Mikhail Koklyaev

Mikhail Viktorovich Koklyaev is a Russian weightlifter, powerlifter, strongman and boxer. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile strength athletes of all time.

Strongman

Koklyaev has placed third place at the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2006, 2008 and 2013, as well as second in 2009. He was a medalist of all three IFSA World Championships, finishing third in 2005, second in 2006 and second in 2007.
Koklyaev came in second place at the IFSA Strongman World 2-Man Championship, in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2007. He finished third at the 2010 World's Strongest Man contest, but failed to make the finals for the 2012 World's Strongest Man. Koklyaev qualified for the 2013 World's Strongest Man finals, but had to withdraw due to an earlier injury after the first event. He is a 7-time Strongman Champions League grand prix winner, and finished third overall for both the 2010 and 2012 SCL seasons.
Having competed in 50 International strongman competitions and winning 11 of them, Koklyaev is among the 20 most decorated strongmen of all time.

On 20 December 2008, Mikhail totalled 2,149 lbs at a raw powerlifting meet in Chelyabinsk, Russia with a squat, bench press, and a deadlift.
Mikhail won the +125 kg class in the 2012 WPC Raw European Championships on 26 April 2012 with a squat, bench press, and a deadlift.
On 16 December 2012, at the Chelyabinsk region championship, Mikhail had a raw squat of 360 kg, raw bench of 230 kg, and raw deadlift of 417.5 kg, making his raw total 1007.5 kg. His deadlift during this championship remains the heaviest raw deadlift ever performed using a stiff bar.
On Sunday 8 March at the 2009 Arnold Strongman Classic, Mikhail became only the second man in history to clean and jerk the famous 501 lb barbell used by Vasily Alekseyev in 1970.

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Upon retiring from professional strength sports, on 29 November 2019 Koklyaev made his debut as a professional boxer. In his first match he lost to Alexander Emelianenko by technical knockout in the first round. In his second match on February 20, 2021, at the Kings of the Ring tournament, Mikhail defeated blogger Artem Tarasov, known by the nickname "Cyclop", by a majority decision in a 4-round match.

Koklyaev is married and has two children. He also plays guitar and accordion, and enjoys singing.