50 Years Ago: Vasily Alexeev Reaches the 600kg Milestone!
History in Color:
March 18, 1970, Minsk, Belorussia – Soviet giant of the super heavyweight Vasily Alexeev of Shakhty, Russia reaches 600kg (213+170+217.5) in total in the 110+kg class at the 1970 Friendship Cup in Minsk and launches the elite Club 600 for the strongest weightlifters in the world.
Vasily Alexeev also set two new world records – 213kg in the Olympic press and 600kg in total. Only five athletes were able later to join the Club 600 based on their participation in the official Olympic weightlifting competitions. Here is the list of athletes in the Club 600:
Club 600
Athlete | Nat. | Class | Total | Date, Tournament | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Vasily ALEXEEV | ![]() |
Superheavy | 645KG (235+172.5+237.5) | 1972, USSR Nationals, Tallinn, USSR |
2. | Ken PATERA | ![]() |
Superheavy | 632.5KG (229+175+229) | 1972, Olympic Tune-Up, San Francisco, USA |
3. | Rudolf MANG | ![]() |
Superheavy | 630KG (230+177.5+222.5) | 1972, European Championship, Constanta, Romania |
4. | Serge REDING | ![]() |
Superheavy | 620KG (220+175+225) | 1972, International Tournament, Lille, France |
5. | Stanislav BATISHCHEV | ![]() |
Superheavy | 620KG (220+175+225) | 1972, USSR Nationals, Tallinn, USSR |