Serghei Covaliov

Serghei Covaliov (14 October 1944 – 16 May 2011) was a Romanian sprint canoeist. He mostly competed in doubles together with Ivan Patzaichin, a fellow Lipovan Russian born in the same village. They won a gold and a silver medal at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, respectively, missing the first place in 1972 by 0.03 seconds. At the world championships they won two gold, one silver and one bronze medal in 1970–1973, while Covaliov also had a gold medal in 1966 with Vicol Calabiciov, another canoer from his village. Covaliov died aged 66 after a severe concussion he suffered while canoeing.