Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov (; 14 October 1952 – 21 March 2011) was a Soviet and Russian gymnast. He held the record for men for the most

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medals at 15 (7 gold medals, 5 silver medals, 3 bronze medals) until

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

surpassed him at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Andrianov is the third athlete (male or female) in cumulative Olympic medals after Phelps's 28 and

Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 List of multiple Olympic medalists, individual Olympic medals and four team medals for the Sovie ...

's 18. Andrianov won the most medals at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

with 6 individual medals and one team medal. Within the sport of Men's

Artistic Gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

, he also holds the men's record for most individual Olympic medals (12) and shares the male record for most individual Olympic gold medals in gymnastics (6) with

Boris Shakhlin Boris Anfiyanovich Shakhlin (; 27 January 1932 – 30 May 2008) was a Soviet gymnast who was the 1960 Olympic all-around champion and the 1958 all-around World Champion. He won a total of 13 medals including seven gold medals at the Summer Olym ...

and

Dmitry Bilozerchev Dmitry Vladimirovich Bilozerchev (, born 22 December 1966 in Moscow) is a Russian gymnastics coach and retired gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. One of the most accomplished gymnasts in history, he is a two-time World All-Around Champion ...

(the latter of which only if you count the 1984 Alternate Olympics). In many other rankings among all-time medal winners at the Olympic, World, and European levels, he ranks very high (for example, he is second only to

Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo} (born 13 January 1972) is a Belarusian former artistic gymnast. One of the most successful gymnasts of all time, he is the only male gymnast ever to have won a world title in all 8 events (individual all-around ...

in total individual medal counts at either the gold level or any level at the combined Olympic and World levels as well as at the combined Olympic, World, and European levels), easily making him one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time.

Early life and Olympic career

Andrianov entered the

Children and Youth Sports School A sports school () is a type of educational institution for children that originated in the Soviet Union. Sports schools were the basis of the powerful system of physical culture (fitness) and sports education in the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, pa ...

of the Burevestnik sports society in

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

at age 11. His first international success came in 1971 at the European Championships in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where he won two gold medals. Between 1971 and 1980 he won many international gymnastics competitions, including the Olympic Games, world championships and European championships. Andrianov's first Olympic medal was a gold in the 1972 floor competition. He dominated the 1976 gymnastics competition, winning four golds, including the all-around, two silvers, and a bronze. These medals included golds in the floor exercises, rings, and

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

, as well as a prized gold in the 1976 all-around. His record of four gymnastic golds at a single games stood until

won six other medals in 1992. Andrianov took the

Olympic Oath The Olympic Oath (distinct from the Olympic creed) is a solemn promise made by one athlete, judge or official, and one coach at the Opening Ceremony of each Olympic Games. Each oath taker is from the host nation and takes the oath on behalf of a ...

for athletes 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 ...

in Moscow. In the gymnastics competition, he won two more golds, two silvers, and a bronze. Andrianov's golds in that Olympics were in the

and team competition, his silvers were in the

all-around The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships. Championship ...

and floor exercises, and his bronze medal was in the

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

. He retired shortly after that year's Olympics.

Later life

Andrianov married another famous Soviet gymnast, two-time Olympic champion

Lyubov Burda Lyubov Viktorovna Burda (; born 11 April 1953) is a retired Soviet artistic gymnast. Career In 1967 Burda placed 3rd in the all-around at the USSR Championships (also the USSR Spartakiade that year) as well as placing 2nd on balance beam and ...

. Together they worked as children's gymnastics coaches, with Andrianov being the head coach of the Soviet national men's junior team in 1981–1992. In 1990–1992 he also coached the Soviet senior gymnastics team, and in 1990–1993 headed the Soviet and later the Russian Gymnastics Federation. In 2001, Andrianov was inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IG ...

. Between 1994 and 2002 he coached the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Olympic gymnastics team, on the invitation of his former rival,

Mitsuo Tsukahara Mitsuo Tsukahara (塚原光男 ''Tsukahara Mitsuo'', born December 22, 1947) is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He was five times an Olympic Gold Medalist. He remained active in the sport after his retirement from competition. He served as vice pr ...

. Andrianov coached Tsukahara's son,

Naoya Tsukahara Naoya Tsukahara (Japanese:塚原直也 ''Tsukahara Naoya'', born June 25, 1977) is a former Japanese artistic gymnast and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist now coaching and competing for Australia. He is the son of the former Japanese gymnast, Mitsu ...

, and both father and son credit him with raising Naoya's skills and confidence to equip him to compete at the international level. In 2002 he became the director of gymnastics at the N.G. Tolkachyov Specialized Children and Youth sports school in

, where he first began the sport as a youth.

Illness and death

In his final years, Andrianov developed the degenerative

neurological disorder Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique diagnosis, treatment, and ...

multiple system atrophy Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity, postural instability (collectively known as parkinsonism), autonomic dysfunction and ataxia. This is caused by progr ...

and in his final months was unable to move his arms or legs or talk. Andrianov died on 21 March 2011 at the age of 58, in his hometown of

. Russia's national gymnastic team coach, Alexander Alexandrov, called the death "tragic", but stated that he had been ill for a long time.

Achievements (non-Olympic)

Honours and awards

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Medal "For Labour Valour" The Medal "For Labour Valour" () was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or significant contributions in the fields of science, culture or t ...

Lenin Komsomol Prize Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet Union, Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of ...

References

External links

* * * *
International Federation of Gymnastics' Article on Nikolai Andrianov

Biography

IOC 1980 Summer Olympics

IOC 1980 Summer Olympics

Obituary Nikolai Andrianov
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrianov, Nikolai 1952 births 2011 deaths Sportspeople from Vladimir, Russia Burevestnik (sports society) sportspeople Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Gymnasts at the 1972 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1976 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gymnasts for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in gymnastics Russian male artistic gymnasts Soviet male artistic gymnasts World champion gymnasts Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics Oath takers at the Olympic Games FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade European champions in gymnastics Neurological disease deaths in Russia Deaths from multiple system atrophy 20th-century Russian sportsmen