Nikolay Balboshin

Nikolay Fyodorovich Balboshin (Russian: Николай Фёдорович Балбошин; born 8 June 1949) is a retired Soviet heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler. He rarely lost a bout in the 1970s, winning five world titles, six European titles, and an Olympics gold medal in 1976.[2] At the 1976 Olympics he pinned all his five opponents, in total spending less than 17 minutes on the mat. He was the Soviet flag bearer[3] and a clear favorite at the Moscow Olympics, but injured an Achilles tendon in the second bout and withdrew from the tournament.[4] He recovered by 1984, when he won his last Soviet title and was selected for the 1984 Games, but could not compete because of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott by the Soviet Union. He retired from competitions to become a wrestling coach n Moscow. In 2006 he was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.[5]

Nikolay Balboshin
Personal information
Born8 June 1949 (1949-06-08) (age 74)
Potsdam, East Germany
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight100 kg (220 lb)
Sport
SportGreco-Roman wrestling
ClubDynamo Moscow
Coached byAnatoly Parfyonov
Yury Kolupov[1]
Medal record
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal 100 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1973 Tehran100 kg
Gold medal – first place1974 Istanbul100 kg
Gold medal – first place1977 Gotheburg100 kg
Gold medal – first place1978 Mexico City100 kg
Gold medal – first place1979 San Diego100 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1973 Helsinki100 kg
Silver medal – second place1974 Madrid100 kg
Gold medal – first place1975 Ludwigshafen100 kg
Gold medal – first place1976 Leningrad100 kg
Gold medal – first place1977 Bursa100 kg
Gold medal – first place1978 Sofia100 kg
Gold medal – first place1979 Bucharest100 kg
Bronze medal – third place1984 Jönköping100 kg

Balboshin was born in East Germany, where his father, a career military officer, was serving at the time. He is married to Nina Balboshina and has a son Nikolai (born 1973) and a daughter Yelena (born 1979). He took up wrestling when his family moved to Moscow and trained together with his elder brother Vladimir. His career was marred by injuries. In the 1960s he broke his arm at a junior wrestling competition. In 1972 he was included to the Soviet national team to compete at the 1972 European championships and Summer Olympics, but lost that season after tearing a knee tendon. He won the Soviet, European and world titles in 1973 while recovering from a shoulder injury, which also bothered him next year when he lost the European championships final to Kamen Goranov. In 1975 he won the European title, but injured a hip at the world championships and placed fourth.[1][4]

References

  1. Балбошин Николай Федорович. Russian Wrestling Federation
  2. Balboshin, Nikolai (URS). iat.uni-leipzig.de
  3. Soviet Union. sports-reference.com
  4. Yevseyev, Mikhail & Vasiyevv, Viktor (1 May 2012). "Николай Балбошин: Характер – классический". Московский спорт без границ. 1 (10): 48–49.
  5. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nikolay Balboshin". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.


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