Everyone loves a good throwback, including weightlifters. Last week, Ukrainian Olympic weightlifter Oleksiy Torokhtiy brought back the split snatch. And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: A snatch from the floor, caught with one leg in front and one behind, just like a split jerk. According to Torokhtiy, 55 years ago, almost all championship weightlifting athletes were using a split snatch instead of the “squat” snatch we know today. He posted his video of a split snatch and challenged his Instagram followers to try the technique themselves and post their videos using #TorSplitSnatch.
Here’s what it looks like when a Olympic Champion tries it for the first time. Not bad huh?
So far, over 100 athletes have taken the bait. Some of our personal favorites include @emerson_lpo_brasil who performed the lift in shades and a Men in Black inspired suit:
Torokhtiy himself reposted this one as well.
Instagram user @rocknrocks_alex tried the split snatch from a high hang position with success:
Representing the Master’s athletes, user @rogerioricardi got the lift done to Gangster’s Paradise – which by the way sounds really weird in slow motion:
Representing the Strongman athletes, user @strongman_archaeolgy performed a split snatch using a 12-inch diameter Strongman log:
Over in Germany, user @derdietrich92 took his split snatch outside:
And in the Netherlands, user @elsavries thought she’d just try the technique with an empty bar, but ended up finding a new favorite lift:
And, not to be outdone, user @scarecrowe1 performed a one-armed split snatch:
Photo from @torokhtiy Instagram
