Viktor Bolshov (; born 23 May 1939) is a retired Soviet
high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
er. He competed in the
1960 Olympics The 1960 Olympics may refer to:
*The 1960 Winter Olympics, which were held in Squaw Valley, United States
*The 1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 19 ...
finishing fourth behind his teammates
Robert Shavlakadze, world record holder
Valery Brumel and American
John Thomas. During the course of the competition all four equaled the Olympic record, Shavlakadze, the first jumper in the order set the record first. Based on current rules, Bolshov would have tied Thomas for the bronze medal, but at the time jumpers were penalized for the number of attempts and Bolshov took seven attempts during the competition to Thomas' five.
In 1961, Bolshov jumped 2.16 m in
Grozny
Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia.
The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...
, at the time he was the number three high jumper in the world.
Bolshov continued jumping, returning to the Olympics
in 1968, but not making the final. In 1974, he equalled his 2.16 at the Soviet National Championships in Moscow, at age 35 setting the Masters M35 World Record. The record would stand for 17 years.
Bolshov is married to
Valentina Maslovskaya, a Soviet sprinter who also competed at the 1960 Olympics; their daughter
Olga Bolşova became an Olympic high jumper.
According to Valery Brumel's wife,
Vladimir Vysotsky originally devoted his "Song about high jumper" () to Bolshov. Later, when Brumel heard the song, he "decided" that it is about him, which Vysotsky did not mind.
[Tsybulski, Mark]
Кто такой "ихний пастор", или Почему канадец спиной прыгал
v-vysotsky.com
References
External links
*
1939 births
Living people
Soviet male high jumpers
Russian male high jumpers
Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for the Soviet Union
World record holders in masters athletics
Soviet Athletics Championships winners
20th-century Russian sportsmen
{{Russia-highjump-athletics-bio-stub