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Nikolai Andrianov

Nikolai Andrianov
Andrianov c. 1974
Personal information
Full name	Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	14 October 1952 Vladimir, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	21 March 2011(2011-03-21) (aged 58) Vladimir, Russian Federation
Height	166 cm (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Head coach(es)	Nikolai Tolkachev
Medal record Olympic Games 1972 Munich Floor exercise 1976 Montreal All-around 1976 Montreal Floor exercise 1976 Montreal Rings 1976 Montreal Vault 1980 Moscow Team competition 1980 Moscow Vault 1972 Munich Team competition 1976 Montreal Team competition 1976 Montreal Parallel bars 1980 Moscow All-around 1980 Moscow Floor exercise 1972 Munich Vault 1976 Montreal Pommel horse 1980 Moscow Horizontal bar World Championships 1974 Varna Still rings 1978 Strasbourg Still rings 1978 Strasbourg All-around 1979 Ft. Worth Team competition 1974 Varna Team competition 1974 Varna All-around 1974 Varna Pommel horse 1974 Varna Vault 1974 Varna Parallel bars 1978 Strasbourg Team competition 1978 Strasbourg Vault 1978 Strasbourg Parallel bars 1979 Ft. Worth Vault European Championships 1971 Madrid Pommel horse 1971 Madrid Vault 1973 Grenoble Floor exercise 1973 Grenoble Vault 1975 Bern All-around 1975 Bern Floor exercise 1975 Bern Vault 1975 Bern Parallel bars 1975 Bern Horizontal bar 1971 Madrid Still rings 1971 Madrid Parallel bars 1973 Grenoble All-around 1973 Grenoble Still rings 1973 Grenoble Parallel bars 1975 Bern Pommel horse 1971 Madrid All-around 1971 Madrid Floor exercise

Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov (Russian: Никола́й Ефи́мович Андриа́нов; 14 October 1952 – 21 March 2011)^[2] was a Soviet and Russian gymnast.

He held the record for men for the most Olympic medals at 15 (7 gold medals, 5 silver medals, 3 bronze medals) until Michael Phelps surpassed him at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Andrianov is the third athlete (male or female) in cumulative Olympic medals after Phelps's 28 and Larisa Latynina's 18. Andrianov won the most medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics with 6 individual medals and one team medal. Within the sport of Men's Artistic Gymnastics, he also holds the men's record for most individual Olympic medals (12) and shares the male record for most individual Olympic gold medals in gymnastics (6) with Boris Shakhlin and Dmitry Bilozerchev (the latter of which only if you count the 1984 Alternate Olympics). In many other rankings among all-time medal winners at the Olympic, World, and European levels, he ranks very high (for example, he is second only to Vitaly Scherbo in total individual medal counts at either the gold level or any level at the combined Olympic and World levels as well as at the combined Olympic, World, and European levels), easily making him one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time.

Andrianov entered the Children and Youth Sports School of the Burevestnik sports society in Vladimir at age 11. His first international success came in 1971 at the European Championships in Madrid, where he won two gold medals. Between 1971 and 1980 he won many international gymnastics competitions, including the Olympic Games, world championships and European championships.^[1]

Andrianov's first Olympic medal was a gold in the 1972 floor competition. He dominated the 1976 gymnastics competition, winning four golds, including the all-around, two silvers, and a bronze.^[3] These medals included golds in the floor exercises, rings, and vault, as well as a prized gold in the 1976 all-around. His record of four gymnastic golds at a single games stood until Vitaly Scherbo won six other medals in 1992.^[4]

Andrianov took the Olympic Oath for athletes at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the gymnastics competition, he won two more golds, two silvers, and a bronze.^[3] Andrianov's golds in that Olympics were in the vault and team competition, his silvers were in the all-around and floor exercises, and his bronze medal was in the horizontal bar.^[5] He retired shortly after that year's Olympics.^[3]

Andrianov married another famous Soviet gymnast, two-time Olympic champion Lyubov Burda. Together they worked as children's gymnastics coaches, with Andrianov being the head coach of the Soviet national men's junior team in 1981–1992. In 1990–1992 he also coached the Soviet senior gymnastics team, and in 1990–1993 headed the Soviet and later the Russian Gymnastics Federation.^[1]

In 2001, Andrianov was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.^[1] Between 1994 and 2002 he coached the Japan Olympic gymnastics team, on the invitation of his former rival, Mitsuo Tsukahara. Andrianov coached Tsukahara's son, Naoya Tsukahara, and both father and son credit him with raising Naoya's skills and confidence to equip him to compete at the international level.^[6] In 2002 he became the director of gymnastics at the N.G. Tolkachyov Specialized Children and Youth sports school in Vladimir, where he first began the sport as a youth.^[1]

In his final years, Andrianov developed the degenerative neurological disorder multiple system atrophy and in his final months was unable to move his arms or legs or talk.^[7] Andrianov died on 21 March 2011 at the age of 58,^[8] in his hometown of Vladimir.^[9] Russia's national gymnastic team coach, Alexander Alexandrov, called the death "tragic", but stated that he had been ill for a long time.^[9]

• Order of Lenin
• Order of the Badge of Honour
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour
• Medal "For Labour Valour"
• Lenin Komsomol Prize

• List of multiple Olympic medalists
• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of Olympic medal leaders in men's gymnastics

• This article contains information from the website http://www.gymnast.ru/, incorporated into the Wikipedia with permission from its author E. V. Avsenev.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikolai Andrianov.

• Nikolai Andrianov at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Nikolai Andrianov at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
• Nikolai AndrianovatOlympics.com
• Nikolai AndrianovatOlympedia
• International Federation of Gymnastics' Article on Nikolai Andrianov
• A short biography and achievements
• Biography (in Russian)
• IOC 1980 Summer Olympics
• IOC 1980 Summer Olympics
• Obituary Nikolai Andrianov (in Spanish)