Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, , ; born 24 October 1974) is a USSR-born

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i sprint kayaker and former two-time world champion (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

). Competing in three

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the K-1 500 m event at Sydney in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. He was the flag bearer for Israel during the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

Early life

Mikhail Kolganov was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

, Soviet Union. He is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. and took up canoeing at the age of 14. "I was a fat young boy," he recalled, "and my parents were looking for a hobby for me that would help me lose weight." He also dabbled in wrestling and rugby but found he enjoyed kayaking the most. Kolganov's older brother Andrei also represented the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, and was a Soviet youth champion at kayak competition. Kolganov immigrated to

in 1996.לא מה שחשבתם: החיים החדשים של קולגנוב
/ref> After moving to Israel, Kolganov lived in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, where he trained at the Hapoel Haifa Rowing Club before moving to kibbutz Degania Bet and continuing his training with Hapoel Emek HaYarden in the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

. Within a year of moving to Israel he began representing the country in international sporting events. He served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

in the framework of a program for sporting excellence, granting him accommodations to continue to pursue kayaking during his service.

Career

Kolganov has represented Israel in competition since 1997. Kolganov was K-1 200 m world champion in

and

, and earned a K-1 500 m silver in 1998. He represented Israel at the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the K-1 500 m bronze medal and finishing fourth in the K-1 1000 m event. He competed on behalf of Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and finished eighth in the second semifinal of the K-1 500 m. He competed on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China, and failed to advance to the final in both the K-1 500 m and K-1 1000 m events. He also competed in the K-2. where at the 2006 European Championships in Račice, Czech Republic, he won the K2 200 m bronze medal with partner Barak Lufan. At the 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, Hungary, Kolganov and Lufan finished fifth in the K-2 200 m and sixth in the K-2 500 m.

Later life

Kolganov, a resident of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, ran for the city council in the 2008 Israeli municipal elections on the

Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu (, ) is a conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may ...

list. He ran again in the 2013 Israeli municipal elections and succeeded in winning a seat. In 2015 Kolganov emigrated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, claiming that there was a lack of opportunities to for him find work in Israel and that he had been unemployed for months."נמאס לי"
/ref> He currently lives in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

and runs a

beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and Day spa#Medical spa, medical spas. Beauty treatme ...

References

* *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolganov, Michael 1974 births Living people Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Israeli male canoeists Israeli people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli sportspeople Olympic canoeists for Israel Olympic bronze medalists for Israel Soviet male canoeists Uzbekistani male canoeists Uzbekistani emigrants to Israel Sportspeople from Tashkent Soviet emigrants to Israel Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Early life

Career

Later life

See also

References

External links