Yakov Kutsenko

Yakov Kutsenko

Personal information
Born	22 November 1915 Kiev, Ukraine
Died	13 August 1988 (aged 72) Kiev, Ukraine
Sport
Sport	Weightlifting
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union World Weightlifting Championships 1946 Paris Heavyweight 1950 Paris Heavyweight European Weightlifting Championships 1947 Helsinki Heavyweight 1950 Paris Heavyweight

Yakov Grigorievich Kutsenko (Russian: Яков Григорьевич Куценко, 22 November 1915 – 13 August 1988) was a Ukrainian heavyweight weightlifter. Between 1946 and 1950 he won two European titles and two silver medals at world championships, both times losing to John Davis. He was the Soviet heavyweight champion between 1937 and 1952, and in 1947 set three official world records in the clean and jerk.^[1][2]

Kutsenko served as the Soviet flag bearer at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was not allowed to compete because the Soviet officials expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal, and Kutsenko never won a world title.^[3]

References