Nicu Vlad

Nicu Vlad

Personal information
Born	November 1, 1963
Medal record Men's Weightlifting Olympic Games Gold 1984 Los Angeles -90 kg Silver 1988 Seoul -100 kg Bronze 1996 Atlanta -108 kg

Nicolae ("Nicu") Vlad (born November 1, 1963 in Piscu, Galaţi) is a retired weightlifter from Romania, who won three Olympic medals during his career. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984.

In 2006 he was elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.^[1]

Nicu Vlad is also the reason for which the flat-backed, semi-stiff legged barbell lift (with a form similar to a deadlift) came to be known as the Romanian Deadlift. As the story goes, he was seen by some American lifters doing the deadlifts in the Olympic training hall prior to either winning a medal, setting a world record or both. Since he is Romanian, the exercise got dubbed the Romanian deadlift, and that is the name most people know the exercise by.

As the exercise does not involve lifting the weight off the ground, it is not technically a deadlift, but rather a powerful compound accessory movement that strengthens the same muscles.

References

• Sports-reference (retrieved on December 1, 2009).

1. ^ "Weightlifting Hall of Fame". International Weightlifting Federation. http://www.iwf.net/iwf/organization/members.php. Retrieved 2009-07-27. 

Persondata
Name	Vlad, Nicu
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Date of birth	November 1, 1963
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