Antonio Krastew

Antonio Krastew
Personal information
Surname:	Antonio Krastew
Nationality:	Bulgaria
Date of birth:	October 10, 1961
Place of birth:	Haskovo
Date of death:	July 9, 2020
Place of death:	Mendota Heights
Medal table

Antonio Krastew (Bulgarian: Антонио Кръстев * October 10, 1961 in Chaskovo ; † July 9, 2020 in Mendota Heights , Minnesota ) was a Bulgarian weightlifter . He was multiple world and European champion and world record holder in super heavyweight .

Career

Antonio Krastew grew up in Sofia and began lifting weights there, discovered by talent scouts from the Bulgarian Weightlifting Association at his school. He soon developed into an excellent lifter and, at a height of 1.80 meters, soon grew into the super heavyweight, which in his day started at 110 kg body weight. During his career he had several coaches. The most important for him was without a doubt Ivan Abadschiew , who had taken over the training of the Bulgarian national weightlifting team in the early 1980s.

He first appeared on the international weightlifting stage in 1979, when he was at the junior world championship in Debrecen in the super heavyweight with 385 kg in a duel behind Mendez, Cuba , 387.5 kg u. in front of Senno Salzwedel from the GDR , 355 kg, took 2nd place. He has not yet made the leap to the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow . His next big success was the victory at the Junior World Championship in Lignano in 1981 . There he won with 407.5 kg (190-217.5) before Kempe, GDR, 385 kg and Didyk, USSR , 370 kg. In the same year he was used at the World and European Championships in Lille . In the two-armed tear he achieved 185 kg there, which earned him a bronze medal. In two-armed thrusting, however, he had three failed attempts with his initial weight, which left him unplaced without a duel.

In 1982 Antonio Krastew had to admit defeat only to the Soviet jack Anatolij Pyssarenko at the World and European Championships in Ljubljana . This achieved in the duel 445 kg, while Antonio Krastew lifted 442.5 kg (200-242.5) and thus remained just behind Pyssarenko. The duel between Pyssarenko and Krastew continued in 1983. At the World and European Championships in Moscow this year , Antonio Krastew only came to 427.5 kg (190-237.5) and had to Pyssarenko, who achieved 450 kg (205-245), and Aljaksandr Kurlowitsch , USSR, the also 450 kg (205–245) achieved, give beaten.

In 1984 Antonio Krastew had got himself back into better shape for the European Championships in Vitoria . He achieved 445 kg (195-250) in Vitoria, but remained behind Pyssarenko, who again lifted 450 kg (200-250). At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , he could not take part because of the boycott of these games by the socialist states.

In 1985 he succeeded in winning the first senior title at the World Championships in Södertälje , where Anatolij Pyssarenko and Aljaksandr Kurlowitsch were banned for doping offenses. He reached there only 437.5 kg (202.5-235), but this performance was enough to win in front of Alexander Gunjaschew from the USSR, 432.5 kg and Manfred Nerlinger from the Federal Republic of Germany , 422.5 kg stay.

In 1986 Antonio Krastew also became European super heavyweight champion in Karl-Marx-Stadt . He achieved 450 kg (207.5–242.5) in a duel. With a torn 207.5 kg, he indicated that he had improved considerably in the two-armed tearing. This was already evident at the 1986 World Championships in Sofia , where he set two new world records in snatch with 212.5 kg and 215 kg. In pushing he achieved 245 kg and was again world champion with the duel performance of 460 kg before Manfred Nerlinger, who reached 430 kg (185–245).

In 1987 Antonio Krastew achieved a new duel world record at the European Championships in Reims with 467.5 kg (215-252.5). In addition, in his third attempt in the snatch, he weighed 215.5 kg, with which he also set a new world record. According to the regulations at the time, however, only 215 kg went into the duel. With these performances he won superiorly in front of Ewgeni Sipko from the USSR, who achieved 445 kg (200–245). At the world championships in 1987 in Ostrava, Antonio Krastew experienced a surprise. The Soviet weightlifting association had pardoned doping offender Aljaksandr Kurlowitsch, and the second Soviet super-heavyweight lifter also presented Leanid Taranenka in excellent form. Kurlowitsch reached in a duel 472.5 kg (212.5-260), which was a new duel world record and Taranenka managed 467.5 kg (202.5-265). Both athletes remained ahead of Antonio Krastew, who achieved 460 kg (215–245) in a duel. Nevertheless, Antonio Krastew managed a sensational performance at this event. When he snapped on his third attempt, the dumbbell was not 215 kg, but 216 kg. Krastew tore this weight and set a new world record. The remarkable thing is that this performance has not yet been surpassed until today (December 2008). Although it is no longer considered a world record due to a weight class reform by the International Weightlifting Federation, it is still the best performance in the snatch that has ever been achieved by a weightlifter.

At the European Championship in Cardiff in 1988 , Antonio Krastew was in no great shape. He reached 447.5 kg in a duel and thus took 2nd place behind Leanid Taranenka, who achieved 462.5 kg (207.5–255), but relegated Manfred Nerlinger, who came to 442.5 kg (185–257, 5) to 3rd place. Well prepared, Antonio Krastew wanted to finally win an Olympic medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul . However, the Bulgarian team caused one of the biggest scandals in weightlifting history at these games, because it turned out that the four first Bulgarian starters at these games, two of which had won the gold medal, were doped and had to be disqualified. The Bulgarian Weightlifting Association then withdrew all of its starters. Antonio Krastew found out one day before his competition in Seoul that he was not allowed to start.

After this disappointment, Antonio Krastew put his weightlifting shoes in the corner and did not contest any more competitions. After overcoming this shock, however, he took part in several competitions in powerlifting. After the political change in the Eastern Bloc countries, he went to the United States in 1991. He worked there a. a. as a bouncer at a New York nightspot before getting a job as a weightlifting coach. At times he also stayed in Canada . In 1994 he was, starting for Ontario, even Canadian champion in weightlifting in the super heavyweight with 340 kg in a duel (150-190). In this competition he weighed a record 171 kg. Antonio Krastew, who by his own admission never intended to return to Bulgaria, lived in St. Paul.

International success

(WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, SS = super heavyweight, at that time over 110 kg body weight)

• 1979, 2nd place , Junior World Championships in Debrecen , SS, with 385 kg, behind Mendez, Cuba , 387.5 kg a. before Senno Salzwedel , GDR , 355 kg;
• 1981, 1st place , Junior World Championships in Lignano , SS, with 407.5 kg (190-217.5), ahead of Kempe, GDR, 385 kg a. Didyk, USSR , 370 kg;
• 1981, unpl. , WM + EM in Lille , SS, after 185 kg in snatch, three failed attempts in pushing; Winner: Anatolij Pyssarenko , USSR, 425 kg ahead of Senno Salzwedel, 417.5 kg;
• 1982, 2nd place , WM + EM in Ljubljana , SS, with 442.5 kg (200–242.5), behind Anatolij Pyssarenko, 445 kg and in front of Bohuslav Bram, CSSR, 420 kg;
• 1983, 3rd place , WM + EM in Moscow , SS, with 427.5 kg (190–237.5), behind Anatolij Pyssarenko, 450 kg (205–245) and Aljaksandr Kurlowitsch , USSR, 450 kg (205–245 );
• 1984, 2nd place , EM in Vitoria , SS, with 445 kg (195-250), behind Anatolij Pyssarenko, 450 kg (200-250) and in front of Senno Salzwedel, 422.5 kg (185-237.5);
• 1985, 1st place , World Championship in Södertälje , SS, with 437.5 kg (202.5–235), ahead of Alexander Gunjaschew , USSR, 432.5 (195–237.5) and Manfred Nerlinger , FRG , 422.5 (185-237.5);
• 1986, 1st place , EM in Karl-Marx-Stadt , SS, with 450 kg (207.5–242.5), ahead of Leanid Taranenka , USSR, 437.5 (195–242.5) and Senno Salzwedel, 420 kg (185-235);
• 1986, 1st place , World Championships in Sofia , SS, with 460 kg (215–245), ahead of Manfred Nerlinger, 430 kg (185–245) and Robert Skolimowski , Poland, 410 kg (187.5–222.5);
• 1987, 1st place , EM in Reims , SS, with 467.5 kg (215–252.5), ahead of Jewgeni Sipko , USSR, 445 (200–245) and Peter Hudeček, CSSR, 405 (182.5–222 , 5);
• 1987, 3rd place , World Championships in Ostrava , SS, with 460 kg (215–245), behind Aljaksandr Kurlowitsch, 472.5 kg (212.5–260) and Leanid Taranenka, 467.5 kg (202.5–265 );
• 1988, 2nd place , EM in Cardiff , SS, with 447.5 kg (202.5–245), behind Leanid Taranenka, 462.5 kg (207.5–255) and Manfred Nerlinger, 442.5 kg (185 -257.5).

EM individual medals

• EM gold medals: 1982 / tearing, 1986 / tearing, 1987 / tearing
• European Championship silver medals: 1982 / pushing, 1984 / tearing, 1984 / pushing, 1986 / pushing
• European Championship bronze medals: 1981 / Tearing, 1983 / Pushing, 1988 / Tearing, 1988 / Pushing

World records

• 1986 in Sofia, 212.5 and 215 kg in the snatch
• 1987 in Reims 215.5 kg in snatch and 467.5 kg in duel
• 1987 in Ostrava, 216 kg in the snatch

swell

• Professional journal Athletics , numbers 7/1979, 8/1981, 10/1981, 7/1982, 10/1982, 4/1984
• Website "www.chidlovski.net"
• Website "sports123.com"

Web links

• Antonio Krastew in Top Lifters of the 20th Century

Individual evidence

1. ^ Antonio Krastew had an accident in the USA. In: Radio Bulgaria. July 10, 2020, accessed July 15, 2020 . 
2. ^ Bulgarian weightlifting champion killed in Mendota Heights crash. July 12, 2020, accessed on July 15, 2020 .