IWF120y/112 – 1996: Andrey Chemerkin (RUS) is the man to beat in the super heavyweight category
Our historical weightlifting review includes several successful athletes from the former Soviet Union, a powerhouse until its dissolution at the beginning of the 1990s. Russia is the ‘natural’ successor of the ancient political entity and has remained faithful to the tradition. One of its most distinguished representatives was Andrey Chemerkin, arguably one of the biggest super heavyweight stars in the 1990s. Born in February 1972, he already represented Russia at the 1993 World Championships, where he won a bronze medal. That same year, he was the second-best at the European level. In 1994, he upgraded his world hierarchy – silver -, and in 1995 he got the gold at the IWF showcase in Guangzhou (CHN). He arrived at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics as the man to beat in the +108kg category: and he remained unbeaten, winning the Games gold in 197.5-260-457.5. Chemerkin was once more the best of the field in the three subsequent editions of the IWF World Championships: 1997 (with his best Total of 200-262.5-462.5), 1998, and 1999. After this impressive series, he was again the favourite for the 2000 Sydney Games (photo), but in Australia, his result of 202.5-260-462.5 (better than the one four years earlier) was only sufficient for the bronze medal – behind Hossein Rezazadeh (IRI, 472.5kg) and Ronny Weller (GER, 467.5kg). It was the beginning of the decline for Chemerkin, who was still able to earn a bronze medal at the 2001 IWF Worlds. During his prestigious career (which also comprised two European titles, in 1994 and 1995), the Russian ace improved nine World Records, including one in Snatch (200.5kg, in 1994), five in Clean & Jerk (best of 262.5kg, in 1997), and three in Total.
