In 2021, Lasha Talakhadze removed all limits. The Georgian weightlifter, fresh off his second Olympic gold medal, totaled 492 kilograms at the World Weightlifting Championships.
For those in the room, including Weightlifting House founder Seb Ostrowicz, it was “unprecedented for humankind.” Talakhadze was already making a bold case as the best weightlifter alive — by lifting 225 kilograms in the snatch and 267 in the clean & jerk, Lasha rendered his own verdict.
Talakhadze isn’t just the best weightlifter among a cohort of generational greats. He is, unequivocally, the strongest weightlifter to ever live. That’s why we made Lasha the lynchpin of our latest line of apparel and training equipment.
The 492 collection, out now, was made to honor Talakhadze’s radiant career and help you break your own limits. To get it right, we got up close and personal with Lasha.
What did we learn? For one thing, we still haven’t seen him at his best.
Lasha Talakhadze’s Best Lifts
Lasha is, in more ways than one, larger than life. His mythos, built upon a borderline superhuman consistency (he’s missed seven lifts in the last decade) and more gold medals than bars in Fort Knox, inspired the 492 collection.
While working with Talakhadze, we asked him if the world had seen him at his full potential. “I definitely could have achieved more than 492,” Lasha told us. “500 [kilograms] was always the objective, but my ongoing struggles with injuries prevented me from performing better.”
- Bump in the Road: Weeks before the 2022 European Weightlifting Championships, Lasha injured his thigh during a routine training session. He competed anyway, winning with a 462-kilogram total; 30 below his previous international appearance.
Dutiful fans know that Talakhadze has lifted more than 492 in training. Prior to his win in Tokyo in 2021, Lasha posted footage of a 225-kilogram snatch and 270-kilo clean & jerk in the gym. It seemed that the big 500, Talakhadze’s career-long personal goal, was right around the corner.
While finalizing the details of his signature leather belt — one of his favorites from the collection — we couldn’t help ourselves. We asked if he’d lifted anything heavier that the world hadn’t seen yet.
“Indeed,” he told us. “But I’ll reserve the details.”
Lasha Talakhadze: By the Numbers
- 27 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) competition appearances since 2010.
- 26 individual world records since 2016.
- 7 consecutive gold medals at the European Weightlifting Championships between 2016 and 2023.
- 7 consecutive World Weightlifting Championships titles between 2015 and 2023.
- 19 kilograms added to the super-heavyweight total world record.
- 225 kilograms in the snatch, the first four-reds competition snatch in history.
- 267 kilograms in the clean & jerk, the heaviest overhead competition lift in strength sports history.
- 492 kilograms in the weightlifting total — the heaviest of all time.
Will Lasha Talakhadze Retire?
Talakhadze sat out the 2024 World Weightlifting Championships after winning his third consecutive Olympic gold in Paris just a few months earlier. We were frustrated by his absence, since an eighth straight Worlds victory would’ve tied the streak of historic great Vasily Alexeyev.
We can’t blame Lasha, though — ten-plus years lifting on the frontier of human potential takes its toll.
After Paris, Lasha stepped back from full-time weightlifting to focus on his family as well as some dormant political ambitions. On April 3, Talakhadze was elected President of the Georgian Weightlifting Federation, taking over from one Kakhi Kakiashvili.
But he hasn’t ruled out a comeback. “I’m not saying it’s over yet,” Lasha told us. “It depends on my physical, and mental, condition.”
- Winner Take All: Lasha has remarked on his intent to maintain an unblemished competition record. If he believes he can win, we’re betting we’ll see him on stage at Europeans next year on his home turf in Batumi, Georgia. He set three world records there in 2019.
What’s In the 492 Collection?
Paying homage to the heaviest total in weightlifting history, and the man behind it, was a go-big-or-go-home undertaking for us at Weightlifting House. Lasha himself was our secret weapon, helping us select and test our latest equipment and apparel.
Here’s what you’ll find in the 492 collection; durable design, intricate Team Georgia patterning, and eye-popping color.
Whether we see the Georgian giant on stage again or not, Talakhadze’s legacy will endure. “You should aim high,” Lasha told us when we asked him what advice he has for other weightlifters. “Nothing is impossible.”
The 492 collection represents the heart of what weightlifting is all about — breaking barriers and removing limits.
Get yours and wear a piece of weightlifting history before it’s gone.
