Often small provincial cities are glorified by talented people. This is exactly what happened with the small Kazakhstan city called Zyryanovsk. The athlete Denis Ulanov, who became famous in Kazakhstan, was born here. By his young age - only 23 years old, Denis has already achieved great success and even managed to participate in the Olympic Games.
Denis Ulanov (weightlifting): biography
Ulanov Denis was born on October 28, 1993 in a small Kazakhstan town - Zyryanovsk. A young man was born in a simple family. The father of the future athlete left the family early, his mother worked all her life in the factory, trying to provide Denis with everything necessary.
From childhood, Ulanov, like many boys of that time, wanted to become an astronaut, but fate decreed in a different way. The boy got into the weightlifting section thanks to his friend, who invited Ulanov to study together. Then the very young Denis did not think about the career of an athlete, but the young man was lucky with a coach who was able to discern the potential in him and develop his abilities.
Coached young Denis Ulanova, Ivan Strokatov. Together with the athlete’s mother, the coach guided the boy and taught him how to overcome any obstacles.
The first achievement - competitions in Russia
Now Denis Ulanov is engaged in the team of Ilya Ilyin and represents Kazakhstan at many international competitions, including the Olympic Games. Of course, the first results of the athlete were at regional and regional competitions in Kazakhstan, but it became clear there that Denis has a great future in sports.
Further, the athlete first proved himself at competitions in Russia, in 2015, where the Cup of the President of the Russian Federation in weightlifting was held. Denis took second place, taking a silver medal. It should be noted unusual conditions in which the weightlifter had to speak. The fact is that Denis Ulanov performs in the weight category up to 85 kilograms. However, in Russia there was no such category, and therefore the young athlete had to gain a couple of kilograms up to 87 in order to perform in the category up to 94 kilograms.
Thus, Denis was able to take second place, despite the fact that he himself weighed much less than most athletes in this category. As a result, in the snatch, Denis Ulanov took the weight of 175 kilograms, and in the clean and jerk - 219. His opponent, the Russian athlete Adam Maligov, beat Denis only three kilograms in the snatch.
Gold of Denis Ulanov
The second important milestone in the athlete's life was his participation in the Asian Weightlifting Championship in 2016.
The fight was serious, as 32 states and 258 athletes in different weight categories took part. In his category up to 85 kilograms, Denis Ulanov took gold, lifting the largest weight. 168 kilograms were lifted in the snatch, and 205 kilograms in the clean and jerk.
The main rivals of Denis were weightlifters Su In and Ayoub Mousavi.
It was this achievement that gave young Denis Ulanov a chance to speak at the Olympic Games in Brazil.
Denis Ulanov: Olympics
From the very beginning of his sports career, the dream of Denis Ulanov, like many athletes, was to speak at the Olympic Games. Such an opportunity was provided to the weightlifter in 2016.
After the Asian Championship, Denis got a place in the national team of Kazakhstan and went to Rio de Janeiro. However, the athlete, unfortunately, failed to get the Olympic medal. In the snatch, Denis Ulanov took the weight of 175 kilograms, and in the clean and jerk - 215. In his category up to 85 kilograms, the main rival of Denis Gabriel Synkreyan took the same total weight of 390 kilograms, but was lighter than Ulanov. That is why the bronze was given to him. Denis remained in fourth place, which was very upset. As Denis himself noted, the fourth place is neither this nor that.
However, the weightlifter should not be very worried, since he is still young, and he still has many victories ahead.
Relationship with mom
Like a real man, Denis Ulanov, whose biography is rich and interesting, wants to provide a decent life for his mother and finally give her the opportunity to refuse to work.
The athlete’s mother is very worried about her son, because weightlifting is a very serious and dangerous sport. One small mistake can lead to a great danger to health and even to life. As the woman admits, before she did not think that her son would become a weightlifter, but she always welcomed playing sports. Now she is following his sports career and watching all competitions. Personally does not want to attend them, as she is very afraid for her son and simply cannot bear the sight. According to Elena Ulanova, even at home she does not watch live broadcasts, but looks at the records of the competitions after her son tells her the results.
Like any mother, Elena, of course, is proud of her son. At such a young age, Denis has already won many awards at various levels and managed to travel all over Kazakhstan, was in Russia, Greece, Poland, China and Kyrgyzstan.
Mom monitors not only the successes of her son, but also the successes of his teammates, for example, Ilya Ilyin, who is Denis’s mentor and also performs at competitions. According to Elena Ulanova, all the guys from the team are big workers and only thanks to their efforts they achieve medals.
First trainer
Despite the fact that Denis Ulanov now has a new coach, he does not forget about his first mentor. According to Denis himself, Ivan Mikhailovich Strokatov became for him not only a mentor and coach, but also to some extent replaced his father. Therefore, the first coach is still an authority for the athlete. Before all important competitions, weightlifter Denis Ulanov calls Ivan Mikhailovich and advises. Also after the competition, they discuss together what was wrong and what needs to be improved next time.
The support of the coach, as well as the mother, is very important for Denis.
What does it take to become an athlete of international level?
From the first lessons in the weightlifting section, the coach noticed Denis Ulanov. In a nine-year-old boy, Ivan Mikhailovich noted good coordination of movements, flexibility and jumping ability. In addition, over time, endurance and determination began to manifest. An experienced coach relied on a young athlete, seeing his strong and calm character. The result was not long in coming, after a year of training Denis Ulanov received his first medal in regional competitions. And a little later, at the age of 12, Ulanov became the champion of Kazakhstan among young men.
There was a time in the athlete's life when he wanted to engage in sports. As weightlifter Denis Ulanov himself says, this was in the teenage period when he did not understand why he should work in the gym while all his friends are walking and having fun. My mother and trainer came to the rescue, who nevertheless were able to explain to young Ulanov that his future lies with these trainings. Now the weightlifter is training hard and is moving towards new goals and results.
Of course, in order to achieve heights, any athlete needs a persistent character and iron willpower, however, as you can see, not only this helps in achieving the goal. Sometimes the support of loved ones becomes crucial.
Team Relations
Currently, Denis Ulanov (weightlifting), whose biography is presented to the attention of the reader in the article, is engaged in the team of Ilya Ilyin. He is the mentor and trainer of Denis. According to the young athlete, Ilyin is his idol. Ulanov admires his endurance, desire for victory and the heights that Ilya has already managed to achieve. Admires Denis and the number of world records set by the coach. At the same time, he understands well that such striking results are primarily the result of great work.
Perhaps it is this hard work that gives Ilyin the self-confidence with which he always goes to the next competition, knowing in advance that the desired result is already in his pocket.
