Mukharby Kirzhinov

Mukharby Kirzhinov took up weightlifting at age 15 under a former Soviet champion, Khadzheby Dzegashtov, who was born and lived in the same village as Kirzhinov. Kirzhinov was selected to the Soviet national team in 1971 after he moved to Moscow and started to train under Vladimir Stogov. In addition to his 1972 Olympic lightweight title, Kirzhinov also won World lightweight titles in 1972 and 1973 and European lightweight titles in 1973 and 1974.

He also won bronze at the 1971 World Championships and another bronze at the 1972 European Championships. Domestically, Kirzhinov was Soviet lightweight champion in 1971 and 1973-75, while taking silver in 1972. He also won the Soviet Cup in 1972 and set seven lightweight world records: one in the snatch, two in the clean & jerk, and four in the total. After finishing his sporting career Kirzhinov, who graduated Saratov Technical Institute with a mechanics degree, worked as a biomechanics professor with the Adygeya State University.