[Illusion]

A few weeks ago, back when the 2012 London Olympics were still going strong, German weightlifter Matthias Steiner accidentally dropped over 400 pounds on his neck. It was terrifying, obviously, but because Steiner walked away relatively unscathed, the incident didn’t really leave an impression.

What happened last week to Russian weightlifter Igor Golushkin will definitely leave an impression.

Golushkin, 34, was competing in a powerlifting competition when, for whatever reason, the bar slipped out of his hands and dropped straight onto his chest.

As reported by Red Hot Russia (via The Big Lead):

According to eyewitness, the sportsman used unsafe (banned) technique called “open grip” [ed: possibly related to the position of thumb while holding the bar]. Already during the training session he had the weight of 160 kg slipping from his hands, but then spotters managed to hold the bar.

During the competition, however, the spotters did not succeed to catch the bar in time. Everything happened very quickly. With the torn diaphragm and broken ribs the sportsman was brought to hospital.

The worst thing about this is that it was inevitable. How many near-misses did we need to see before folks realized that stricter safety rules needed to be implemented at these contests? Did we really have to watch a 34-year-old man to die in order to understand that people who lift mind-blowing amounts of weight over their heads must be protected from themselves?

It’s too late to do anything for Golushkin now, but hopefully this tragedy will get everyone to open their eyes about how dangerous this sport really is.

[Brometheus]

this is in the death section.. but i like this one better because its shorter and to the point..

IMO the spotter on the left wasnt doing his job.. was probably looking at the guys balls.. he had time to react, like the guy on the right who actually gave a shit.

[isharp88]

Ouch!!! makes me cringe everytime!!

[ices]

He aint dead...I refuse to believe until there is credible evidence.

He was using suicide grip which is the preferred term for 'open' grip.

[Brometheus]

remember this guy?


well its pretty much the same thing.. only I find the weight lifting one easier to believe.. we have way more evidence. death from within, in both cases.

[kizzcee007]

yeah and offering him a drink of water will sort out the damage!

[kellyhound]

helper on the left was standing there like a statue

[ices]

Originally Posted by Brometheus ↗

remember this guy?


well its pretty much the same thing.. only I find the weight lifting one easier to believe.. we have way more evidence. death from within, in both cases.

They look the same but they're not.

A bench press with a barbell has the weight on the sides and the barbell can whip or bounce. Notice how it bounced in the video?

There are lots of bench accident videos with the exact same result and there are heavier weights involved.

The driver was hit by a fast moving object traveling at high speed which impacted into his body.

They don't even compare really.