Viktor Grigoryevich Kurentsov (russian: Виктор Григорьевич Куренцов; 5 April 1941 – 7 April 2021) was a Soviet middleweight weightlifter. He competed at the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and 1968 Olympics and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively.Viktor Kurentsov
sports-reference.com Born in Tukhinka,

Syanno District Syanno District ( be, Сенненскі раён, rus, Сенненский район) is a districts of Belarus, district (raion) in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. Notable residents * Zair Azgur (1908, Maǔčany village – 1995), Belarusian sculp ...

Vitebsk Region Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region (oblast ...

, then part of the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Kurentsov started training in weightlifting aged 18, while serving in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

. By 1964 he became the world top middleweight weightlifter, winning a silver medal at the 1964 Olympics, five world titles in 1965–1970, and seven European titles in 1964–1971. He also won silver at the 1972 European Championships and bronze in 1974. Domestically Kurentsov won nine Soviet titles (1964–70, 1972, 1974). Between 1964 and 1968 he set 18 official world records. After ending his weightlifting career Kurentsov continued to serve in the Soviet Army, retiring in 1990 as a colonel. He then became a politician and was elected to the

Odintsovo Odintsovo ( rus, Одинцово, , ɐdʲɪnˈtsovə) is a city and the administrative center of Odintsovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Western suburb of Moscow. Population: History The village of Odintsovo was established in the late ...

city council. Between 1993 and 1998 he worked at the Russian embassy in Italy and later at the international relations office at the Odintsovo district government. Kurentsov died on 7 April 2021, two days after his 80th birthday.

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* 1941 births 2021 deaths People from Syanno District Sportspeople from Vitebsk Region Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in weightlifting Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic weightlifters for the Soviet Union Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1968 Summer Olympics Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Belarusian male weightlifters {{USSR-weightlifting-bio-stub Soviet colonels Soviet male weightlifters