PISARENKO | Weightlifting's Most Iconic Athlete
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Anatoly Pisarenko stands tall and looming as the most iconic weightlifter of the 20th century. Sure his impressive moustache is eye catching, but it was the nonchalance with which he set world records and stumbled into becoming the greatest weightlifter in the world that made his name stand the test of time...
PISARENKO SQUAT POSTER SOLD OUT
00:00 Who is Pisarenko?
01:56 Early training years
03:39 Pisarenko vs Alexeev
05:06 Pisarenko's International climb
07:46 1984 Olympics?
08:09 The greatest training cycle ever
09:55 Pisarenko's best performance
14:02 Drug scandal
15:00 Thoughts on PEDs
15:26 The end of an illustrious career
Пікірлер: 478
Pisarenko smoking a cig and drinking not tea but vodka between lifts is still the most badass moment in weightlifting.
@55cleon
Жыл бұрын
INDEED 😂👌🏿!!!
@gerhardschelbi8742
Жыл бұрын
Agreed NiggaBro!👏
@PRAVDORUB_064S
Жыл бұрын
Это не сигарета, а кусочек сахара. Он пил чай вприкуску, есть такой способ чаепития в России. И не надо тут молоть всякую чушь. Писаренко вел здоровый образ жизни, никаких сигарет, а тем более водки.
@PinnaclePete
Жыл бұрын
Dave Rigert smoked up a storm also.
@charlessavoie2367
Жыл бұрын
@@PinnaclePete They believed the nicotine enhanced their nervous system to enable them to lift more.
Pisarenko is still alive - Get an exclusive interview with him if you can find him! And hurry, he ain't getting younger. Would be so cool to see that!
@raindoset5408
Жыл бұрын
Cap
@Xilladan093
Жыл бұрын
@@raindoset5408 clown
@thatpickingguy
Жыл бұрын
@@raindoset5408 Cap what
@bleb20
Жыл бұрын
@@thatpickingguy j
@bleb20
Жыл бұрын
J
Bruh ain’t no way he was 22 during these clips. Dude looks like he came straight out of a gears of war game and has 20 years of combat experience
@Pixel_Code
Жыл бұрын
You're right about the "gear" part
@narcissus79
Жыл бұрын
Looked like Mike Hagar from Final Fight, or a Ukrainian Don Frye
@666BIGBLOCK
Жыл бұрын
Always thought he looked like a big Burt Reynolds’s the actor.
@retardno002
Жыл бұрын
In Soviet Russia, combat experiences you.
@Wyndamn
Жыл бұрын
@@retardno002😂😂😂
If Freddie Mercury was on gear...
@landerhendrickx3522
Жыл бұрын
😂
@SLAYER-nm5zw
Жыл бұрын
Bruh 😅
@alanaliyev456GT
Жыл бұрын
His twin but Anatoly is straight like his barbell ....... i want to break free...
@unclefreedom213
Жыл бұрын
well this wins
@alanaliyev456GT
Жыл бұрын
Freddie was a Giant of Music... the Goat in voice.....ANATOLY was GIANT IN SPORT
have you ever seen Pisarenko and Don Fry in the same room? Me neither
I loved him for his honesty. At the world championships (84?) he was asked about steroids, and essentially said "You can have new world records every 18 months, or you can have no steroids. There is no way we can train like this and not use them". The stuff he said about Alexiev, about the Basque lifters, the fact that he never wanted to by a Weightlifter, but being a bodybuilder was not allowed at that time, all interesting stuff.
@HannibalBarcaRTW
Жыл бұрын
what did he say about basque lifters?
@ghengiskhan9308
Жыл бұрын
Where can I find this info
@AndyML3883
Жыл бұрын
It always makes me laugh how some modern strength athletes say things like "oh steroids only improve you 30% max" 😂 try more like 75% +. Even the old athletes will admit to this, especially if the drugs settled well in the body.
@thechosenone93
Жыл бұрын
@@AndyML3883 Don’t worry,if we’re honest with ourselves,it’s just them trying to downplay how much they depend on steroids. This applies to ALL types of athletes as well as fitness models,bodybuilders,etc. They know deep down how dependant they are on steroids.
@kirihara147
Жыл бұрын
@@AndyML3883 no offense but you are off your head if you believe it. If you think that steroids will turn my natural 120 snatch into 200+ snatch, you are fuсking nuts. Steroids mostly used to avoid frequent injuries and give you the edge to push your limit.
Karelin had Pisarenko's poster on his wall.
This is hands down the best weightlifting video I ever saw in my life.
The moustache, the squat in boxers, the singlet with the nips out. Weightlifting had some style back then.
Sad that after all the time, effort and life into being *the* top sportsman, he only stood a small chance to represent his country (then USSR) at the Olympics, which is obviously quite a big deal compared to the many world championships he won - even more sad when he himself realised that at the end by saying it wasn’t worth it, that must have been hard for him to admit.
@mrpowerlifter1413
Жыл бұрын
True, I' ve admired him because he always wants to win the competition, even if he failed previous attempt , all or nothing.
When I got started in weightlifting I spent a lot of time reading the material that came out of the USSR from the 60s-90s and was always most impressed with people like Pisarenko. Him, Zakharevich, Vardanyan, Dimas, and of course the pocket Hercules were to me great because they were incredible athletes who were able to move so much weight without weighing a ton. Pisarenko could still do the splits whereas Lasha (who I also think is amazing) probably isn't even close. In almost any sport I think Pisarenko and the others like him would excel, kind of the original spirit of the Olympics. As much as I love seeing Lasha lift I am more impressed with guys like Pisarenko who could lift near as much yet still play a game of football(soccer) afterwards or hit up the slopes in some alpine skiing. One day we may get a genetic freak like Pisarenko who is naturally closer to 140-150kg who sets us new records. Like a Usain Bolt or Giannis Antetokounmpo of their sports.
@eloiishya
Жыл бұрын
I hope what you said will come true. It would also be great if teams like Russia and DPRK would were back full-time and on lots of drugs like in old times so we can see big records again.
@muellernikolai8630
Жыл бұрын
I would be surprised if Lasha can't hit splits. Also, keep in minds that while today's guys like Lasha are ofc on PEDs, it is nowhere near the amounts that guys like Pisarenko used. Testing has come a long way since 1984. Also, while Lasha is a giant with heart problems, it's not like 124kg is "light" for a man, and I doubt very much that this guy could sustain any form of cardio for more than a few minutes, especially considering the "wetness" of this era's steroids.
@wyyc
Жыл бұрын
How would "wet" steroids affect his ability to sustain cardio?
@muellernikolai8630
Жыл бұрын
@@wyyc tough doing cardio when you got a shitload of water retention going on. Try running a dbol or high dose test cycle or something like that and go for a run, you'll understand
@worldview730
8 ай бұрын
Don't forget to credit man's little helpers (Steroids)
The best and most honest weighlifter ever
Hard to wrap my mind around a 260 jerk double , 270 clean & jerk , 280 clean @ 123. To be a fly on the wall for that training cycle….
@worldview730
8 ай бұрын
Take a steroid pill & rethink it
@61kg61
4 ай бұрын
not that simple or easy@@worldview730
In some interview he was telling that his potential was 300 in c&j and he had that as an ultimate goal. Amazing athlete
@vladimirepifanov6927
Жыл бұрын
Curious, would we see Lasha hit 300 c&j if doping testing is cancelled at all?
@HIMCULES
Жыл бұрын
That is probably more than just talk, he most probably did test the waters, with that kind of weight. After all, Pisarenko trained together with Zakharevitch, and the latter had done a 300kg jerk from rack.
@HIMCULES
Жыл бұрын
@@vladimirepifanov6927 The snatch seems to be Lasha's specialty. The jerk appears to be his "weakest". PEDs are powerful, but seeing the ease with which Pisarenko lifted 265kg, I think he would be the one to lift the 300kg.
@miesvaillanykyisyytta3252
Жыл бұрын
@@HIMCULES Yeah maybe. The last kilos are the slowest to come and there is an enormous difference between the world record and 300kg still.
The Man. To old dudes like me, I started lifting at the height of Pisarenko's fame, 1983, he was simply the best.
@worldview730
8 ай бұрын
Via steroids
@TomLaios
8 ай бұрын
@@worldview730 Nooooooooo! Really? You mean he wasn't natty? Everyone was on steroids in the 80s and he was still head and shoulders above everyone else.
@worldview730
8 ай бұрын
Still he admitted it's a cheat game, because weight lifters couldn't accend those heights without that boost @@TomLaios
@TomLaios
8 ай бұрын
@@worldview730 what is your point? Everyone was on steroids, it was no secret.His mum knew, my mum knew,, his tobacconist knew.I hate how people think that saying he was on steroids should in any way diminish his accomplishments. If you think the top lifters today aren't on PEDs, you are very naive.
@worldview730
8 ай бұрын
The point is sports enhancement drugs are illegal & a cheat in any sport esp. the Olympics (remember Ben Johnson from Canada? His medal was taken away) It's not public knowledge that makes it right. @@TomLaios
Pisarenko is my all time favorite weightlifter
In one interview, Pisarenko said his weak points were his legs, which eventually made him quit his career. He got an injury to the hit joints a little bit late when he lifted in snatch 210 and in clean and jerk 270 in a training. Before a competition, he had the flu but decided to participate in it. It was, I guess, in 1987 when he came back to sports after being banned for 2 years. He wanted to prove that he was the best and, not being fully recovered from disease, decided to lift big weights. He was disappointed that the Soviet authorities didn't support him, and they showed by his example that the USSR was against anabolic steroids. But Pisarenko said it was the Soviet system: doctors and trainers who made Soviet athletes use them. And the Canadian customs detected not only Pisarenko and Kurlovish with cases filled with drugs for sale, who were Ukrainian and Belarusian, but also Aleksandr Gunyashev, who was Russian and not banned by the Soviet regime. Pisarenko said that his strongest point was his back; he didn't know his limits in the exercises for his back and tried to change the technique just to use it to the maximum on his strongest side. Forgot to mention that in that interview, Anatoliy said he was a guy who showed his best results not in the trainings but in the competitions, and that's why he thought that 500 kg in both movements were real and achievable for him. When he retired, he was about 28 years old, which is a baby age for a heavyweight lifter, and he still thinks that he didn't show his full potential.
Pisarenko is from Kyiv, Ukraine. He has his own tea brand. At one point controlled about 10% of tea market in Ukraine.
@mrketo7077
Жыл бұрын
I finished same high school # 139 as Anatoliy Pisarenko in Kiev 🇨🇦🇺🇦just 10 years later
This guy was the absolute beast. I would have liked to see him now, and not it the 80s!
No wonder Don Frye is such a badass, his dad is incredible!
@salguodrolyat2594
Жыл бұрын
Dad? Don Frye=Anatoliy Pisarenko
@davisdia9315
Жыл бұрын
@@salguodrolyat2594 He was singing too, in the band Queen, best song we are the champions, didn't you know?
@salguodrolyat2594
Жыл бұрын
@@davisdia9315 🤔😯😁
Dudes in the 70s looked 46 at 22.
I saw him break a world snatch record in the old Playboy casino in Atlantic City. His physique was extremely impressive. This was in 1981. \
Pretty sure his moustache alone could lift more than me!
He was a badass lifter i think the best ever at 270lbs clean and jerk over 580lbs in the early 1980s amazing and just missed 616lbs unreal hats off to him
@worldview730
8 ай бұрын
Say hello to my little friend (Steroid)
@artkazyak3242
8 ай бұрын
@@worldview730 He was one of the best ever at his bodyweight in the early 1980s he waxes the superheavyweights in todays world they are all on the nectar Pisarenko is number one period still to this day
@Lotus1001
7 ай бұрын
@@artkazyak3242 Totally agree. The strength to weight ratio is just insane from Pisarenko.
@artkazyak3242
7 ай бұрын
yes sir these gents who think the big men of today compare to Pisarenko are full of shit his lifts speak for themselves he was amazing@@Lotus1001
Never clicked into the store as quick when I saw that poster 😍
Probably the best documentary about weightlifting I have ever seen.
Don Frye of Weightlifting
Very well done. Thank you for putting this together.
I’ve been waiting for this one Seb! It’s been pretty hard to find good information about this legend
Beautifully made video, Seb. Keep up the outstanding work!
Good review. You just said a story that Pisarenko told some Ukrainian journalist in 2010. It was true that Alekseev in a pushy manner told Pisarenko how to train, even though Pisarenko was a world champion in that time. Pisarenko said he tried a couple of times that old school training but understood that it wasn't fit for him. Alekseev weighted 170 and Anatoliy 120.
@TonyMontana-os7kg
Жыл бұрын
Anatoliy told that he had warned Alexeev and promised to answer physically .and VA never pushed him rudely anymore.
Thanks for compiling this! Growing up a fan of bodybuilding who loved strength rebates sports more as I got older (until degenerative disc disease caught up with me), Pisarenko had always fascinated me. I had heard whispers of much of what was covered in your video previously, but you summarized and organized it nicely. Well done, mate!
Your best video so far!!! Thank you
I found your video beautifully, adequately and knowledgeably done. Spott on, man...
Thank you for this incredible video!
He also cleaned 267.5,missed the jerk, that same day he made the 265.
@scottessery100
Жыл бұрын
Would love to know his cycle
@houdini8084
Жыл бұрын
@@scottessery100 his cycle would do u no good u need his genetics.
@TheBilaras97
Жыл бұрын
@@scottessery100 more dbol pills that you can count every day,thats about it.
@toximan2008
Жыл бұрын
@@scottessery100 300 dbol tabs a day, cigarettes, tea
Only found your channel a couple of days ago, great content 👌
This video is so epic. Goosebumps man
That....was an excellent video....absolutely amazing!!!
Amazing story! Thank you for sharing it!
Cleaning and pressing 585 I think is more impressive to me than the benchpress,squat or deadlift world records .
@Bismarck.1871
Жыл бұрын
By far!!!
dude this was well made. You took time to repeat weights in pounds and kilos and made the timeline easy to understand. I always wondered who that guy was.
Tremendous video, I always like to hear about the old timers, never miss a chance to do so
Never clicked so fast.
@Mr.Ciobanu
Жыл бұрын
same here
16:48 casually smoking a tea and drinking a cigarette 💪😎🚬
An excellent video. WH Team, keep going. Keep working. The people appreciate your work. Thank you.
Very interesting - I knew the photography from forums but wasn't aware of the background story. Thx!
PISARENKO SQUAT POSTER IS NOW SOLD OUT
@vp6087
Жыл бұрын
Stop saying kIEv while it's kYIv 😑
Какая фигура. Какие раньше красивые были у них костюмы. Красота гигантского тела
@thatisamazing912
Жыл бұрын
You stop that right now!!!!!!
Amazing story telling for this piece of incredible history.
He reminds me of an incredibly strong and jacked Freddie Mercury at 11:10. Great video, Seb. Thank you.
A true legend and best ever.
😍 Awesome video Seb
Red Alert - Death march in the background bumpin.
Great video. Thanks 😊
greatest jerker of all time and its not even close.
Your storytelling skill is so good.
**Pisarenko cleaned 280 kilos in training, did not stand up on purpose, knowing if he could clean it in training, he should be able to jerk it in competition. He aim was always 500 kilo total. Source: kzread.info/dash/bejne/p6t3q7CLoLjVZ7A.html
@HIMCULES
Жыл бұрын
What is he saying about 420kg? Is that the weight in the picture?
@rageintruths
Жыл бұрын
@@HIMCULES He said his pull was stronger than his legs. He could pull 420 kg for reps if he wanted to. It came easily.
@HIMCULES
Жыл бұрын
@@rageintruths Do you mean like a deadlift? Awesome. Any other significant numbers?
@rageintruths
Жыл бұрын
@@HIMCULES yes deadlift. He said 420kilos for reps. I’d have to watch it again. Don’t remember.
Great mini doc. That Red Alert track was gold.
Loved the video … thank you WH
Fantastic, thanks. Pisarenko is the GOAT, period. With all the crap tossed at him over the years, I'm surprised he didn't defect.
Love the video seb. Could you possibly do a video on Lu Yong? Of all the Chinese gold medalists almost nobody talks about him or his story.
@narcissus79
Жыл бұрын
Sa sa sa! Youuuuuu! I used to love watching him lift.
Great work again and I haven’t even started the video
Great Video. That guy was a beast
Excellent work! I've always wondered about the man behind that photo, as I've seen it so many times over the years.
great video Seb
Adding "Hell March" from C&C Red Alert was a nice subtle touch there.
Thank you
UNBELIEVABLE ❤🦾👍🏻
Can you make a video on the coaches or scientists like Medvedyev or Prilipen? The story of the Bulgarian system would be awesome too.
Red alert music blasting in the back while Pisarenko steps up to lift.. awesome :D
Lets go!
Love the use of the red alert theme in this
If Don Frye was trained in Russia
incredible to lift so much weighing 123kg. How many kilos is he lifting in that iconic squat photo?
@Setrany
Жыл бұрын
I would say 230kg, but honestly, hard to tell. Its balck and white, meaning we can't be sure of the color coding, and back then some people used 50kg plates as well, not just 25kg plates. So. Who knows. A lot, that's for sure
@johnburns1839
Жыл бұрын
@@Setrany He certainly didn't struggle to get up with his cleans.
@JohnProph
Жыл бұрын
IIRC he wasnt known as a huge squatter. He was known more for having amazing timing to rebound out of the bottom etc
That thumbnail pic of Pisarenko looks so much like Vytautas Lalas rockin' a sick mustache!
i remember just getting in to weightlifting in 1984 looking forward to seeing pisarenko at the olympics then the russians pulled out shame he wud of been a awsome sight
It was SR Slovenia part of SFR Yugoslavia at that time (on the poster)
He also has a come issue amongst powerlifters known as Diastasis recti… it’s a separation of your abdominal muscles which more commonly occurs in the pregnant women… It shows a large guide between the abdominal muscles and is especially seen when doing a sit up… it’s why you see a lot of powerlifters with a large belly… it isn’t bc their abdominal muscles aren’t strong it’s bc their abdomen has separated due to the heavy weights they lift…
I am so proud to wait left with Dissanayaka in one gym when I was a teenager. It was late 80s in the Keith weightlifting gym and this man pooped like a tank. Great lifter of all the time.
@MrEazyE357
Жыл бұрын
Were you checking out his poops? Did you ask him if you could. You're a weird one, guy.
Great story!
Wild that him and Naim competed at the same time
David Regart of old Soviet got mt attention, wasn't super heavyweight but dominated the heavyweight division for decades
Very intertaining
“Now a strong, light, muscular 22 year old” - couldn’t help but let out a WTF at that point. The man’s 22 going on 45 especially with that stellar moustache. Also Inb4 “steroids age you” yes I am aware
@YAMAZAK1
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, 22 years old like a 50's man
@dj_m1999
Жыл бұрын
honestly it's a bunch of factors (with steroids being the n1) People used to look older. There are recordings of high school students from the 70s and 80s, you can clearly see the majority of them looking far older than their apparent age (teenagers). Pisarenko was also born in the Soviet Union. It was a tough life, in every aspect and meaning of that word. Harsh upbringing ages you as well
Amazing Physyc! No belly, just a pure Giant
Superb athlete! I'm not sure though if he's greater than Alexeyev. Alexeyev holds the clean and press record to this very day (althought yeah, it was removed from WL). It is unfortunate, that they've had bad relationship.
You should consider making a video about Ronny Weller too as he has an interesting story as well. His international career stretches over 17 years and he is one of four weightlifters who has competed in five Olympic Games; Imre Földi, Ingo Steinhöfel and Dika Toua being the others. But he is the only one of them who has four medals though: one gold, two silver and one bronze. At the age of 17 he totalled 400kg and his 205kg snatch in the 110kg category at the Junior World Championships in 1989 is the second heaviest snatch ever performed by a junior. Only a kilo behind Saeid Alihosseinis 206kg snatch in the +105kg category in 2008. In 1989 he was in a severe car crash that killed his girlfriend at time. Ronny was in a coma for a week, and many believed his career was over. However, he worked his way back and won the 110kg category at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Sounds kinda familiar, right? Ronny later moved up in the supers and his battles with top athletes such as: Andrei Chemerkin, Stefan Botev and Hossein Rezazadeh are legendary. His personal records of 210-260-467,5 are among the highest results ever achieved in the sport.
Olympic style weightlifting is amazing. The athlete moves the weight from the ground to over their head. No real supportive gear is used either. This is much more legitimate and impressive than a bench press lift where the lifter has a shirt on that is specifically designed to help them lift the weight.
@johnbackos5192
Жыл бұрын
Except that Julius Maddox benched 782 WITHOUT the shirt. Educate yourself
@Apollo-fo4ie
Жыл бұрын
@@johnbackos5192 Your comment is uneducated. I know about the raw bench press of Maddox which is extremely impressive. My statement was targeted at how a bench press shirt can add a ridiculous amount of weight to a lifter's max. I know from personal experience.
it's Ukraine! Strongest people ever!
Good video
The Grand Regent Thrag's real beginnings
Incredible power
His clean is incredible! So fast! Re lost Olympic championships - Russian athletes are going through the same 5hit today
@garyparkinson6198
Жыл бұрын
Terrible to punish an athlete because where they were born due to politics. As a Brit why weren't US and UK athletes banned after the illegal invadion of Iraq
@24pavlo
Жыл бұрын
Russian athletes deserve all the $£!t and some more
Brillant made documentary. Those where the days
what is the song name at the start of the vid?
Богатырь, одним словом 😌💪🏻 Говорит, что ему легко досталось звание чемпиона 🥇, но при этом впахивал как трактор 😁
@kthirteenwinrar8766
Жыл бұрын
богатыри это в россии, а он украинец
@Alex_Candy
Жыл бұрын
@@kthirteenwinrar8766 Не в, а на рабсее
JEEZUS SEB! Too good
true giga chad
I remember what a sensation he made! But I never knew that much about him. Thanks for the video!
@chaosdweller
Жыл бұрын
Never heard of him and I'm a lifter haha wow.