Antonio Krastev

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 220 kg.[1] Krastev's record was no longer official after the restructuring of the weight classes in 1993 and 1998.[2]

Olympic medal record
Representing  Bulgaria
Men's weightlifting
World Championships
1982 Ljubljana+110 kg
1983 Moscow+110 kg
1985 Södertälje+110 kg
1986 Sofia+110 kg
1987 Ostrava+110 kg
European Championships
1982 Ljubljana+110 kg
1983 Moscow+110 kg
1984 Vitoria+110 kg
1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt+110 kg
1987 Reims+110 kg
1988 Cardiff+110 kg
World Cup Final
1986 Melbourne+110 kg
World Cup
1983 Varna+110 kg
1986 Dobrich+110 kg
1987 Pazardzhik+110 kg
1988 Plovdiv+110 kg
Junior World Championships
1979 Debrecen+110 kg
1981 Lignano Sabbiadoro+110 kg
Junior European Championships
1979 Debrecen+110 kg
1981 Lignano Sabbiadoro+110 kg
Balkan Championships
1982 Ankara+110 kg
1986 Plovdiv+110 kg
1978 Athens+110 kg
Danube Cup
1987 Budapest+110 kg
Bulgarian Championships
1982 Varna+110 kg
1983 Varna+110 kg
1984 Varna+110 kg
1986 Kardzhali+110 kg
1987 Yambol+110 kg
1980 Sliven+110 kg
Bulgarian Junior&Youth Championships
1981 Vidin+110 kg
1980 Plovdiv+110 kg
1979 Sliven+110 kg
1978 Haskovo+110 kg
1977 Targovishte+110 kg
1976 Knezha100 kg

Life

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
Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
World Championships
1981 Lille, France+110 kg185--------
1982 Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia+110 kg200242.5442.5
1983 Moscow, Soviet Union+110 kg1905237.5427.5
1985 Södertälje, Sweden+110 kg202.52354437.5
1986 Sofia, Bulgaria+110 kg215245460
1987 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia+110 kg2162454460

World records
  • 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]
gollark: There was the milgram obedience experiment or whatever it is. Humans love our conformity.
gollark: Some humans.
gollark: Although to some extent that's humans anyway.
gollark: Perhaps you would end up with the AIs learning to distinguish training scenarios from not training scenarios, and being awful all the time when not monitored.
gollark: Narrow AIish things can beat humans on narrow tasks like "playing go" already.

References
  1. "Rio 2016: Weightlifting". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. "Antonio Krastev - Top olympic lifters of the 20th century". chidlovski.net.
  3. Janofsky, Michael (April 22, 1992). "Weight Lifting; An Olympic Dream Is Deferred" – via NYTimes.com.
  4. "THE SEOUL OLYMPICS: Weight Lifting; Team Lifted After 2d Drug Test Is Failed". September 24, 1988 – via NYTimes.com.
  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.
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