Nikolai Andrianov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 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)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Head coach(es)	Nikolai Tolkachev
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 1972 Munich Floor exercise Gold 1976 Montreal All-around Gold 1976 Montreal Floor exercise Gold 1976 Montreal Rings Gold 1976 Montreal Vault Gold 1980 Moscow Team competition Gold 1980 Moscow Vault Silver 1972 Munich Team competition Silver 1976 Montreal Team competition Silver 1976 Montreal Parallel bars Silver 1980 Moscow All-around Silver 1980 Moscow Floor exercise Bronze 1972 Munich Vault Bronze 1976 Montreal Pommel horse Bronze 1980 Moscow Horizontal bar World Championships Gold 1974 Varna Still rings Gold 1978 Strasbourg Still rings Gold 1978 Strasbourg All-around Gold 1979 Ft. Worth Team competition Silver 1974 Varna Team competition Silver 1974 Varna All-around Silver 1974 Varna Pommel horse Silver 1974 Varna Vault Silver 1974 Varna Parallel bars Silver 1978 Strasbourg Team competition Silver 1978 Strasbourg Vault Silver 1978 Strasbourg Parallel bars Silver 1979 Ft. Worth Vault European Championships Gold 1971 Madrid Pommel horse Gold 1971 Madrid Vault Gold 1973 Grenoble Floor exercise Gold 1973 Grenoble Vault Gold 1975 Bern All-around Gold 1975 Bern Floor exercise Gold 1975 Bern Vault Gold 1975 Bern Parallel bars Gold 1975 Bern Horizontal bar Silver 1971 Madrid Still rings Silver 1971 Madrid Parallel bars Silver 1973 Grenoble All-around Silver 1973 Grenoble Still rings Silver 1973 Grenoble Parallel bars Silver 1975 Bern Pommel horse Bronze 1971 Madrid All-around Bronze 1971 Madrid Floor exercise

Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov (born October 14, 1952 – died March 21, 2011) was an amazing gymnast from the Soviet Union. He is known for winning many medals at the Olympic Games.

Nikolai Andrianov once held the record for the most Olympic medals won by a man. He earned 15 medals in total: 7 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze. Only Michael Phelps (a swimmer) and Larisa Latynina (another gymnast) have won more Olympic medals than him. Andrianov won the most medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, taking home 6 individual medals and one team medal. He is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.

Nikolai's Early Life and Olympic Journey

Nikolai Andrianov started gymnastics at age 11 in his hometown of Vladimir. He joined a special sports school there. His first big international wins came in 1971 at the European Championships in Madrid, where he won two gold medals. From 1971 to 1980, he won many competitions, including the Olympics, World Championships, and European Championships.

Andrianov won his first Olympic medal, a gold, in the floor exercise at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He was a star at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. There, he won four gold medals, including the important all-around title (meaning he was the best across all gymnastics events). He also won two silver medals and one bronze. His gold medals were for the floor exercises, rings, vault, and the all-around competition. He was the first gymnast to win four gold medals at one Olympics since 1924.

At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Andrianov took the Olympic Oath for all the athletes. This is a special promise athletes make to compete fairly. In the gymnastics competition, he added two more gold medals, two silver, and a bronze to his collection. His gold medals were for the vault and the team competition. He won silver in the all-around and floor exercises, and bronze on the horizontal bar. He stopped competing in gymnastics shortly after these Olympics.

Life After Gymnastics

Nikolai Andrianov married Lyubov Burda, who was also a famous Soviet gymnast and a two-time Olympic champion. After he retired from competing, Andrianov became a coach. He coached young gymnasts and was the head coach for the Soviet national men's junior team from 1981 to 1992. He also coached the main Soviet gymnastics team for a few years.

In 2001, Andrianov was honored by being added to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. From 1994 to 2002, he coached the Japan Olympic gymnastics team. He was invited by his former gymnastics rival, Mitsuo Tsukahara. Andrianov coached Tsukahara's son, Naoya Tsukahara. Both father and son said that Andrianov helped Naoya improve a lot and become confident enough to compete internationally. In 2002, he returned to his hometown of Vladimir to become the director of the sports school where he first started gymnastics.

Later Years and Passing

In his final years, Nikolai Andrianov became very ill with a serious condition that affected his nervous system. This illness made it hard for him to move his arms or legs, and he could not talk. He passed away on March 21, 2011, at the age of 58, in his hometown of Vladimir. Russia's national gymnastics coach, Alexander Alexandrov, said his death was "tragic" and noted that Andrianov had been sick for a long time.

Honors and Awards

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

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See also

In Spanish: Nikolái Andriánov para niños