Editor's Note: The following interview was excerpted from the July 1973 issue of Strength and Health magazine. Pavel Pervushin was the first great heavyweight of the biathlon era in weightlifting. A Look at Pavel Pervushin It is no exaggeration to say that this broad shouldered, blond haired Hercules is one of the most popular of today's weightlifters. Every time the world record holder, Pavel Pervushin, steps onto the platform he is closely watched by the leading trainers and specialists. Their interest in the 25 year old Leningrad soldier has increased significantly since the decision of the International Federation to abolish the press, in which Pavel was not particularly strong. The indisputable successor to Olympic Champion Jan Talts, Pavel Pervushin corresponds with weightlifting fans. From the GDR someone writes," Send me, please, an autographed photo." From various cities in our own country people write asking Pavel to tell them something about himself - to counsel them on how to become strong. Pervushin opens a letter just received which has a return address of Kafan, Armenia. "I'm happy about your success," writes young Rashid Abdullaev to the world record holder. "I am 15 years old and have trained for five months, and have achieved the third class rating for adults. If possible, tell me how you began in weightlifting." Pavel smiles. "With pleasure. Rashid's age is exactly the right time to join the iron game. I have just one piece of advice for youth : give a little more attention to general physical training , don't get so carried away with heavy weights. I took up weightlifting seriously just slightly later in life than Rashid Abdullaev - I was 16. At that time my family lived in the Volgograd province. My older brother, Nikolai, got me hooked on the sport by his example. Before this time, I was generally interested in sports : when we lived in the Siamzhensky region I did running, high jumping, grenade throwing, shot putting. Every weightlifter must have a sound physical "base" on which to build, and this should be taken into account by all boys who wish to become strongmen. " I started with light weights and and lifted in the middle-heavyweight class. My first big contest was the Junior Championships of the province. I won and and also made the first class rating. I was very satisfied. Shortly afterwards I went into the Army and was sent to serve in Leningrad. And there, at the district championships, I met for the first time my present trainer, XVI Olympic Champion and Honored Master of Sport, F.F. Bogdanovsky. "In that January I made a total of 887.5 pounds in the three lifts, but by March it had jumped to 981 pounds. That was a decent jump. That is what experienced guidance will do ! In 1967 the National Junior Championships tested my strength. It didn't turn out too well since I won eighth place, but I did not let myself become disappointed. One must not become disappointed - one must work, one must train ........ "In 1968-1969 my results "grew up" a wee bit, but there were no particular successes. Then in 1970 things started happening. Fedor Fedorovich and I considered third place at the USSR Cup in Dnepropetrovsk to be very good. In 1971 at the National Spartakiad Games I was second best to Yuri Kozin. In 1972 at the National Championships I lost to Jan Talts. In both of these years I lost the National Cup. That is all of my titles for the present. I have yet to become an absolute champion. True enough, I have nade nine world records, the last of which was a 387.75 pound snatch at Tashkent in March. Q. It is apparent from your correspondence with weightlifting enthusiasts that they are interested to know how you went so fast from a three lift total of 1014.1 to 1173.9, and how you now made comparatively easy made a two lift total of 865.3 A. "The reason is simple - I developed a sensible approach to training. It used to be thus : there was no trainer (he might have gone somewhere or taken ill), and in his absence I would literally swarm around heavy weights. At that time I thought it was the only way to get results.It turned out to be the other way around. I put on the brakes so to speak ....... the main thing is regular training and a most strict regimen. "We now say : the modern weightlifter must have "fast strength". It is no accident that we are "light"(my normal weight is 231.5 to 233.7) since we do jumping exercises, play volleyball, throw the shot in different ways, and do 30 to 50 meter speed runs. Recently, while performing at T&F competition at the University where I am a first year student, I threw the shot 47.4 feet. My personal record in the 100 meters is 12.4 seconds." Q. Pavel, what do you think of the words of Jan Talts in his interview with the correspondent of the journal "Youth" in the December 1972 issue where he said, "Pervushin never had an outstanding press. But now he will be number one. Could I give him a battle ? If I wanted to, I think I probably could. But as for me, I feel I've had enough. Yes, I think I will stop. That's not absolutely definite, but most likely." A. "Frankly speaking, I - like my fellow teammate, wrestler Anatloy Roshchin - am bothered by 'being second'. But without Talts, things would be dull. Jan will probably not abandon the lifting platform abruptly. It would not be his nature to drop out without a fight. And besides, Kozin, Yakubovsky, and Utsar all would like to be first. It is not a rare occasion when I am asked about what Bogdanovsky and I are contemplating for the future in the way of totals. It is better to do something than to talk about doing it, but we do have plans for the future, naturally. It is necessary to inaugurate the "400 club" in the total in the heavyweight class. I am working assiduously on my jerk: my thrust from the chest is still not what I want it to be. In connection with the introduction of the two-lift total, everybody, and I mean absolutely everybody, is searching for new methods. Q. What does your brother do now - the one that you said was your first trainer ? A. "Nikolai (he is three years older than me) has gone through a geological survey institute and works in Zelinograd province. In the city of Shantube he organized a beginning weightlifting club where he trains boys, but he no longer intends to get the Master rating." Q. If we supposed that you had a tremendous press, wouldn't you be displeased with the elimination of this element of competition ? A. "By no means. In the first place, weightlifters have always been victimized by back injuries because of this lift (everyone tried to press as much as possible of course). And in the second place, the officiating: one man considers a lift to be good, another considers it not good. As a result, there was all kinds of confusion and grudges. No, it is much more convenient and much better without the press - objectivity should take a front seat." Q. Some young fellows are being scared away by the enormous weights which are being conquered by today's athletes. A. "It is useless to become frightened. I always answer those who write me or express such fears aloud: There is no need to be afraid of the ultra high results being made today. They are being done by individuals who at one time began from scratch. So, the point is to train and to train very earnestly !" Q. One last query: What are your competitive plans for 1973 ? A. "In the second half of April, I will participate in the National Championships. Perhaps I'll catch the European Championships and the World Championships ................ in general, I will try to make this season a very good one." Editor's note: Pavel was indeed true to his word. At the 1973 European Championships in Madrid, Spain he became the first heavyweight to total 400kg with lifts of 177.5+222.5 (winning his class by 37.5kg). And then despite having injured his back after this meet, he nevertheless won the world title in Havana, Cuba with lifts of 170+215. Shortly afterward, Pavel seriously injured his hand but (true to his character) still did not give up. He returned in 1976 with lifts of 165+222.5 but he was not selected to compete in the Montreal Games in 1976. This pretty much was the end of his lifting career. However, in the eyes of most experts, had he not been so badly injured, lifts of 190+235 were considered to be within his reach. And those lifts would stand up very well to this very day. Edited by Jim O’Malley