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A look back at some of the success and failure stories from the weightlifting events at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games. Subscribe to the Olympic channel: Much of the focus leading up to the weightlifting tournament at the 1980 Olympic Games was on an injury to Russian legend Vassily Alekseyev. The scene was set for the 353-pound giant from Ryazan to make it an unprecedented hat-trick of gold medals in the super heavyweight category after record-breaking triumphs in Munich and Montreal. However an injury originally picked up just before the 1978 world championships in Pennsylvania restricted his chances and he was eliminated in the early stages. Russian lifters dominated, however, with five of the 10 gold medals on offer taken by the home contingent. Kanybek Osmanaliyev and Viktor Mazin took the honours in the now defunct flyweight and featherweight divisions, the former winning by the slenderest of margins on lower bodyweight. Yet it was two Bulgarians who set the competition aligh
