Aleksandr Voronin

Aleksandr Voronin was the first prominent Soviet flyweight weightlifter, becoming the world’s top flyweight in the mid-1970s. Voronin, from Siberia, rose to the Soviet national team in 1974 after winning silver at the Soviet championships. Voronin won Olympic gold in 1976, was World Champion in 1976-77 and European Champion in 1976-77 and 1979-80. He also took silver at both the 1975 World and European Championships. Domestically, in addition to his 1974 silver, Voronin was Soviet flyweight champion in 1975 and 1979 and won the Soviet Cup in 1975 and 1980. During his career Voronin set 14 flyweight world records: seven in the snatch, four in the clean & jerk, and three in the total.

Voronin retired from sports after he was not selected to the Soviet 1980 Olympic team and worked the rest of his life in a chemical factory in his hometown Myski. Voronin died in September 1992 from injuries sustained by falling from his home house balcony when he tried to lower himself to his flat balcony from the upstairs neighbor balcony, using a TV antenna cable, after he had locked himself out of his flat. Since 1993 a memorial tournament has been held in his honor in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo. His son Dmitry also became a weightlifter, who won the 2006 European featherweight title.