Nikolay Vasilyevich Strunnikov (russian: Николай Васильевич Струнников) (16 December 1886 – 12 January 1940
) was a Russian World Champion in
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...
. In addition, he was also successful as a
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
.
__NOTOC__
Nikolay Strunnikov was born in
Sknyatino
Sknyatino (russian: Скнятино) is a village in Kalyazinsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Nerl and the Volga Rivers, about halfway between Uglich and Tver. It is the site of the medieval town of Ksnyat ...
and quickly became a very enthusiastic and highly disciplined athlete, training daily. During the summer, he trained on bicycle and during the winter, he trained in speed skating and played
bandy. After returning from work, he would always be on the ice at the same time every day to skate his rounds, regardless of weather conditions. Even at times the temperature was −40 °C (equal to −40 °F), he would still go through his entire training programme. His enthusiasm and dedication paid off and in 1906, he won silver at the Russian National Allround Championships.
He quickly improved even further and became Russian Allround Champion in 1908, 1909, and 1910. In 1909, he also won the National Championships in cycling. Still relatively unknown to the rest of the world, Strunnikov made his international debut at the
European Allround Championships in 1910 and promptly won gold. Two weeks later, he participated in the
1910 World Allround Championships of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
. After three distances, the reigning World Champion and holder of multiple world records,
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
skating legend
Oscar Mathisen
Oscar Wilhelm Mathisen (4 October 1888 – 10 April 1954) was a Norwegian speed skater and celebrity, almost rivalling Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen as symbols for a young nation (Norway became independent in 1905). He represented ''Kristi ...
, had a relatively comfortable lead, but Strunnikov finished well ahead of the entire field on the final distance and became World Champion in the process; something which commanded tremendous respect from Mathisen.
In 1911, Strunnikov travelled to Norway in preparation for the European Championships there. During his preparations, he set a new world record on the 5,000 m, beating
Jaap Eden
Jacobus Johannes "Jaap" Eden (; 19 October 1873 – 2 February 1925) was a Dutch athlete. He is the only male athlete to win world championships in both speed skating and bicycle racing.
Early life
Jaap Eden was born in Groningen to Johannes ...
's world record that had stood for 17 years. (His world record would not be recognised by the
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, N ...
until 1967, though.) Three weeks later, he became European Champion for the second time, and he did so by winning all four distances during those championships. One week after that, he became World Champion for the second time, while once more winning all four distances. In fact, at every international tournament in which Strunnikov participated in 1911, he was the winner on every distance he skated – a total of twelve distance wins that year.
Much was expected from Strunnikov in 1912, but a disagreement with the sports association to which he belonged resulted in his retirement from speed skating. He remained active in sports, though, cycling for many years afterwards. In the 1920s he also became a coach and he would remain a coach until his death in 1940 in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
.
Medals
An overview of medals won by Strunnikov at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:
World records
Over the course of his career, Strunnikov skated one
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
:
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[
]
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the ''WR'' column lists the official world records on the dates that Strunnikov skated his personal records.
Strunnikov has an
Adelskalender score of 198.743 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a second place.
References
External records
Nikolay Strunnikov at SpeedSkatingStats.comNikolay Strunnikov ''Deutsche Eisschnelllauf Gemeinschaft e.V.'' (German Skating Association).
Short biography of Nikolay Strunnikov(in Russian)
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120205184935/http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-181536-198754-94643-0-file,00.pdf Historical World Records ''International Skating Union''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strunnikov, Nikolay
1886 births
1940 deaths
Russian male speed skaters
World record setters in speed skating
World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists