Technique and methods

The Snatch Technique of World Record Holder Yu. Zakharevich

R. A. Roman, Cand. Sc. (Pedagogy); V. V. Treskov — Moscow State University (MGU)

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1983 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1983), pp. 10–16: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels; figures are the original images.

Material

Film analysis of three snatches by Yu. Zakharevich (100 kg class; height 178 cm, foot 28 cm): 188 kg (1st attempt, record), 192.5 kg failed (2nd) and 192.5 kg world record (3rd). Frames refer to the film sequence, positions to Figs. 1–2; phase times, speeds, angles and bar positions are in Tables 1–5.

Film sequence of Zakharevich's snatch — Film sequence (kinogram): Yu. Zakharevich performs the snatch — twelve frames from the start, through the pull, the explosion and the squat under the bar, to the recovery with the bar fixed overhead.

The 192.5 kg record lift

Start: feet two foot-widths apart, toes slightly out, bar over the metatarsophalangeal joints; hips above knees; trunk 22°, shoulders ahead of the bar, head upright, narrow grip; hips 42°, knees 84°, shins 64°.
First pull (0.5 s incl. lift-off): at 10 cm the trunk is most inclined (17°; knees 110°, hips 51°) and the bar 2 cm closer. His shoulders go up and 3 cm back, then vertically — not in the usual forward arc. At the end: shins vertical, hips 93° (others ≈ 85°), bar just above the knees and 6.5 cm closer.
Knee rebend (0.08 s, whole foot): trunk extension drives knees forward; ends with hips 113°, bar at mid-thigh over mid-foot, shoulders 6 cm ahead of it.
Explosion (0.17 s): body straight and leaning back at the end. The trunk extends faster than the legs, so the bar moves up and back onto the lifter more than is optimal.
Squat under: the arms pull the body under; feet stay down 0.06 s, then move sideways and 15 cm back during a 0.14 s flight while the bar still rises. In the low squat: trunk 61°, knees 22°, shins 48°. The bar path ends in a downward loop; he rises with hips up and shoulders forward (frame 12).

Bar trajectories in three snatch attempts — Fig. 1. Bar trajectory in the snatch — 188 kg (successful), 192.5 kg (failed) and 192.5 kg (successful), with bar speeds and horizontal displacements. p.v. — full leg extension in the first phase of the pull; k.p. — end of the knee rebend under the bar; k.o. — end of the support phase after the explosion. “+” — bar fixed, “–” — bar not lifted. Numbers 1–11 on the right-hand trajectory are the bar positions.

Stick figures of body segments in the snatch — Fig. 2. Movement of the athlete's body segments in the snatch, with joint angles in degrees. Numbers 1–11 are the positions of the body segments; the dashed line shows the average position of the segments (for other lifters).

Comparison of the three attempts

Table 1. Duration of the phases (s)

Barbell, kg	Until the bar leaves the platform	First phase of the pull	Knee rebend	Explosion	Support after explosion	Unsupported phase	Absorption phase	Total time
18*+	0.13	0.33	0.08	0.17	0.06	0.19	0.29	1.25
192.5–	0.15	0.42	0.08	0.17	abandoned the lift
192.5+	0.13	0.37	0.08	0.17	0.06	0.14	0.33	1.28

* The source prints “185+”; the text, Fig. 1 and Tables 2–5 all give this attempt as 188 kg, so the last digit is evidently damaged (read 188).

Table 2. Bar speed in the phases (m/s)

Barbell, kg	After full leg extension	During knee rebend	In the explosion	At the end of support	After pushing off the platform
188+	1.56	1.52	1.85	1.49	1.64
192.5–	1.43	1.36	1.75	abandoned the lift
192.5+	1.49	1.45	1.80	1.43	1.58

Table 3. Joint angles at the boundary positions (degrees)

Barbell, kg	After full leg extension			After the knee rebend
Barbell, kg	ankle angle	knee angle	trunk to platform	shin to platform	knee angle	trunk to platform
188+	90	153	32	80	137	54
192.5–	90	151	34	74	131	59
192.5+	90	151	32	78	134	55

For the successful 192.5 kg lift the article text gives the trunk angle after the knee rebend as 57°; the table prints 55°.

Table 4. Bar position in the phases (cm)

Barbell, kg	Height after full leg extension	Approach to the lifter in the first phase of the pull	Height at end of knee rebend	Height at maximum speed in the explosion	Shift towards the lifter after the explosion, relative to start	Height at end of foot support after the explosion
188+	59	6	68	92	4	106
192.5–	60	9	70	90	6
192.5+	59	7	68	93.5	5	106

Table 5. Bar parameters in the phases (cm)

Barbell, kg	Maximum bar height	Depth of the absorption in the squat	Height of fixation in the squat	Shift of the bar towards the lifter at fixation, relative to start	Backward shift of the feet	Bar centre of gravity from the heel edge
188+	125	7	118	23	18	15
192.5+	124.5	9	115.5	21	15	14

The original prints this table simply as “Table”, without a number; it is the fifth in the series.

Findings

First pull: the same height in all attempts but different times, so the fastest pull (188 kg) had the highest speed and the slowest (the miss) the lowest. Compared with other lifters (knee ≈ 145°, trunk 30° at the end), he extends the knees more and leans slightly less.
Short knee rebend — a hallmark of his technique: the knee angle falls 16–17° in the good lifts, 20° in the miss, against about 25° in others; bar speed drops only 0.04 m/s (0.07 in the miss).
Explosion: with equal time (0.17 s), the good lifts covered a longer path (24 and 25.5 cm vs 20), hence higher take-off speed. Momentum alone would carry the bar only 17.5, 15.5 and 16.5 cm further (to 109.5, 105.5 and 110 cm), short of the 124.5 cm he needs.
Where the extra height comes from:
- After the explosion lifters stay on the platform 0.02–0.07 s, pulling with bent arms; his 0.06 s is long and effective. In the 2nd attempt he apparently sensed a poor bar path and stopped.
- Without this support the bar would slow to 0.83 m/s (188 kg) and 0.88 m/s (192.5 kg); the source labels the second value "2nd attempt", but the matching actual speeds are those of the successful 3rd.
- The push-off from the platform accelerates the bar again — to 1.61 m/s (text; Table 2 gives 1.64) with 188 kg and 1.58 m/s with 192.5 kg, at 109 and 108 cm, enough for 122.5 and 121 cm. So the feet should be moved as fast and energetically as possible.
- The final 2.5 and 3.5 cm come from working on the bar in flight; flight usually lasts 0.15–0.33 s, his only 0.19 and 0.14 s.
Flaw — backward bar path: during the explosion the hips open 39° (113→152°) but the knees only 3° (134→137°); equal extension would move shoulders and bar vertically, which is more efficient. The backward shift (Table 5) forces him to step back in the squat.
Strength — minimal absorption: 9 cm is the smallest drop recorded among top lifters. Lifters of his height usually raise the bar to 132 cm; his 124.5–125 cm is the lowest height ever recorded with a successful fixation, made possible by the short absorption.