Sultan Rakhmanov

Sultan Saburovych Rakhmanov (Ukrainian: Султан Сабурович Рахманов; 6 July 1950 – 5 May 2003) was an Olympic weightlifter for the USSR who won the gold medal in the super heavyweight class of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Sultan Rakhmanov won the super heavyweight gold medal in 1980 in Moscow when his legendary teammate Vasily Alekseyev was eliminated after he failed three times to snatch 180 kg. Rakhmanov made 6 perfect lifts to score a decisive victory at the 1980 Olympics. He also won gold medals at the World Weightlifting Championships in 1979 and 1980. Rakhmanov's father was Uzbek and his mother was Ukrainian, he was born in Uzbekistan. He trained during his weightlifting career in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. Rakhmanov was a member of the Soviet national weightlifting team for 9 years. His most memorable victory was, of course, the super heavyweight class gold medal at the 1980 Olympics. For that victory, Rakhmanov was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour in Kremlin. After his retirement, Rakhmanov was the Chairman of the International Association of Disabled Sports Veterans. Sultan was an honored President of the Aikido Federation of Ukraine. He also was one of the pioneers of organized arm wrestling in the Soviet Union. Rakhmanov died of a heart attack on 5 May 2003, at age 52.