Vladimir Viktorovich Smirnov (russian: Влади́мир Ви́кторович Смирно́в, uk, Володимир Вікторович Смирнов; 20 May 1954 – 28 July 1982) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
foil
fencer.
Biography
Smirnov won the gold medal in individual men's foil at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
.
He won the World Championships the following year.
During the 1982 World Championships in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Smirnov was fencing
Matthias Behr
Matthias Behr (born 1 April 1955 in Tauberbischofsheim, Baden-Württemberg) is a former German foil fencer. He won a gold medal and three silvers at three Olympic Games.
Biography
Matthias Behr attended the Kaufmännische Schule Tauberbischofs ...
of
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
on 19 July. Behr's blade broke during the action, and the broken blade went through the mesh of Smirnov's mask, through his
eye orbit, and into his brain. Smirnov died nine days later.
Smirnov's accident was the driving force behind the significant improvement of safety gear in fencing.
Maraging steel
Maraging steels (a portmanteau of "martensitic" and "aging") are steels that are known for possessing superior strength and toughness without losing ductility. ''Aging'' refers to the extended heat-treatment process. These steels are a special clas ...
blades (instead of the
carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
ones of the day),
kevlar
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...
(or other
ballistic nylon
Ballistic nylon is a thick, tough, nylon fabric with several uses. Ballistic nylon was developed by the DuPont corporation as a material for flak jackets to be worn by World War II airmen. The term ''ballistic nylon'' originates in the fabric's ...
) in the uniforms, and masks two to three times stronger than the one he wore, and other safety rules, all came about because of his death.
References
1954 births
1982 deaths
People from Rubizhne
Fencers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Olympic fencers of the Soviet Union
Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union
Sport deaths in Italy
Soviet male épée fencers
Ukrainian male épée fencers
Ukrainian foil fencers
Olympic medalists in fencing
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Universiade medalists in fencing
Universiade silver medalists for the Soviet Union
Soviet male foil fencers
Sportspeople from Luhansk Oblast
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