Vladimir Mikhaylovich Smirnov (russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Смирно́в; born 7 March 1964) is a Kazakh former cross-country skier who raced from the 1982 until 1991 for the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

and, later, for

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. He is the first Olympic champion from independent

and the most decorated Olympian in history of

. He is also a vice president of the

International Biathlon Union The International Biathlon Union (IBU; german: Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of t ...

. Smirnov is a former member of

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

Early life

Smirnov was born to Russian parents in

Shchuchinsk Shchuchinsk ( kz, Щучинск, ''Şuchinsk''; russian: Щучинск, ) is a city in northern-central Kazakhstan, located 75 kilometres south-east of Kokshetau on Lake Shchuchye. It is the seat of Burabay District (form. Shchuchinsk Distri ...

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

. During the Soviet period, he trained at the

Armed Forces sports society The Sports Clubs of the Armed Forces, Physical Culture and Sports Association of the Soviet Armed Forces (russian: спортивные клубы Армии �КА} ''sportivnye kluby Armiy, SKA''; russian: Физкультурно-спортив� ...

Alma-Ata Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...

Career

Smirnov made his debut in the

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

on 18 December 1982 at

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alps, Alpine resort town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, muni ...

in a 15 km race, finishing in a 17th place. His first victory came in 1986, a classic style 15 km in Kavgolovo (URS). Smirnov gained a total of 30 victories in the World Cup, with 21 second and 15 third places. In 1994, he won the aggregate World Cup, thanks to seven victories in the course of the season. At the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship eve ...

from 1987 to 1997, Smirnov totalled four gold (1989: 30 km, 1995: 10 km, 10 km + 15 km combined pursuit, 30 km), four silver (1987: 4x10 km, 1991: 30 km, 1993: 10 km, 10 km + 15 km combined pursuit) and three bronze medals (1991: 15 km, 1993: 30 km, 1995: 50 km). His best result was in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populati ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

(1995), when he won three events. In 1994, he received the Holmenkollen Medal (shared with Lyubov Yegorova and

Espen Bredesen Espen Bredesen (born 2 February 1968) is a Norwegian former ski jumper. Career At World Cup level he won gold and silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer. At the 1992 Winter Olympics, he performed badly, coming last in the nor ...

). Smirnov also won twice at the Holmenkollen ski festival with a 15 km win in 1994 and a 50 km win in 1995. A very regular and effective cross-country skier, especially in long-distance classic style races, Smirnov took part to the Winter Olympics from 1988 to 1998. His best known victory was the 50 km gold medal at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fr ...

in Lillehammer, the first Olympic gold medal for Kazakhstan. He was one of the leading characters of that Olympics, as his unending rivalry with home ever-winning

Bjørn Dæhlie Bjørn Erlend Dæhlie (born 19 June 1967) is a Norwegian businessman and retired cross-country skier. From 1992 to 1999, Dæhlie won the Nordic World Cup six times, finishing second in 1994 and 1998. Dæhlie won a total of 29 medals in the Olymp ...

had gained him the affection of the Norwegian audience. He also became good friends with his rival Dæhlie, even participating with Dæhlie in several popular Norwegian TV shows. In 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, Smirnov was flag-bearer of

Olympic team and won the bronze medal in the 25 km pursuit event. Smirnov headed the bid committee to have

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...

, host the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...

, a bid that failed to make the short list that was announced by the

on 22 June 2006. In 2011, Smirnov participated at the opening ceremony of

2011 Asian Winter Games ) , Host city = Astana & Almaty, Kazakhstan , Nations participating = 26Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

Personal life

Smirnov moved to Sweden in 1991 and lives in the city of

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History The ...

, where he was a co-founder and co-owner of a local brewery. He is married to Valentina Smirnova, and they have two daughters – Anna and Karolina. He became a

Swedish citizen Swedish nationality law determines entitlement to Swedish citizenship. Citizenship of Sweden is based primarily on the principle of '' jus sanguinis''. In other words, citizenship is conferred primarily by birth to a Swedish parent, irrespecti ...

in 1998. Smirnov speaks four languages: Russian, German, English and Swedish.Владимир Смирнов: «И после спорта судьба продолжает мне улыбаться»
skisport.ru (interview in Russian) 25 October 2008

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* 7 medals – (1 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze)

World Championships

* 11 medals – (4 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze)

World Cup

Season titles

* 2 titles – (2 overall)

Season standings

Individual podiums

* 30 victories * 66 podiums

Team podiums

* 2 victories * 8 podiums Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the

, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

References

External links

*
Vladimir Smirnov
at th

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smirnov, Vladimir 1964 births Cross-country skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Soviet male cross-country skiers Kazakhstani people of Russian descent Living people Olympic cross-country skiers of the Soviet Union Olympic cross-country skiers of the Unified Team Olympic cross-country skiers of Kazakhstan Olympic gold medalists for Kazakhstan Olympic silver medalists for Kazakhstan Olympic bronze medalists for Kazakhstan Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Cross-Country World Cup champions Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics People from Akmola Region Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics Stockviks SF skiers Asian Games medalists in cross-country skiing Cross-country skiers at the 1999 Asian Winter Games International Olympic Committee members Asian Games gold medalists for Kazakhstan Asian Games silver medalists for Kazakhstan Medalists at the 1999 Asian Winter Games