Yuri Matveyevich Mikhaylov (russian: Ю́рий Матве́евич Миха́йлов) (born 25 July 1930 in Ulitino,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

– died 15 July 2008

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russi ...

, Russia) was a

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

who competed for the

Soviet Union 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 nationa ...

. Born in the village of Ulitino in

Staritsky District Staritsky District (russian: Ста́рицкий райо́н) is an administrative and municipalLaw #4-ZO district (raion), one of the thirty-six in Tver Oblast, Russia. It is located in the central and southern parts of the oblast and border ...

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mi ...

, Yuri Mikhaylov took up

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

when he was young and in 1949, he became champion of Kalininsky District of Tver Oblast. At the country's Junior Championships, he then won a bronze medal and it seemed that Mikhaylov had a nice future in boxing ahead of him. Besides liking boxing in itself, Mikhaylov also very much liked the exercises his trainer made him do, which included elements of athletics, bicycle racing, gymnastics, and more. But then his trainer left and Mikhaylov's new trainer forced him to do only boxing exercises. This made Mikhaylov lose interest in boxing. Mikhaylov then decided to try skating. Originally, he skated only to keep occupied doing something that would exercise his muscles, but he soon fell in love with skating and became obsessed, dreaming about skating and unable to refrain from skating even a single day. But in 1951, he had to join the army. In the army, he was bored and he missed skating, drawing pictures of skates in letters he wrote. After having been demobilised, Mikhaylov, even more obsessed with skating than before, trained furiously and made up for all the skating he had missed while in the army. He soon started to win medals at regional championships and he made his debut at the Soviet Allround Championships in 1954, skating only his favourite distance (the 1500 m) in which he finished 4th. Early 1955, during races on the

Medeo The Medeu ( kk, Медеу, ''Medeu''), is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley ( Medeu Valley, or the valley of Malaya Almatinka River) on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1, ...

rink of

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 ...

, he finished 2nd on the 1500 m behind Yevgeny Grishin who won the 1500 m in a new world-record time. At the Soviet Allround Championships that year, Mikhaylov finished 6th, while finishing second on the 1500 m behind Boris Shilkov. Mikhaylov's best year came in 1956. During races in

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 ...

, he broke Grishin's 1500 m world record. At the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, fro ...

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite (river), ...

, he participated in the 500 m, but he fell and did not finish. Two days later was the day of his favourite distance, the 1500 m and – ten days after Mikhaylov had become the 1500 m world record holder – he watched Grishin finish his 1500 m in a new world-record time of 2:08.6. In the next pair, Mikhaylov equalled Grishin's time and they shared Olympic gold. Later that year, he won silver at the Soviet Allround Championships, finishing first on the 1500 m. Although Mikhaylov remained active as a skater until 1961, he won no more major medals.

World records

Over the course of his career, Mikhaylov skated two

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizat ...

: Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

References

Yuri Mikhaylov at SpeedSkatingStats.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikhaylov, Yuri 1930 births 2008 deaths People from Staritsky District Russian male speed skaters Soviet male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the Soviet Union Speed skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in speed skating World record setters in speed skating Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Tver Oblast