Vladimir Golovanov Soviet weightlifter Date of Birth: 29.11.1938 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Vladimir Golovanov

Vladimir Golovanov was a Soviet weightlifter, Olympic champion (1964), and Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1964). He was born into a working-class family and moved to Komsomolsk-on-Amur when he was one and a half years old. Vladimir completed seven years of school here and worked as a mechanic at a factory. In 1957, he was drafted into the army, which determined his future.

It was in the army that Golovanov seriously took up weightlifting, competed in competitions, and extended his service beyond the regular period. In 1962, he was transferred to Khabarovsk, to the Sports Club of the Army. He combined his military service with distance learning in a secondary school, as well as training and competing. In 1964, Vladimir Golovanov joined the USSR national weightlifting team and became the champion of the XVIII Olympic Games in Tokyo. He was awarded the Order of Honor for his achievement.

Golovanov's list of awards includes 25 for his sporting achievements. As part of the USSR national team, he set the world record five times, the USSR record 12 times, and became a champion of the Armed Forces of the USSR and Russia on multiple occasions. In 1971, he graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports at the Khabarovsk Pedagogical Institute and dedicated himself to coaching young athletes. He trained seven international-class masters of sports, including world record holder V. Lysenko and silver medalist at the Moscow Olympic Games I. Nikitin. He also trained 30 masters of sports.

In 1985, Colonel Golovanov retired from the army and was elected as the chairman of the regional weightlifting federation. In 1998, Golovanov revived the children and youth sports school for weightlifting in Khabarovsk and became its director. In 1999, Vladimir S. Golovanov was awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of the city of Khabarovsk."