Grigoriy Grigoryevich Degtyaryov ( rus, Григорий Григорьевич Дегтярёв; 16 August 1958 – 7 March 2011) was a Soviet Russian

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

. Degtyaryov won gold medals at the

1984 Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 198 ...

and the

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The Game ...

and was ranked in the world's top 10 in every year from 1982 to 1986. , his personal best of 8698 points remains the Russian national record.

Biography

Degtyaryov was born in Vorkuta,

Komi ASSR The Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Коми Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика; kv, Коми Автономнӧй Сӧветскӧй Социалистическӧй ...

on 16 August 1958. He first represented the Soviet Union in a major international meet at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, where he placed sixth; '' Track & Field News'' ranked him fifth in the world that year. In 1983 Degtyaryov won first at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis, and then at the

Soviet Spartakiad The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

; his Spartakiad score of 8538 points (on the 1962 scoring tables) was a new Soviet record. He entered the

1983 World Championships The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983. Summary The overall me ...

in Helsinki ranked third on season bests (behind

Jürgen Hingsen Jürgen Hingsen (; born 25 January 1958) is a former West German decathlete who won several medals at international championships and Olympic Games in the 1980s, and held the decathlon world record in 1982 and again from 1983 to 1984. His rivalry ...

and

Siegfried Wentz Siegfried "Siggi" Wentz (; born 7 March 1960) is a German former track and field athlete who competed in the decathlon. He is the 1984 Olympic bronze medallist, and a two-time World Championship medallist. Career Wentz was born in Rothenbach. ...

, and ahead of eventual winner Daley Thompson), but dropped out of contention after four events; after an average start, he no-heighted in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, missing three times at his opening height of 1.91 m. As in 1982, he placed fifth in the world in ''Track & Field Newss year-end rankings. In 1984 Degtyaryov repeated as both Götzis champion and Soviet champion and also won at the Friendship Games in Moscow. At the Soviet Championships he scored his personal best and another Soviet record, 8652 points; after new scoring tables were introduced, this became 8698 points, which remains the Russian national record and ranks 18th on the world all-time list. Degtyaryov missed the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles due to the Soviet boycott, but was still ranked a career-best third in the world. Degtyaryov remained in good shape for two more years, ranking in the world's top 10 in both 1985 and 1986 and winning gold at the

, ahead of Soviet record holder

Aleksandr Apaychev Oleksandr Valentynovych Apaychev (russian: Александр Валентинович Апайчев; ua, Олександр Валентинович Апайчев; born 6 May 1961) is a former Soviet Ukrainian decathlete. His personal be ...

. He retired as an athlete in 1987, but remained active in the sport as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Degtyaryov, Grigoriy 1958 births 2011 deaths People from Vorkuta Soviet decathletes Russian decathletes Russian male athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the Soviet Union Soviet male athletes Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Sportspeople from the Komi Republic Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Friendship Games medalists in athletics