being a gold medal. He is also an Asian Champion and a 2-time World Champion. In 2017, he auctioned his Olympic gold medal to raise money for the victims of a devastating earthquake near the Iran-Iraq border.
43
Mattie Rogers
(American Olympic Weightlifter and Four-Time Silver Medalist at the World Weightlifting Championships)
Birthdate: August 23, 1995
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Apopka, Florida, United States
Birthdate: April 8, 1994
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Hubei, China
Tian Tao is a Chinese professional weightlifter best known for winning the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He has also won gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games, 2019 World Championships, and 2019 and 2020 Asian Championships.
45
Emily Campbell
(British Weightlifter and Olympic Medalist)
Birthdate: May 6, 1994
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Nottingham, England, United Kingdom
Birthdate: March 19, 1988
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Yantai, Shandong, China
Zhou Lulu is one of China’s most well-known weightlifters and competes in the heaviest women’s weightlifting category, the +75kg. By lifting 333kg, she set a world record and won the gold at the 2012 London Olympics. She has also earned World Championship and Asian Games gold medals.
47
Charles Rigoulot
(French Weightlifter)
Birthdate: November 3, 1903
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Le Vésinet, France
Died: August 22, 1962
48
Giuliano Stroe
(Romanian Weightlifter)
Birthdate: June 18, 2004
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Piove di Sacco, Italy
49
Leonid Taranenko
(Former Soviet/Belarusian Weightlifter, Coach and Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: June 13, 1956
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Malaryta, Belarus
Leonid Taranenko is a former weightlifter and coach. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 110 kg category at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow where he represented the Soviet Union. He also won gold medals at the World Weightlifting Championships, European Weightlifting Championships, and USSR Weightlifting Championships.
50
Yury Vlasov
(Russian Heavyweight Weightlifter)
Birthdate: December 5, 1935
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Makiivka, Ukraine
Died: February 13, 2021