Yevgeny Gavrilovich Minayev (; 21 May 1933 – 8 December 1993) was a Russian

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

who competed for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He won a silver medal at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

and a gold medal at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Career

Minayev started training in weightlifting while serving in the Soviet Army. At his first competition, the 1956 Soviet Championships, Minayev broke the world record in the press, but finished only fourth overall. Yet he was selected for the 1956 Olympics, as a reserve, and won a silver behind

Isaac Berger Isaac "Ike" Berger (; November 16, 1936 – June 4, 2022) was an American weightlifter, in the featherweight division, who competed for the United States at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won one gold and two silver medals. He held eight w ...

; he lost to Berger also at the 1958 and 1961 world championships, but beat him at the 1957 and 1962 world championships and at the 1960 Olympics, in a 9-hour battle. Domestically, Minayev won seven national titles (1957–59, 1961, 1963, 1965–66). He also became European champion in 1958, 1960 and 1962, winning a silver in 1961. During his career, Minayev set 13 world records, nine in the press, one in the snatch, and three in the total.EUGENE MINAEV
chidlovski.net Minayev was known for his insubordination. He refused any coach and often missed training sessions of the national team. Consequently, he was expelled from the team in the mid-1960s despite being a national champion. He retired in 1966 and briefly worked as a weightlifting coach before returning to his native Klin, where he took temporary jobs at farms and mechanical workshops. Minayev left a car, an apartment and his family in Moscow. He spent his last years homeless on the streets of Klin, where he froze to death in December 1993.Другой берег Евгения Минаева
sovsport.ru. 31 May 2003

References

External links

* 1933 births 1993 deaths Russian male weightlifters Soviet male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for the Soviet Union Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics World Weightlifting Championships medalists Deaths from hypothermia 20th-century Russian sportsmen {{Russia-weightlifting-bio-stub