Yevgeny Nikolayevich Kulikov (russian: Евге́ний Никола́евич Кулико́в, born 25 May 1950 in

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...

) is a former

speed skater 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 skating. ...

who specialised in the sprint. Yevgeny Kulikov trained at Burevestnik Voluntary Sports Society. Competing for the

Soviet Union 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 national ...

he became the first to break the 38 seconds barrier on the 500 m in 1975 and over the course of the next two weeks he lowered his own 500 m world record three more times, finishing with a time of 37.00, exactly one second below the previous world record. He would remain the 500 m world record holder for 8 years. For his achievements he received the 1975

Oscar Mathisen Award Since 1959, the Oscar Mathisen Award (also known as the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Award, the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Trophy, and sometimes the Skating Oscar) is awarded annually for outstanding speed skating performance of the season. The award was in ...

. At the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, he won gold on the 500 m despite the fact that he had a cold and a fever during his race. As the defending 500 m Olympic Champion and world record holder, he won silver at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

in Lake Placid, being beaten by

Eric Heiden Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at the ...

. At the World Sprint Championships, Kulikov won silver in 1975 and bronze in 1977. In 1981, Kulikov lowered his own 500 m world record once more, becoming the first man to break the 37-second barrier.

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Kulikov skated nine

world records 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

References

Yevgeny Kulikov at SpeedSkatingStats.com

External links

* * * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulikov, Yevgeni 1950 births Living people Soviet male speed skaters Russian male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in speed skating Speed skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Burevestnik (sports society) sportspeople World record setters in speed skating World Sprint Speed Skating Championships medalists Sportspeople from Sverdlovsk Oblast