Nikolay Zimyatov

Nikolay Zimyatov is a Soviet and Russian cross-country skier, born Nikolay Semyonovich Zimyatov on 28 June 1955. At the 1980 Lake Placid Games he became the first man in the sport to win three gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, taking the 30 km, the 50 km and the 4 x 10 km relay, and in the 50 km he finished two and a half minutes ahead of the runner-up. He won the 30 km again at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples that year. His only world championship medal was a silver over 30 km in 1978, and he won four Soviet titles. After retiring he had a long career as a coach and prepared the Russian team for the 2002 Olympics.