Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
On this rainy day on the 2nd of July 2013
We’ve come over to pay tribute to Vasily Alekseyev
The grave is still under construction and everything is being built around with marble
Just like it is supposed to be for a man with such achievements
Soon there is going to be a monument here too,
But for the time being it looks like this
That is why I am going to lay those flowers here and then
Proceed to search for the gym where Alekseyev was training
And it seems to me that this gym is filled with some particular energy
As so many people trained there, so much blood and sweat was left there
My hands are even shaking slightly because I do believe I am going to feel something there
And that’s where we’ll be going
That’s where the memorial will be situated
As far as I heard the project is in process,
And I am sure the memorial will be worthy just like the place
Which was allocated for his grave by the city council-
This is the most central and the best place in the whole of Shakty
He earned it
To be honest I thought that it’ll be hard to find this weightlifting gym
But when I stopped the first random person on the street and asked him
Where the weightlifting gym is, he told me straight away
It seems like everyone in this town knows where the weightlifters train
Here we are- in the “Weightlifting Gym”, I’ll show you around
I am actually here for the first time myself,
And I was surprised at the standard of the gym and equipment here
On my way here I’ve found out about the history of this gym,
There are two gyms here, one that we are in now and the one next door
The gym that we are in now has produced 5 Olympic Gold Medallists,
the one next door also has 1 Olympic Gold from Viktor Tregubov
The rest of the Olympic golds all came from this gym so: Nikolay Kolesnikov, Rudolf Plyukfelder, Vasily Alekseyev and others
Honestly I don’t know what it was like back in the day
But something did change of course, at the very least the barbells and weights weren’t rubber coated
Nowadays it’s all much better quality
However the weight rests may as well be from the old days,
Because as you see the wood is old and really dry,
And I think you don’t need to worry when dropping weights on them
These are the photos of the current champions
They are not as famous as their predecessors from the Soviet era
But, they are also part of the history
This gym holds frequent competitions
City of Shakty takes on competitions of any scale,
It’s all very convenient; the guys perform in one gym and warm up in the other
Let’s have a look what’s in the other gym
Pay at attention to the vaulting horse, it’s not made for small guys
The legs are fully reinforced
I was doing my back yesterday at 80kg but you can put 200kg and this apparatus will still be fine
Hello
“I’ve been told that Klokov is coming over here”
This is the weightlifting World Champion- Bessonov, one of the Shakhty’s weightlifters
Pleasure to meet you
“Your voice is literally like your dads”
“Slava’s voice was also very easily recognizable”
Well, this is the 2nd gym that was opened later after the 1st one as I’ve found out
“This used to be boxing gym, the club, however was so and so”
“And by request of Vasily Alekseyev it was transformed into a gym”
It wasn’t for nothing either, Viktor Tregubov was training in that gym
“We were all mainly training in the other gym, but this one is quite similar”
Ok, we’ll have a quick training session here too then
Try and feel the energy here as I got a feeling it’s not all that simple with this gym
“If you have a look there are leaflets and posters with a lot of info on them”
This gym is alive
It feels like the people are living and breathing weightlifting here, just like the whole city to be honest
As I already mentioned, I was thinking how am I going to find the weightlifting gym?
And the first person I’ve asked has given me directions, everyone knows...