Mikhail Innokentyevich Linge (; November 26, 1958 in

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

– February 4, 1994) was a gold medalist in the men's

4 × 400 m 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

relay 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 ...

for 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 ...

. After the Olympics, Linge lived in Moscow, studied at the State Central Institute of Physical Culture and played for the team in Moscow. Domestic problems and an obscure sporting future caused Linge to enter criminal activities. Linge was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. After he was granted amnesty in 1990, Linge started a business project (what it was is unknown). His partner in the project (in which Mikhail had invested almost all his money) deceived him. As a result, Linge ended up bankrupt and in debt. Linge was found dead on 4 February 1994, in Moscow, killed under mysterious circumstances.

References

1958 births 1994 deaths Russian male sprinters Soviet male sprinters Olympic athletes for the Soviet Union Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Sportspeople from Kaluga Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Russian murder victims 20th-century Russian sportsmen {{USSR-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub