Nationality Russian Club Kuntsevo Moscow Retired 2006 Event(s) 91 kg94 kg Height 1.70 m | Sport Olympic weightlifting Role Olympic athlete Country Russia Name Aleksey Petrov Turned pro 1994 | |
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Full name Aleksei Aleksandrovich Petrov Olympic medals Weightlifting at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's Middle Heavyweight 83-91 kg Similar People Khadzhimurat Akkayev, Szymon Kolecki, Kakhi Kakhiashvili, Milen Dobrev | ||
Aleksei Aleksandrovich Petrov (Russian: Алексей Александрович Петров; born 8 September 1974) is a retired Russian weightlifter. He had his peak performance in 1994, when he won the European and world titles and set four world records: one in the snatch, two in the clean and jerk, and one in the total. In 1996, he won gold in the 91 kg class at the 1996 Summer Olympics and set his second world record in the snatch. At the 2000 Olympics he finished third in the 94 kg class. His last international success was a European gold achieved in 2002. The Russian Olympic Committee selected younger competitors in favor of Petrov for the 2004 Olympics, partly because of his injuries, excessive weight, and a failed drug test. Meanwhile, his season best was 10 kg higher than the gold medal result at those Olympics.
Petrov graduated from the Volgograd Academy of Physical Education. His weightlifting idol was David Rigert, and his first coaches were his father and elder brother. In 2004 he got engaged, had a daughter born the following year and officially retired from competitions in 2006. In 2009, he became deputy director of sport administration of Volgograd.