POSTED: March 22nd 2011
NewsUpdate
Nikolai Andrianov dies aged 58 - 'greatest gymnast of all time'
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT / Sports Features Communications
LAUSANNE/MOSCOW, Mar 22: International gymnastics is in mourning for Russia's multiple Olympic and world champion Nikolaï Andrianov who has died in his home town of Vladimir, aged 58.
Andrianov swept up more Olympic medals - 15- in men's gymnastics than any other athlete in FIG history. All-in-all, he won seven Olympic gold medals at three different Games – in Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980.
Having grown up in poverty, Andrianov harnessed his personality and will to climb to the top of his sport; a feat which, he would say, "saved my life." He performed his exercises with impeccable technical mastery and hitherto unsurpassed artistic expression.
Andrianov held the overall men's record for most Olympic medals until overtaken by American swimmer Michael Phelps in Beijing in 2008. He is third on the all-time list of athletes with the most Olympic medals behind fellow gymnast Larisa Latynina (18) and Phelps (16).
He retired in 1980 and later Andrianov worked in Japan where he coached Naoya Tsukahara, son of Mitsuo, his long-time adversary and friend. Japan took a team gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Andrianov was inducted into the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Hall of Fame in 2001, widely recognized as the best gymnast of all time.
The international federation paid special tribute to Andrianov in 2006 at the Geneva celebrations marking its 125th anniversary. He is survived by his wife, two-time Olympic gymnastics champion Lyubov Burda, and two sons.
Keywords · gymnastics · Andrianov
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