Yuri Vlasov taught all of us that “impossible” is just a word. He was the first person to clean and jerk 200KG, and he inspired me when I met him as a young lifter in 1961. It is because of people like him that I refuse to call myself self-made. 1/

When I was lucky enough to really get to know him later, I was blown away. This man wasn’t just a great lifter - he was a great thinker. He talked about poetry and politics like a professor, and carried around more books than weights. 2/

He told me the power of the body was nothing compared to the power of the mind. He was one of the strongest men in the world and he believed that real strength came from words. 3/

He was truly one of a kind and I hope each and every one of us can find inspiration in his story. I was lucky to know him and I will miss him dearly. My thoughts are with his family. 4/4