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Antonio Krastev

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Antonio Krastev
Personal information
Born (1961-10-10) 10 October 1961 (age 64)
Haskovo, Bulgaria
DiedJuly 9, 2020(2020-07-09) (aged 58)
Minnesota, United States
Weight+110 kg (243 lb)
Sport
SportWeightlifting
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing  Bulgaria
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1982 Ljubljana+110 kg
Bronze medal – third place1983 Moscow+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1985 Södertälje+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1986 Sofia+110 kg
Bronze medal – third place1987 Ostrava+110 kg
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1982 Ljubljana+110 kg
Bronze medal – third place1983 Moscow+110 kg
Silver medal – second place1984 Vitoria+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1987 Reims+110 kg
Silver medal – second place1988 Cardiff+110 kg
IWF World Cup Final
Silver medal – second place1986 Melbourne+110 kg
IWF World Cup
Gold medal – first place1983 Varna+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1984 Budapest+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1986 Dobrich+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1987 Budapest+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1987 Pazardzhik+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1988 Plovdiv+110 kg
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place1979 Debrecen+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1981 Lignano Sabbiadoro+110 kg
Junior European Championships
Gold medal – first place1979 Debrecen+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1981 Lignano Sabbiadoro+110 kg
Balkan Championships
Gold medal – first place1982 Ankara+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1986 Plovdiv+110 kg
Silver medal – second place1978 Athens+110 kg
Moomba International
Gold medal – first place1986 Melbourne+110 kg
Rekord-Meeting
Gold medal – first place1983 Langbathsee+110 kg
Danube Cup
Gold medal – first place1987 Budapest+110 kg
Friendship Cup
Silver medal – second place1985 Erevan+110 kg
Bulgarian Championships
Gold medal – first place1982 Varna+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1983 Varna+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1984 Varna+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1986 Kardzhali+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1987 Yambol+110 kg
Silver medal – second place1980 Sliven+110 kg
Bulgaria Team Championships
Gold medal – first place1981 Kardzhali+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1982 Pleven+110 kg
Silver medal – second place1985 Kardzhali+110 kg
Bulgarian Junior&Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place1981 Vidin+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1980 Plovdiv+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1979 Sliven+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1978 Haskovo+110 kg
Gold medal – first place1977 Targovishte+110 kg
Silver medal – second place1976 Knezha100 kg

Antonio Krastev (Bulgarian: Антонио Кръстев, 10 October 1961 – 9 July 2020) was a Bulgarian super heavyweight Olympic-style weightlifter best known for his 1987 heaviest ever snatch in IWF competition, at 216 kg. This was only equalled by Behdad Salimi of Iran at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and finally surpassed at the 2017 European Championships by Lasha Talakhadze, who now holds the record of 225 kg.[1] Krastev's record was no longer official after the restructuring of the weight classes in 1993 and 1998.[2]

Krastev was a junior prodigy in weightlifting and is a two-time world (1985, 1986) and European champion (1986, 1987). He was also world junior champion in 1981 and runner-up in 1979. Antonio has six gold medals from World Cup tournaments and has a silver medal from the 1986 World Cup final in Melbourne. The Bulgarian giant is also a two-time Balkan champion and a ten-time Bulgarian champion - five for men and five for juniors. In 1987, he won the Golden Boot award for best performance at the European Championships in Reims, France.

Life

[edit]

Krastev was born in Haskovo and was a two-time World Weightlifting Championships gold medalist and two time European Weightlifting Championships gold medalist, but never competed in the Olympic Games; he was originally intended to represent Bulgaria at the 1988 Olympic Games in the superheavyweight category.[3]

Two of his teammates tested positive for Furosemide and the Bulgarian weightlifting federation pulled the rest of the team out of the competition the day before Krastev was scheduled to compete.[3][4] At the time, Krastev was a two-time World champion and two-time European champion, and a heavy favorite for the gold medal.[3]

Antonio Krastev later retired from weightlifting in Bulgaria, and moved to New York City, where he found employment as a nightclub bouncer. He began training, as his own coach, at the Lost Battalion Hall weightlifting gym, and he developed his strength to an internationally competitive level. Krastev applied for U.S. citizenship in order to compete as an American at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, but his application was denied, and he was thus unable to compete. Krastev eventually did obtain his American citizenship and resided in New York State.[5][6]

He died at the age of 58 in a car accident on the night of July 9, 2020, in Minnesota.[7]

Major results

[edit]
Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
World Championships
1981France Lille, France+110 kg1853rd place, bronze medalist(s)--------
1982Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia+110 kg2001st place, gold medalist(s)242.52nd place, silver medalist(s)442.52nd place, silver medalist(s)
1983Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union+110 kg1905237.53rd place, bronze medalist(s)427.53rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1985Sweden Södertälje, Sweden+110 kg202.51st place, gold medalist(s)2354437.51st place, gold medalist(s)
1986Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria+110 kg2151st place, gold medalist(s)2452nd place, silver medalist(s)4601st place, gold medalist(s)
1987Czechoslovakia Ostrava, Czechoslovakia+110 kg2161st place, gold medalist(s)24544603rd place, bronze medalist(s)

World records

[edit]
  • 15 November 1986 Snatch - 212.5 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia[2]
  • 15 November 1986 Snatch - 215 kg Super Heavyweight Sofia[2]
  • 9 May 1987 Snatch - 215.5 kg Super Heavyweight Reims[2]
  • 9 May 1987 Total - 467.5 kg Super Heavyweight Reims[2]
  • 13 September 1987 Snatch - 216 kg Super Heavyweight Ostrava[2][8]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "2021 World Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). International Weightlifting Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Antonio Krastev - Top olympic lifters of the 20th century". chidlovski.net.
  3. 1 2 3 Janofsky, Michael (April 22, 1992). "Weight Lifting; An Olympic Dream Is Deferred". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ "THE SEOUL OLYMPICS: Weight Lifting; Team Lifted After 2d Drug Test Is Failed". The New York Times. September 24, 1988.
  5. ↑ A. Dreschler, The Weightlifting Encyclopedia
  6. ↑ "Shawangunk Journal / Bulgarian Champ Hangs His Hat in Wurtsboro". shawangunkjournal.com.
  7. ↑ "Почина великият български щангист Антонио Кръстев". nova.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  8. ↑ "STRENGTH RECORD, Weightlifting World Records". www.strengthrecord.com. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
[edit]
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