Alexander Remmovich Melentyev (; 27 June 1954 – 16 February 2015) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

competitive

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

who won a gold medal at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. The world record he set in 1980 remained unbeaten for 34 years. He was the first Olympic gold medalist from

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

Bio

Melentyev was born in the Russian city of

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

but grew up in the

Kyrgyz SSR The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR), also known as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz SSR), KySSR or Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirgiz SSR), was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of ...

. At the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Melentyev achieved a world record result of 581 (from 600, without final) in the 50 m pistol event in setting a new world and a new Olympic record. The world record was surpassed by

Jin Jong-oh Jin Jong-oh (; born 24 September 1979) is a South Korean sports shooter who competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. The only individual four-time Olympic champion in shooting, he is the most successful individual shooter at ...

at the 2014 World Championships; with his score of 581 Melentyev remains the current Olympic record holder.

References

dataOlympics profile

External links

* 1954 births 2015 deaths Soviet male sport shooters Russian male sport shooters Kyrgyzstani male sport shooters ISSF pistol shooters Olympic shooters for the Soviet Union Shooters at the 1980 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in shooting Shooters at the 1994 Asian Games Sportspeople from Penza Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Asian Games competitors for Kyrgyzstan 20th-century Russian sportsmen {{USSR-Olympic-medalist-stub