Vasili Kuznetsov (decathlete)

Vasili Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov (Russian: Василий Дмитриевич Кузнецов, 7 February 1932 – 6 August 2001) was a Soviet and Russian decathlete who won the European title in 1954, 1958 and 1962. He competed for the Soviet Union at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won bronze medals in 1956 and 1960, placing seventh in 1964.

Vasili Kuznetsov
Phil Mulkey and Vasili Kuznetsov at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Born7 February 1932
Kalikino, Ryazan Oblast, Russia
Died6 August 2001 (aged 69)
Moscow, Russia
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Decathlon
ClubBurevestnik Moscow
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place1956 MelbourneDecathlon
Bronze medal – third place1960 RomeDecathlon
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1954 BerneDecathlon
Gold medal – first place1958 StockholmDecathlon
Gold medal – first place1962 BelgradeDecathlon
Universiade
Gold medal – first place1959 TurinPentathlon
Gold medal – first place1961 SofiaDecathlon

Kuznetsov took up athletics in the late 1940s and won a record 10 national decathlon titles in 1953-60 and 1962–63. He set two decathlon world records: in May 1958, he was the first athlete to break the 8,000 points barrier on the 1952 scoring system, with 8,014 points (7,653 (1985)) in Krasnodar. He set his second world record in May 1959 at 8,357 (7,839 (1985)). He also held three pentathlon world records at 3,736 in 1956, 3,901 in 1958, and 4,006 in 1959. Kuznetsov retired after the 1964 Olympics to become an athletics coach and lecturer at the Moscow State University. In 1987 he was included into the list of 10 all-time best decathletes by the IAAF.[1]

References

  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vasily Kuznetsov". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.



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