Meanwhile in Kazakhstan …
Dmitry Klokov is currently at the World Championships and having a look.
While he is there he figures he can get some training lifts in, who wouldn’t want to train amongst other world champions?
His Bodyweight is currently 110kg, this 200kg snatch is the first time snatching 200 since his preparation for London Olympics 2012. See his 205 and 206 kg Snatch here.
Oh, and did i mention that he is currently recovering from a back injury he got a week ago? He can’t Clean and Jerk, Squat or Deadlift because of it.
200kg Snatch
Update 22.07.2014: His 160kg, 190kg and 200kg. It’s fun to see his reaction and decision to try 200 after the 190.
Him working up to the 200 seemed like a very spontaneous thing to me. After 140 you could feel that he realized he has got more today. From this point on it went pretty quickly. 60, 70, 90 and then “Not sure, try 200”. It was awesome to witness it live.
Update: Here is what happened after the Snatch
Update: Here is Dmitry’s own video from that day
190kg Snatch
140kg Power Snatch warm-up
130kg BTN Snatch Press
He’s clearly in top form, though I don’t get why he isn’t trying to be on the Russian team as he’d do well surely.
Haha, he’s not competing, just training. 🙂
i do not really get how one can injure his leg in a way that he cannot perform pulls and squats but snatch so close to his own all time best, while the snatch itself includes both pulling and squatting.
If your max pull/ squat is around treefiddy, a 200kg snatch(pull) or OHS is pretty much peanuts
Jesus
You really think he would carry vials and not have connections???100% agree with OP plus he is more than 110 kg in bodyweight.
i guess all that drinking with sarkisyan in australia payed off.
Gregor, did you make the videos yourself? I am asking since you mentioned that you are in Almaty.
The lifts are just ridiciulous. 200 kg snatch is impressive at any bodyweight. It would be great if he
comes back to compete once more.
Yes I recorded that video.
Were a lot of people around watching him?
Gregor, did you introduce yourself to Klokov? He sure must appreciate what you did for his business 🙂
Yeah, first I met him in the hotel lobby and he even knew who I was 😀
Also had dinner and breakfast with him. He’s a cool dude. Always working on something.
even if he is: however you can not fully compare him beeing cycling to an athlete in competition preparation. one of the main advantages of taking roids is that you can train more often, more volume and more intensively. all this doenst apply to dimitry at the moment while he is travelling around the world.
just to have the technical precision to get in such a huge lift with this kind of training is awesome.
besides this his last vids dont communicate he is on his best strength levels.
Honestly i dont think so. In multiple interviews hes said he doesn’t have much motivation to begin competing again (who knows, maybe he’ll change his mind). I would really doubt he’d be blasting for really no reason. Cruising? sure, but i dont think he would be blasting. Not to mention how much of a pain it would be to do this while traveling across the world (though if anyone could its probably klokov.
In my opnion, BS is a safer exercise for lower back than a max snatch
Having several back injuries back in a day, I would say that snatch is easier on the back. At least for me.
about him ‘juicing’…shut up already, who cares, and…obviously. all of these guys are on stuff all of the time. it’s common knowledge/sense. there are ways around every test, be it masking agents or *gasp* bribery. come on already. with that said…hell yea. i love that he can match podium level lifts while traveling the world and not preparing for a meet properly. don’t you think this gets in the heads of other lifts if he was to comeback and compete? pretty cool
All of these guys are not on stuff all of the time. If Dima could compete and win right now — by which I mean if he could be on the Russian team, pass internal controls and still be strong enough to win at Worlds — he would. If you are not convinced, recall that he admitted in interviews that he is doing seminars instead because that is his most realistic option as a ‘poteryannyi’ (i.e., lost/abandoned/disgraced) athlete. Snatching 200kg is smart marketing by Dima to his fans, but it means nothing to the Russian leadership.
ok not 365 days a year. they cycle off for extended breaks, like illin did after the olympics until earlier this year. but you get my point. to think that they all cycle off before a major competition…doubtful. i don’t care either way. i enjoy seeing big lifts. hoping for a 205/240 from illin between now and the olympics!
Ilya will never snatch 205. He might do 200-245 but 205-240? I doubt it. Doesn’t matter that would be the same total anyway.
Totally agree…and some need it more than others. I don’t really care either whether athletes are on the juice, but there would be a lot of people at 105kg snatching 200kg if they were all on the juice in Almaty. Dima surely is not being tested and has not been tested since he left competition. BTW, Dima is using straps.
At last a intelligent man!!! I absolutely agree and I’m fed up with the anti drug comments. Wake up everyone!
I think yes,this snatch(form) is the beginning of his comeback.190 is nice he might be able to do it without training with full force but 200 is another kind of animal. I think he and his team decided to give it a go and do weightlifting next year and 2016. I think they figured he’s still got something in the basement and lifting at the Olympic Games would be a PR jackpot. Go on Mr. Klokov go on now 🙂
lettuce be real Klokov is pulling a Jon North here.
Negative or positive comment? I know Jon is back…
Just messing around.
I am fan of both athletes, so its good to see them doing good even if it is not in competition.
I know if Jon joins USAW again, he will smoke Spencer and Ian in the 105.
He needs to bring his CJ game up. In the snatch I can see him and Wilson being really close, but on the CJ Jon can be left behind by both Spencer and Wilson.
He will. I don’t know where Ian is but, I can see Jon doing 178/206 next year.
What makes you so sure that Jon North will smoke Ian? I highly doubt North will snatch 178 and clean & jerk 206 by next year, especially at a national meet.
that’s pretty german now.
Did anyone else notice how short Denis Gotfrid is (in Klokov’s video). Dude’s the same height as Asanidze and was world champion in Klokov’s category, now that’s stout. Also you can see him standing next to Artem Ivanov during Klokov’s show here. Gotfrid – Ukrainian, Ivanov – Crimean, now Russian. Awkward? Also, crazy lift!
Nice lift, and, most of all, nice marketing.
(Even if I fail to understand how they open the training hall to non-competing athletes)
And now, having in mind that Russia is one of the strongest weightlifting nations and that our coaches have literally seen it all, a much-needed dose of reality:
Klokov to Venkov (Russia’s chief coach): Look, look, 200 kg snatch, see? see?
Venkov back to Klokov: Good for you, here’s a lollipop. Now do that @ 105, strapless, under internal control testing, and with a matching 235 C&J, and we’ll talk. Until then, don’t bother.
I don’t really understand why there’s so much hostility. No one here is saying that by virtue of this lift, Klokov is the number one lifter, or that he would have won the WWC if he’d competed or anything like that.
It’s the 105 class world record, it’s only 6 kg off his all-time best and he’s done it with inconsistent training. Can’t we just appreciate that in those circumstances it’s a great lift, instead of adding these little jabs about how he’s doping or how he’s still nothing compared to the other 105s?
I second that. I also don’t understand the hate. Nobody said he is currently number one. It is just impressive that he can snatch 200 kg despite all the travels and not being focused on weightlifting. Actually it would be very impressive even if he focused all his time on lifting. Not even all super heavyweights can do that. Let alone heavyweights. It seems to me that in this youtube age only world records count. Get real, guys.
And as to why he can train there. I guess he knows many people there from the past years and the hall seems to be empty. So why shouldn’t he be aloud to use the weights?
Is it hate to make valid observations Klokov?
First, Klokov should not be in the training hall. He is not on the Russian team, he is not an officer of the Russian Weightlifting Federation (FTAR), and since August, he no longer has an insider at FTAR that I am aware of. How did he get into the Worlds training hall?
The answer: Klokov’s father was FTAR President in the past and maintains close relations to IWF President Tamas Ajan. Thanks to his father, and to his crony former FTAR officer Gerasimenko (who unsuccessfully tried to overthrow FTAR President Syrtsov in August when they held FTAR elections), Klokov is now a member of the IWF Athletes’ Commission, so Klokov’s IWF connections and/or position probably gets him access to the Worlds training hall.
(Incidentally, Russian athletes even complained about Klokov filming one or two months ago at the Ruza training base outside Moscow, so you can be sure that he is not welcome in the Worlds training hall even though Russian athletes may be afraid to show it. They know Klokov comes from weightlifting royalty and has connections.)
Second, the important question is why is Klokov in the Almaty training hall. Klokov is very public about the fact that scandal motivates him. When he competed in the years leading up to Beijing 2008, he admits in his interview with Lapikov that his primary goal was to beat Lapikov because Klokov has convinced himself that coach Anikanov left Klokov to coach Lapikov. Not true, but the truth is besides the point. The point is that Klokov admits that he uses scandal to motivate himself. Here, he is most definitely making a public statement, i.e., that if he wanted to, he could have qualified to compete for Russia at the Worlds, and further, if he wants to, he will qualify to compete for Rio. Scandal.
Recall how he placed third (?) at the 2013 Russian Championships, then trained for the 2013 Worlds, then abruptly left the team to start giving seminars. Do you recall how he publicly dissed the remaining Russian athletes at 105kg afterwards, saying he could outlift them (and he did in the snatch) but was distracted? Scandal.
In addition, Klokov is more about business at this particular moment than he is an athlete, and snatching 200kg in the Worlds training hall is excellent marketing to his fans.
Third, I agree that it is impressive to snatch 200kg, clean or unclean, with straps or without straps. But he intends it to prove something, when in fact it proves nothing. Having known Klokov since he was nine years old, personally I would like to see him make a comeback, and I would like to see him do it without scandal. If you are the best, prove it in competition. YouTube doesn’t count.
His fans probably don’t want to hear all this, or don’t care. That is their right. But they should know who they are cheering for.
P.S. Fans, remind me again why it was that Klokov didn’t compete in London.
I get it that you’re bitter about something (and no need to get into it again, you’ve gone over it several times), but Jesus. I believe what HangHimHigher and Leon were getting at was that weightlifting isn’t only about always being “the best” — or at least it goddamn well shouln’t be. You can still appreciate an impressive athlete lifting impressive numbers *without* being hostile.
Yes, you have your right to voice your opinions and criticisms, but while some of them may be valid, you just end up sounding bitter and hostile when other people just want to appreciate a 200kg snatch for what it is — a very impressive lift. How many people in the world can do that? At that bodyweight? In their thirties? While not focusing on it full-time? It is such a rare ability that most of us will never fully understand what it must be like.
I get it that many of you guys are very much interested in who wins, who is the best right now, and some of you are even into the behind the scenes politics of it. Not everybody is. Some people just want to lift some goddamn weights and enjoy the sport for what it is, not just who is on top this month. Maybe I’m on the wrong website, but I think weightlifting has a lot more to offer than that.
I gave Klokov credit for his impressive 200kg snatch, but otherwise you are partially right. I am not bitter, but I am disappointed in Klokov. I am partially disappointed because Klokov is not and has not been a weightlifter for a year now, but he pretends to be. And somehow people remain convinced. I am disappointed with Klokov because of the way he treats the sport and the people in the sport.
How many people in the world can snatch 200kg with straps? Lots of Russian weightlifters at 105kg can do that. Syrtsov did that in training at 90kg. Okulov recently hang snatched 190kg in training while weighing about 90kg.
I could care less about who wins, about who is best now and, frankly, I wish I did not know the politics. I am close to FTAR leadership, so I hear about it whether I like it or not. And Klokov makes political statements all the time in his interviews and elsewhere, you just don’t realize it.
I too just want to enjoy the sport. Klokov is not the sport. The sport has some accountability, and Klokov has none. And he talks badly about people in the sport. He is now a reality star.
I still give him credit for a 200kg snatch. I can’t snatch 200kg. That is a lot of weight. And Klokov is getting older. And he is a very, very hard worker. But there are lifters who are more natural and there are lifters who are less natural. And there are lifters who let their competition lifts speak for them, and those who just talk.
If we are going to celebrate weightlifters and big lifts, there are plenty who are more impressive and more natural than Klokov, and who do not talk badly about other weightlifters. We should be celebrating them.
Ahhhh I just realized Klokov is the Russian Jon North!! I, for one, appreciate your contributions to these discussions. A dissenting opinion, especially one that is well informed, is well received. Very interesting to hear these insider perspectives.
I will continue to watch Klokov videos because they’re entertaining but I appreciate the older ones from when he was a competitive athlete much more. I only wish there was as much material available out there about some of the other athletes as well.
i am with you, this 200kg snatch can be seen – besides an impressive feat of strength – as some kind of political statement, which can be considered sceptical. and there are a lot of less but also some more natural lifters at the wwc who dont get the attention they deserve.
but you have to admit that klokov isnt just talking and showing-off. he also got in some really heavy lifts in international competitions in his career!
I once told Gregor at ATG that I was not going to participate in discussions on ATG because most people will not understand the way the Russian weightlifting leadership and top athletes view Klokov. And most people do not speak Russian, and even those who do speak Russian are not privy to the politics or the context and therefore cannot really understand what Russian leadership or athletes say or why they say it, about Klokov or otherwise. I don’t want to argue with anybody. I know Russian, the politics and the context. I am privy. So if I write something, it isn’t conjecture.
Klokov does have some pretty heavy lifts in competition. The way that you value those lifts depends on your understanding of what Klokov had to overcome (or not overcome) in order to make those lifts, compared to what other Russian athletes, past and present, had to overcome. Suffice it to say that Russians in the know do not consider Klokov to be one of the greats, so all the internet and reality TV hype surrounding him does not impress them or me. Maybe he can get back to a place where he can repeat those big lifts in competition. I hope that he can if he tries to, and I do not judge him for sticking with his crossfit and weightlifting business if he decides that is the more prudent route for him.
With that final thought, I am signing off.
Kevin, just wanted to say thanks for all the information you share. I am afraid most people do not have the mental fortitude to understand or deal with critics and differing points of view. We also know that the “Klokov product” (yes, it is a product) is mainly aimed at the brainwashed western public, particularly those involved in a well-known american “fitness” group/cult. Hence all the marketing hype: this is the stimulus that his target audience has been conditioned to respond to, through extreme exposure to social networks, reality tv, and the like. In a way, Klokov is being a good businessman, perfectly tailoring his product to the relevant market, and following classical business theory. At the expense of disrespecting the sport and its athletes and coaches, unfortunately.
Like you and most people working in the trenches, I am not impressed. But to each his own. The Romans knew what it was all about back in the day: panem et circenses. It’s never gonna change. Thanks again for your insights.
So funny all the negative comments some people have, when it comes down to bare knuckles, I would love to see anyone commenting negativity here snatch 200kg with all the doping they want.
Actually, Dima says in the end, that he planned to snatch 200 in Almaty, after he did 190 in Melbourne.That wasn’t spontaneous…
Welche Kamera hast du benutzt um die 200 zu filmen Gregor? Die Qualität ist unglaublich…
Remember the guy who 2 months ago critized Klokov in these words: “”I’m always ready to lift 195+220″. Blablabla. Klokov is living in the past.”
In your face…
This lift put the “experts” in place.
But here is an idea: since so many people get upset about Klokov and the arguments get recycled, could we create a Klokov discussion FAQ to avoid repetition? I can give a few starters:
1. Klokov should not be allowed in training hall of a major competition. A permission from ATG is needed for that.
2. Anyone can train 8 years alone if you take lesson from a good coach first. Klokov had the best coach in the world. The coach was so good that he transferred all his skills to Klokov while the latter was in his teens, so that in the next 8 years when Klokov was preparing by himself and finally took an Olymic medal, all the merit goes to his coach.
3. Klokov travels in 50 countries within a year. In all those countries he has excellent connections who can procure anything he needs. Even if he does not know them that well in advance, they can be trusted to keep secrets if needed.
4. Klokov tends to cheat a bit in his videos. All other weightlifters lift without straps in practice. What is more important, all other weightlifters are always below their weightclass limit while Klokov is usually a few kilos heavier. Both of these make the lifting easier.
5. Travelling around the world is not as taxing as some people claim. CEOs do it all the time and even they tend to have time to go to hotel gyms.
Your post is unhelpful. Posing FAQs does not make you right, and neither the FAQs nor Klokov’s 200kg snatch (with straps and without doping control) puts “experts” in their place.
Juicing while traveling is not a problem. And if Klokov is Russia’s best — Blablabla — then I suppose he would be competing in Almaty. Strange, then, that he isn’t competing.
Yeah I remember him. He’s still here. Your jimmies seem rustled.
But hey, I see where you’re coming from since Klokov has competed again and put up a 200+230 on the platform. OH WAIT, he didn’t.
He last competed in the 2013 RC and was beaten to third.
Hey remember when Okulov snatched 190 and Rasulov did 195 and both came very close to those numbers in competition? Oh snap, that didn’t happen either.
Klokov was a world class weightlifter. He currently isn’t one yet for business/PR purposes pretends to be anyway.
I eat my words once he steps onto the platform again and proves his worth at the Russian Cup/Nationals or a similar comp. Egg him on to make the Russian team. That would help WL more than your emotional rants.
My emotional rants? Whatever.
Oops. My bad. I thought that was addressed to me, but I read too fast. Haste makes waste.
But I’m (more than less) on your side! 😉
Sorry, I just saw your reply. If you saw my post from this morning, then you know that I don’t really want to continue this conversation.
My main point is that Klokov is now a reality star and, until he proves otherwise, he is no longer a weightlifter because he is not competing and is not subjecting himself to testing. In that sense, snatching 200kg with straps at the Worlds means nothing. It does not qualify him for the Russian team. It does not make FTAR interested in him.
Yes, he is extremely accomplished from the layman’s perspective, and yes, he has lifted some fairly big weights.
I view Klokov from the perspective of Russian elite lifters and leadership. They are my close friends. That is a viewpoint that most people cannot understand.
I mean, really, can you understand it when people are disappointed that Klokov never won an Olympic gold? They are disappointed because they are the elite. They have lifted closer to world records, or they hold world records. And they never had it as good as Klokov had it. (Incidentally, Klokov doesn’t explain this concept in detail, but he does admit to it in an interview a month or so ago that someone took of him. He mentions there that the current FTAR leadership competed in the 1990s when there was no support and no money.) If you managed to achieve an Olympic gold or a world record while starving (relatively speaking), wouldn’t you be disappointed in a guy who promotes himself as the face of Russian weightlifting who never won Olympic gold but had EVERYTHING he needed in order to do so? If you were Syrtsov lifting 412.5kg at 90kg in Barcelona with Olympic testing, while starving (relatively speaking), would you still be impressed with Klokov lifting 428kg at 105kg in Paris with Worlds testing?
Yes, I have known Klokov since 1992. I trained with him at the same tiny gym in Moscow, until I returned to the US in 1998. I have spent time with his father, and gone to the banya with his father. I helped them around when they attended the Olympics in Atlanta. The last time I saw Dima in person was while visiting in 2001. I communicated with him was last year when he was starting his crossfit tour. He was coming to New York, and I proposed that he film a parody of himself as the Naked Cowboy, next to the real Naked Cowboy, on Times Square. I thought it would be funny and entertaining for his fans. He was interested, but he never got me his dates so I never followed up. Then I emailed him after his interview with Lapikov to say that he should not throw jabs at coaches Venkov or Anikanov by questioning the authority of coaches who themselves were not world champions. He did not reply. Venkov competed in the 1990s with no money or support. Anikanov had a Russian junior record in the clean and jerk, and then stopped competing in college because he needed to focus on training Klokov’s father, whom he made a world champion. Did you pick up on Klokov’s jabs? Of course not. But I did, and I called him on it. And there are other jabs that you cannot understand, nor can the Russian translators because are merely translators. They do not know this world.
I do not want to convince you that Klokov is morally bankrupt. I only want to convince you that he is not the be all and end all of Russian weightlifting. I do want you to understand that nobody in Russian weightlifting considers him to be among the greats, not even close. He was a good weightlifter by Russian standards.
There are lots of Russian weightlifters over the years who have snatched 200 in training. If you see them snatching 190 in competition, they have snatched 200 in training with straps.
I agree that snatching 200 with straps requires strength, speed, technique and steroids. It is very impressive, but judging from that particular snatch at Worlds, I would guess that it amounts to 185kg or, at best, 190kg in competition.
About being natural, my point is that some lifters achieve greatness with more pharmacology and some with less pharmacology. You are entitled to not care. But the more pharmacology, the more you are a cheater. Plain and simple. I am not suggesting that any elite lifters are 100% natural. I also do not pretend to know anything about any lifters other than Russian ones, and I do not know everything about all the Russian ones.
I too don’t mind the fact that he’s a celebrity beyond the sport at this point. Be a celebrity. Great. Don’t post videos in the Worlds training hall that are clearly meant to suggest that you are still among the best. (He could have snatched 200 at a seminar or at his home gym. That would have been a statement, but it would have been less “in your face”.) If you are among the best, prove it in competition.
Accountability means competition and testing.
I agree. He’s very charismatic, good looking, and has a very good sense of business. I agree that he has promoted the sport. That was a nice side effect. Now he is seizing on that, as a shrewd businessman would.
Please, no more.
“I view Klokov from the perspective of Russian elite lifters and
leadership. They are my close friends. That is a viewpoint that most
people cannot understand.
I mean, really, can you understand it
when people are disappointed that Klokov never won an Olympic gold?
They are disappointed because they are the elite. They have lifted
closer to world records, or they hold world records. And they never had
it as good as Klokov had it.”
You’re absolutely right, I can’t understand your point of view. Almost no one in the world can. Which is why it sounds bitter and hostile, because it is colored by your knowledge of behind the scenes politics, which most people are not privy to, and which I don’t care for at all.
I’m a layman who started lifting as an adult. I’m from a country which will never have the kinds of lifters Russia does. The very elite of lifters in my country barely made it into group C this year, our best lifter bombed out in the C&J. But to me that is still very impressive. I would be astounded if one ever made it to group A, and I absolutely do not expect anyone to ever win a medal. And that’s fine with me. I’m not so obsessed with winning, and I’m not particularly concerned with the relationship between sports and nationalism. I find it mostly obnoxious, to be honest.
To me, sports are about more than that. It’s certainly interesting to see who’s on top this year, who holds the world record, but I’m much more interested in increasing my modest (to put it nicely) snatch by a few kilos. Having a good time at the gym. Watching entertaining youtube videos. And yes, big lifts in international competitions. But to me, those lifts mean less if I know nothing about the athletes themselves. Currently I care more about other people at my gym increasing their modest lifts than I do about most lifters on international platforms. But Klokov has done a lot to introduce the general public to a great many lifters.
Sure, he’s cashing in on his popularity right now, but so what? I certainly would. But then, to me a world champion and olympic silver medalist is an impressive individual. To you, and your inner circle, he’s not. And that’s ok. I realize that because over the years Russia has had so many great lifters, Klokov probably wouldn’t stand out based on his lifts alone. And that’s fine with me. It’s not ok with you, and that’s ok. But I still can’t get over the fact that to you 200kg with straps at a gym is not that impressive. Literally, how many people can do that right now? I’d actually like to know, since you probably do know. There are not that many lifters that I know of who have done 190 in competition. These are very rare individuals. But maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe we just have a very different idea of what “many” means.
I wish I had the self-discipline to not read these comments. Because from my point of view most of this poignant insider criticism just feels like someone is pissing in my cereal.
We come from such different worlds that I agree it is pointless to
keep arguing about this. We can just agree to disagree on whether Klokov
is impressive or not, whether he is a great athlete, whether he has
done good things for the sport, etc. We can also agree to disagree on
what makes the sport fun or fascinating. I’m totally fine with that.Or, well, at least I try to be.
Dang, there are some people who are really jealous of Klokov. Steroids or not, there are very few people who can snatch 200kg with straps–especially with such a sporadic training schedule. Some of you are way more interested in the politics than the lifting.
you fit exactly in the brain-washed western public category..context is everything. Here the context is that he is doing it in-front of the Russian team and other athletes in the training hall trying to make a statement where there is none to be made.And it is disrespectful to athletes. And how do you know that not many people can’t snatch 200 kg on steroids. just because it is not on YouTube?
Thanks Juho, for further explaining my position.
@Kevin: I don’t deny that you have valid critism, but can’t we just take the video for what it is that is an impressive snatch lift? He doesn’t speak in the video. He lifts. You are right. Most of us don’t know the politics in the Russian wl federation. And I am happy I don’t. I just enjoy lifting (actively and as spectator) and I like to see on ATG some great lifts and not only world records.
What bothers me about your statements is that you suggest we people in the west would all assume Klokov is currently the best Russian lifter. I don’t think anyone said that here. His popularity is of course also due to his looks and charisma. That is nothing bad.
He even himself stated that he can preserve his snatch rather well, but his C+J is nowhere near his alltime bests and needs much more work.
Could he come back and beat the current lifters? Who knows? I doubt it, but it would be interesting to see. But here starts again a very dumb discussion about things that we can’t know.
What we do know is that he just snatched 200 kg. And I was impressed by that. Nothing more. Nothing less.
And one more point about Klokov. He is not an active wl anymore (at least not now), but he won the world’s and a silver medal at the olympics. That is not like those dumb discussions about certain american youtube lifters who don’t deliver when it counts. He was definately a very succesful lifter.
To Leon, Steve and Juho. I agree. I said in my post(s) that snatching 200kg is very impressive. I agree that Klokov has promoted the sport, and I too am sometimes entertained by him. I guess that I am not communicating my main points very clearly. Without re-reading my previous posts (and therefore I am shooting from the hip), I guess there are two points.
First, it is unfortunate that some fans/the ATG community pay so much more attention to Klokov compared to other lifters who overcame a lot more than Klokov and whose statements are more sportsmanlike. But I fully acknowledge that Klokov gets the attention because he puts himself out there in the media much better than other top lifters, which is a result of his current focus on business and marketing. Nothing wrong with business and marketing. Man’s got to make a living, but he could do so respectfully and humbly.
Second, his snatch is a media stunt. It is impressive, and it is more impressive considering his age and travel. It is no indication that he can currently snatch 200kg in competition (I am not aware that he has ever snatched 200kg in competition) or anything near it because there is no doping control (and, less important but not insignificant, he uses straps). It is disrespectful of current lifters, particularly Russian lifters at the Worlds. And somebody (Vagnhoefdi? Leon?) asked/posited how he gained access to the Worlds training hall, and I provided an answer.
By the way, I cannot recall where I wrote it, but it bothers me that Klokov does seminars because I fear that he is ruining his prospects, if any, for Rio. In fact, I think Gregor wrote that Klokov recently injured himself. If Klokov truly intends to make a run for Rio, he might have been better off resting after London just like Ilyin did. In any case, this isn’t criticism. It’s love.
Speaking of love, Steve, I am not jealous of Klokov. Maybe I do not write my posts carefully enough, but my emotional position is more like a close uncle (incidentally, he used to call me Dyadya Kevin when I first met him in 1992…he was a kid and Russian kids often call their parents’ friends as uncles or aunts) shaking his head in disappointment because he sees Dima making mistakes that he doesn’t need to make, mistakes that burn bridges and hurt his prospects.
P.S. If my posts displease you, you do not need to read them.
P.S. If I am disappointed with Klokov (or if FTAR leadership is disappointed), that does not mean that lifters who are not on his level (or anywhere near it) are underachievers or are not deserving of being called lifters. My posts give background and context on Klokov and nothing more.
Was it just me or was that a really fast drop? He really shot under that bar and got about as deep as his other heaviest snatches on video.
Also, He seemed pretty strong today with his jerks he posted.
I am a 52yr old that enjoys following Klokov and use all top lifters, current and former, as motivation for me to continue to train. One question I have, how many of the people ripping on Klokov can even snatch 1/2 of what he did? This sounds like a bunch of jealous wannabes. Next time any of you snatch 200kg be sure to post it on ATG for all to see.
very strange reasoning.
snatching 200kg is incredibly strong. however (without specific reference to klokov): it doesnt mean you are infallible in all other aspects of life. and one’s maximum snatch is no general measurement of what he says.
“Klokov was a great lifter.”
Yet another expert. In mens’s heaviest category (105+) only two (2) lifters snatched more than 200 kg. I bet they did not travel 200 days a year coming to the event. Those guys were at least 40kg heavier. If a 200 kg snatch is not considered a great lift, then what is?
I’ll add one more line to the FAQ:
Anyone can add 40% to his snatch by using straps.
Maybe we should just respect the numbers and not get emotional on who lifts them.
snatching 200 kg is not an indication of strength as much as C&J’ ing 240 KG is…So do not call him a strength based lifter..
Yeah, 200 kg is peanuts.
But seriously though, I’m not calling him a strength-based lifter because of his snatch numbers. Nor was I trying to argue that he won his medals because of strength and not technique. Of course his technique is superb. He’s also not as strong now as he was in his peak. But he is not as fast some other, more speed-oriented lifters. Klokov is a lifter who has immense strength, which is what he uses to power his olympic lifts.
You could roughly say there are two types of lifters, ones that are very fast and capable of producing lots of power, that may not be insanely strong in the squat or deadlift or press, but can get the most bang for their buck out of their lifts. Klokov, on the other hand is someone who has trained in a way in which he has to have strength levels above his olympic lifts to compensate for his relative lack of speed (and perhaps power as well). It may also be because he is relatively fast naturally, that he’s been able to focus on strength so much without his lifts suffering.
That’s the impression I’m under, anyway. You can feel free to disagree. And of course that’s a very rough generalization, and many lifters fall somewhere in between.