Zhabotinsky Leonid Ivanovich - the legendary Soviet (Ukrainian SSR) weightlifter, who performed in heavyweight. In this article we will talk about the personal life and sports career of this outstanding athlete. Want to learn more about Leonid Zhabotinsky? Then read this article!
Leonid Jabotinsky: biography
Leonid Ivanovich Jabotinsky is a cult Soviet athlete whose achievements are very difficult to overestimate. The Ukrainian weightlifter set a lot of world records, received a whole bunch of awards. Why, there once, the “iron Arnie” himself admitted that Leonid Zhabotinsky was a real idol for him, an example to follow. After reading this article, you will learn the history of this legendary Soviet athlete.
Childhood
The legendary Soviet athlete was born on January 28, 1938 in the Krasnopolsky district in the village of Uspenka, Kharkiv (currently Sumy) region. The father of the future athlete is Ivan Filippovich Zhabotinsky, his mother is Efrosinsya Danilovna Severina (maiden name). In addition to Leonid, there was another son in the Jabotinsky family - Vladimir. In 1941, the family moved to Kharkov. There, until 1943, they successfully survived the German occupation.
In his youth, Leonid was fond of a wide variety of sports. Jabotinsky managed to try himself in boxing, and in athletics, and even in wrestling. Having received education (7 classes), Leonid went to work at the Ordzhonikidze Tractor Plant (Kharkov). In parallel with this, Leonid was engaged under the strict guidance of the well-known coach M.P. Svetlichny. And in 1957, the weightlifter entered the Kharkiv State Pedagogical Institute named after Grigory Skovoroda. Zhabotinsky Leonid Ivanovich graduated in 1964.
First achievements
In 1957, taking part in the championship of Ukraine, Jabotinsky first performed in weightlifting. Despite inexperience, the athlete took bronze with a result of 415 kilograms in the amount of triathlon. After some time, Leonid received the prestigious title of master of sports in shot put. And already in 1961, taking part in the USSR championship, Zhabotinsky managed to remove from the stage the favorite and Olympic champion Yuri Vlasov. It was then that Vlasov said his legendary phrase: "The time will come, you will take me out of sports."
Olympics in Tokyo
The Olympics in Tokyo is certainly the peak of a career and the main achievement of a Ukrainian athlete. It was there that the long-awaited meeting of Jabotinsky and Vlasov took place. These two weightlifters have long been considered the strongest people on the planet, so watching their skirmish was much more interesting. On October 18, 1964, during the competition, the giant Sibuya hall could not accommodate all the spectators who wanted to see the duel between two Soviet athletes. Many did not even take into account the American weightlifter Norbert Sheman. Everyone understood that the struggle for gold and the title of the strongest man in the world would unfold between the triumphant Vlasov and his main rival, Leonid Zhabotinsky.
The Ukrainian weightlifter went to his first Olympiad, already being the world record holder. However, before the competition Leonid Zhabotinsky was injured. And the athlete weighed 18 kilograms more than his opponent.
The opposition of the athletes was very spectacular. Initially, Jabotinsky was inferior to Vlasov. However, the fate of gold was almost a foregone conclusion: Leonid accomplished the impossible. In the last exercise, the Ukrainian weightlifter set a world record and thereby secured a victory. The next day, local newspapers were full of headlines of the following plan: "Who did not watch the confrontation between Vlasov and Jabotinsky did not see the Olympic Games." During the parade in honor of the closure of the Olympics-64, a Ukrainian athlete carried the USSR flag despite an injured arm.
Further activities
Leonid Zhabotinsky consolidated his success at the next Olympics, which was held in Mexico City in 1968. The legendary weightlifter in the total triathlon was able to get ahead of the silver medalist by 17.5 kilograms. In addition, Leonid set Olympic records in the bench press (200 kilograms) and jerk (170 kilograms).
From 1969 to 1973, Jabotisny suffered a very serious illness. It even came to the operation. But despite the state of health, the weightlifter managed to return to big sport. In 1973, Jabotinsky won the championship of the USSR and at the same time set another world record. In 1974, the athlete participated in the championship of the Armed Forces. It was there that the Ukrainian weightlifter set his last record (a jerk of 185.5 kilograms).
For several years, Zhabotissky worked as a coach of the Armed Forces team. During 1987–1891 he was a military adviser in Madagascar. From 1996 to this day, Zhabotinsky has been working as vice-rector for security and educational work at MIPP (Moscow Institute of Entrepreneurship and Law). For his busy life, Leonid Zhabotinsky received a lot of prestigious titles, titles, awards, etc.