36-year old Vitaly Tarasov (Russia) has proven his world-class grip strength by certifying on the Captains of Crush (CoC) No. 3 gripper.

Tarasov joined this elite group with a powerful performance that suggested he has more gas in the tank, so remember his name and watch for even more down the road.

“I started actively training with grippers in 2021,” Tarasov told IronMind. “In the early days, I saw CoC [grippers] on YouTube, bought a No. 2.5, and managed to close it only with the help of my second hand. By that time, I had already been training for two years.

“I do grip training 1-2 times a week, combining it with arm lifting. I work as a road-marking specialist, and in my spare time I do arm lifting and am ranking in the dynamometer compression competitions,” said Tarasov.

Tarasov is 178 cm (5’ 10”) tall and weighs 89 kg (196 lb.).

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