Nikolay Anatolyevich Kovalev (russian: Николай Анатольевич Ковалёв; born 28 October 1986) is a Russian sabre fencer. He won a bronze medal in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London and a gold medal in the 2014 World Championships in Kazan. He is three-times World team champion (2010, 2011 and 2013) and twice European team champion (2007 and 2012). He is now a coach in California in the United States.

Career

Kovalev v Szilagyi 2013 Fencing WCH SMS-IN t194135

Kovalev became European Junior champion in 2002 at Conegliano. He won the silver medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships at Linz, then a bronze medal in the 2006 Junior World Championships at Taebaek City. Amongst seniors, he climbed his first World Cup podium in 2006 with a second place in the Gerevich-Kovács-Kárpáti Cup in Budapest. He won the team gold medal in the 2006 European Championships. He went on to earn the team bronze medal at the

2006 World Fencing Championships The 2006 World Fencing Championships were held at the Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy. The event took place from 29 September to 7 October 2006. Same Thing of the 2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter ...

in Turin with Aleksey Frosin, Stanislav Pozdnyakov and

Aleksey Yakimenko ) , nationality = Russian , birth_date = , birth_place = Barnaul, Altai Krai, Russian SFSR, USSR , height = 1.84 m , weight = 78 kg , weapon = Sabre , hand = left-handed , club = Dynamo ...

, after Russia defeated Hungary in the match for the third place. Kovalev took part in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, but was defeated in the table of 32 by

Jaime Martí Jaime Martí Marcos (born 5 October 1979 in Madrid) is a Spanish sabre fencer. Marti represented Spain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed in the men's individual sabre event, along with his teammate Jorge Pina. He defeate ...

of Spain. In the team event, Russia were stopped in the semi-finals by the United States, then defeated by Italy in the match for the third place, and Kovalev returned without a medal. In the 2010 World Championships, Russia met Italy in the final. Kovalev came back from 4–15 in the fourth relay to give Russia the lead, scoring 12 hits against Luigi Tarantino. Russia eventually defeated Italy 45 to 41, allowing mates

, Artem Zanin,

Veniamin Reshetnikov Veniamin Sergeyevich Reshetnikov (russian: Вениамин Сергеевич Решетников; born 28 July 1986) is a Russian left-handed sabre fencer. Reshetnikov is a two-time team European champion, two-time individual European champ ...

and Kovalev to take the gold. At the 2011 World Championships they retained the title in men's sabre team defeating Belarus in the final. In the

in London, Kovalev advanced to the semi-finals, where he was defeated by

Áron Szilágyi Áron Szilágyi (; born 14 January 1990) is a Hungarian right-handed sabre fencer. Szilágyi is a 2018 team European champion, 2015 individual European champion, 2007 team world champion, and 2022 individual world champion. A four-time Oly ...

of Hungary. He then prevailed over Romania's Rareș Dumitrescu to come away with the bronze medal. He attributed his success to national coach Christian Bauer, who according to him introduced Russia to the world of modern fencing. He received the title of "Honored Master of Sports" for his Olympic performance, but did not particularly enjoy the attention it brought to him, describing the constant interviews and photo shoots as "a horror". In the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Kovalev made his way to the semi-finals, where he defeated Áron Szilágyi. He then met teammate

, who prevailed 15–13, dooming Kovalev to a silver medal. In the team event, Russia prevailed over reigning Olympic champion South Korea, then defeated Romania to take the gold medal. During the event Kovalev was also elected a member of the International Fencing Federation's athlete commission. As of 2021, he was a coach at the Laguna Fencing Center in California in the United States.

References

External links

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalev, Nikolay 1986 births Living people Russian male sabre fencers Olympic fencers of Russia Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in fencing Universiade gold medalists for Russia World Fencing Championships medalists Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade 21st-century Russian people