Nikolai KOLESNIKOV

Nikolay Kolesnikov from Tatarstan took up weightlifting in 1970 while serving in the Soviet Army in Shakhty, Rostov, where he trained under Rudolf Plyukfelder and was selected to the Soviet national team in 1974. During his career Kolesnikov won Olympic gold in 1976, was World Champion in 1976-78, taking silver in 1974-75, and was European Champion in 1976-79, taking silver in 1975. Kolesnikov was also Soviet featherweight champion in 1975 and 1977-79, taking silver in 1976, and won the Soviet Cup in 1976-77. Kolesnikov set eight featherweight world records: six in the clean & jerk, and two in the total.

Kolesnikov finished his sporting career in 1980 when he was not selected to the Soviet Olympic team. From 1978 Kolesnikov worked as a militsiya operative with the special militsiya unit in the interior ministry of the Tatar ASSR in Kazan and, in 1983, Kolesnikov graduated from the Kazan Police Academy. At the end of the 1990s Kolesnikov returned to weightlifting as a coach and in the 2000s he was head coach of the Russian national junior weightlifting team. His daughter Anastasiya Kolesnikova became a gymnast who won silver at the 2000 Olympics in the team event.