Name Nikolay Zimyatov | Role Olympic athlete | |
Olympic medals Cross-Country Skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics - Men's 30km Similar People Vasily Pavlovich Rochev, Juha Mieto, Gunde Svan, Thomas Wassberg, Aki Karvonen | ||
Nikolay Semyonovich Zimyatov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Зимятов; born 28 June 1955), name also spelled Nikolaj Zimjatov, is one of the most successful Soviet/Russian male cross-country skiers. He was the first man in the sport to win three gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, in the 30 km, 50 km and 4×10 km relay at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. In the 50 km race he finished two and half minutes ahead of the second place. He also won the 30 km event at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and was awarded Order of Friendship of Peoples that year.
At the world championships Zimyatov won only one medal, a silver over 30 km in 1978. Nationally he collected four Soviet titles: in the 30 km and 4×10 km relay in 1978, and in the 15 and 30 km in 1979. After retiring from competitions he had a long career as a cross-country skiing coach and prepared the Russian team for the 2002 Olympics. In 1980 he married a fellow international skier Lyubov Sykova.