Jaan Talts (born 19 May 1944) is a former Estonian weightlifter. He competed for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively. Throughout his career, Talts won two world and four European titles and set approximately 40 world records.

Biography

As a teenager Talts trained in athletics, in throwing events. He took up weightlifting while studying at the Tihemetsa Technical College of Agriculture and Forestry. In 1967 he became the first middle-heavyweight weightlifter to break the 500 kg barrier in the total, and hence was named the best Soviet athlete of the year. After retiring from competitions Talts coached weightlifters in Estonia, and starting from 2007 headed the Estonian national weightlifting team. Between 1981 and 1988 he served as rector of the Estonian Sports Academy. Since 1989 he works with the Estonian National Olympic Committee in various positions. In 1995–1996 Talts was member of the Estonian parliament

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Just ...

. In 1998 he was inducted into the

International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. The IWF was founded in 1905, and has 192 Member Federations. The IWF President is Mohammed H ...

hall of fame.

References

External links

Jaan Talts at Lift Up
(Retrieved on 24 December 2009). * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talts, Jaan 1944 births Living people People from Häädemeeste Parish Estonian Reform Party politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 1995–1999 Estonian male weightlifters Soviet male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters of the Soviet Union Weightlifters at the 1968 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Weightlifting Championships medalists World Weightlifting Championships medalists