Topic: Greatest weightlifter who ever lived?

[ViKtoricus]

"Greatest" can be a very subjective word, but what are your thoughts on this? Who do you consider to be the greatest weightlifter who has ever lived (so far)?



I mean, I know that Vasily Alexeev has officially set more world records than Taranenko, but Taranenko has cleaned and jerked more weight in a competition. On the other hand, Anatoly Pisarenko was alot lighter than Alexeev and Taranenko, but he lifted almost just as much as Taranenko...

And then there are the lightweights like Boevski and Sagir with deceptively powerful bodies, who both were champions.

[Dustin Oranchuk]

Very interesting topic,

I think the obvious answer is Naim as he set some amazing WRs and besides winning 3 olympics, he would have also been close to winning 2000 had he opened 2.5kg lighter and would have also been the favorite in 1984 when Bulgaria boycotted the games.

There are other guys like Victor Solodov who lifted ridiculous weights (190+233 @ 90), but had a fairly short carrier and never made it to the olympics (boycott)

[ViKtoricus]

Very interesting topic,

I think the obvious answer is Naim as he set some amazing WRs and besides winning 3 olympics, he would have also been close to winning 2000 had he opened 2.5kg lighter and would have also been the favorite in 1984 when Bulgaria boycotted the games.

There are other guys like Victor Solodov who lifted ridiculous weights (190+233 @ 90), but had a fairly short carrier and never made it to the olympics (boycott)

Naim? Nah. I'm not buying it.

The guy is a midget and midgets have an advantage in lifting. I would rather see a skinny Sagir do his thing than a deformed human-being do stuff that taller people couldn't do...

So for me, Naim is awesome, but not my favorite.

[Sean Hutchinson]

Wow, what an ignorant thing to say...

Very interesting topic,

I think the obvious answer is Naim as he set some amazing WRs and besides winning 3 olympics, he would have also been close to winning 2000 had he opened 2.5kg lighter and would have also been the favorite in 1984 when Bulgaria boycotted the games.

There are other guys like Victor Solodov who lifted ridiculous weights (190+233 @ 90), but had a fairly short carrier and never made it to the olympics (boycott)

Naim? Nah. I'm not buying it.

The guy is a midget and midgets have an advantage in lifting. I would rather see a skinny Sagir do his thing than a deformed human-being do stuff that taller people couldn't do...

So for me, Naim is awesome, but not my favorite.

[ViKtoricus]

Wow, what an ignorant thing to say...

Very interesting topic,

I think the obvious answer is Naim as he set some amazing WRs and besides winning 3 olympics, he would have also been close to winning 2000 had he opened 2.5kg lighter and would have also been the favorite in 1984 when Bulgaria boycotted the games.

There are other guys like Victor Solodov who lifted ridiculous weights (190+233 @ 90), but had a fairly short carrier and never made it to the olympics (boycott)

Naim? Nah. I'm not buying it.

The guy is a midget and midgets have an advantage in lifting. I would rather see a skinny Sagir do his thing than a deformed human-being do stuff that taller people couldn't do...

So for me, Naim is awesome, but not my favorite.

I apologize!

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Suley is the best on golden standard %, by a big chunk. This means he is better than the next best at his bodyweight by more than anyone else in another class is better than the next best. Which pretty much means he is the best ever.

[Simon Klimesh]

Chis is right, Suley is the best ever, unless you want to change what best ever means. As far as weight lifted, in competition, compared with bodyweight, Suley is the best hands down. Now the most successful weightlifter may be someone else? Dimas has three golds and a bronze to his credit. Everyone has their favorite lifters for different reasons. Yes, Sagir's 375 total @ 77 at Athens with his tennis player physique is impressive, especially with the speed he did it, but that doesn't make him the best ever even though he is a favorite for some including one of my favorites. The light guys will always be kilo for kilo better, and Suley is at the top of those guys.

[Shaun Le Conte]

Suleymanoglu is clearly the most dominant weightlifter in history, I think that is indisputable. There have been many greats.