Reader Chris let me know about several Russian lifters who have come over to the US and are now living in the Boston area.
Their names are Nikita Durnev and Vasiliy Polovnikov.
They are training and coaching at the Boston Weightlifting Club (Like’em on Facebook).
Nikita came up through the youth system in Russia, was awarded master of sport as a teenager.
Vasily Polovnikov was 2nd at the 2008 European Championships (85kg) and Russian National Champion in 2009 as a 94 kg lifter. He is now in the 105 kg class. He is also currently under a 2 year ban for a positive test result.
In the words of Chris: “Their quality as both athletes and coaches is unbelievable.”
So if you are in the Boston Area, and want to get some top notch coaching, it looks like the Boston Weightlifting Club is the place to go.
The guys have set up a YouTube Channel to document their training days and coaching.
Here is a sample video of their first training day, many more to come.
Update: Read Vasiliy’s interview on ATG.
2nd training session with Nikita Durnev, Vasily Polovnikov, Mike Nackoul, Chris Dolan.
Warm ups and heavy clean pulls.
Nikita and Vasily also teach the Olympic Weightlifting classes at Total Performance Sports in Everett, MA on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I like it that they have a poster of Lu Yong winning the 2008 Olympics in the background. Too back he ain’t what he used to be.
Isn’t it quite non sportsman like, and highly questionable to train with banned athletes?