From the Instagram account of Russian weightlifting coach Vladimir Safonov comes another insane lift from behind the former iron curtain. Still just 22 years old, 75 kilo lifter Olga Zubova is training through her provisional ban and putting up some insane numbers in the gym. Check out her 180 kilo (!) split jerk off the blocks below. If that’s not a textbook catch, we’re not sure what is.
For reference, the current clean & jerk World Record in the women’s 75 kiloy weight category is 164 kilos, held by North Korea’s Kim Un-Ju.
Zubova is a ~165 pound woman jerking ~396 pounds.
Jerking a weight off the blocks — in training, maybe a few kilos over competition bodyweight, etc. — doesn’t equate to hitting it on stage, but Zubova’s lift is impressive nonetheless. In training, she’s also been filmed hitting 160 kilos for a double jerk (below).
Olga Zubova and Vladimir Safonov, jerk 160kg x 2
A video posted by VLADIMIR SAFONOV (@vladimir.safonov) on
Olga Zubova has immense talent, ridiculous speed, and insane strength — but she’s also been banned for doping twice in the past three years. Zubova earned bronze at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships in Houston, only to have her medal revoked. Due to her provisional suspension (Zubova tested positive for methenolone last year), she will not be taking part in the European Weightlifting Championships, currently happening in Norway.
This was the second time Zubova tested positive for a banned substance; in 2013, she lost her gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships due to a positive result for clomiphene.
In competition, Zubova is a threat to take the gold in the 75 kilo weight class in basically any competition. But her biggest obstacle seems to be making it through testing afterward. Her (likely) absence from the Olympics and other competitions this year certainly opens up a huge opportunity for other competitors in her division.
