Nikolai Andrianov

By ModglinD

  • Birth

    Nikolai is born in Vladimir, Russia. He had three siblings, all girls. He was raised by a single mother and grew up poor.
  • Period: to

    Life of Nikolai Andranov

    Important events in Nikolai Andrainov's life.

  • Begins Gymnastics

    His friend got him to join. He eventually became a star pupil. His coach filled the void in his life of his father. His slacker attitude vanished and he became more friendly.

  • First Olympics

    First Olympics
    Nikolai competes in his first Olympics for Soviet Russia. He wins three medals, one of each. He competes in gymnastics.

  • Married

    Married
    He got married to Lyubov Burda (another gymnast). She was a two-time Olympic winner. They had two sons.

  • 1976 Olympics

    1976 Olympics
    He competed again for Russia. He won 4 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal. That brought his medal total up to 10 Olympic medals.

  • 1980 Olympics

    1980 Olympics
    He competed for Russia again. He won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal. This brought his medal total up to 15, which made him the most decorated male Olympic athlete.

  • Becomes Coach of Soviet Male Gymnastics Team

    This was one year after he retired from the Olympics. He bought a gym in his hometown of Vladimir, Russia. His star pupil, Vitaly, went on to be an Olympic gymnast.

  • Stops Coaching Soviet Male Gymnastics Team

    He stopped coaching an only male team in 1992. He made his gym open to everyone. He quit after the next two years.

  • Starts Working in Japan

    He started coaching gymnastics in Japan. He is said to be one of the reasons Japan made a comeback in Olympic gymnastics. He remained here until 2002.

  • Stops Working in Japan

    He stopped working in Japan in 2002. After earning Japan their title in gymnastics back, he and his wife moved back to Vladimir. He would spend the rest of his life here.

  • Diagnosed With Disease

    Nikolai was diagnosed with a degenerative nerve disease that would lead to his death. It slowly made him weaker and weaker. Many people believed that if anyone could beat the disease though, it would be Nikolai.

  • Death

    Death
    He died at 58 in Vladimir, Russia. In his final months, he had been unable to speak or move his limbs. The sports world mourned the death of the greatest Olympic gymnast.