Yevgeny Ivanovich Lopatin (December 26, 1917 – July 21, 2011) was a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 weightlifter who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics

1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...

 in Helsinki, where he won a silver medal in the lightweight division. He was born in Balashov and took up weightlifting in 1937 as a way to regain his health many years after suffering malnourishment during the Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

. His success in local and regional tournaments was interrupted by World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, where he fought in the Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...

. He was injured during the course of the conflict and temporarily lost the use of his left hand. He spent the rest of the war recovering as a coach and teacher at a military school.

After the conflict Lopatin resumed his weightlifting career and reigned as the Soviet featherweight champion in 1947, 1948, and 1950, finishing as runner-up in 1945, 1946, and 1949, and in third place in 1951. He took silver in the division at the 1947 European Weightlifting Championships

European Weightlifting Championships

European Weightlifting Championships is an annual event organised by the European Weightlifting Federation . It has been held since 1896. A separate event for women was held from 1988 to 1997, after which both championships have been held as one event....

 in Helsinki and gold in the same event at the 1950 edition in Paris. That same year he took silver in the featherweight division at the World Weightlifting Championships

World Weightlifting Championships

World Weightlifting Championships is an event organised by International Weightlifting Federation .It has been held since 1891. In March 1891, competing against champions from Brussels, Hamburg, England, Vienna, Italy, and Berlin in a three-day event, Edward Lawrence Levy of England won the first...

. As competition in the featherweight field grew, Lopatin switched to the lightweight division and once again became the Soviet champion prior to his attendance at the 1952 Summer Olympics, after which he announced his retirement from active competition. He worked as a coach at Dynamo Stadium in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

from 1949 through 1998. He died on July 21, 2011.