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Vladimir Melanin

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Vladimir Melanin
Vladimir Melanin on a 2013 Russian stamp from the series "Sports Legends".
Personal information
Full nameVladimir Mikhailovich Melanin
Born(1933-12-01)1 December 1933
Sovetsky District, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Died10 August 1994(1994-08-10) (aged 60)
Kirov, Russia
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubVS Kirov
Olympic Games
Teams2 (1960, 1964)
Medals1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams5 (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966)
Medals7 (6 gold)
Medal record
Men's biathlon
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1964 Innsbruck 20 km individual
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1959 Courmayeur 20 km individual
Gold medal – first place 1959 Courmayeur Team event
Gold medal – first place 1962 Hämeenlinna 20 km individual
Gold medal – first place 1962 Hämeenlinna Team event
Gold medal – first place 1963 Seefeld 20 km individual
Gold medal – first place 1963 Seefeld Team event
Silver medal – second place 1965 Elverum Team event

Vladimir Mikhailovich Melanin (Russian: Владимир Михайлович Меланьин; 1 December 1933 – 10 August 1994) was a Soviet biathlete.

Life and career

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He won an Olympic gold medal for the USSR in the 20 km individual in the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck ahead of his fellow Soviet Aleksandr Privalov and the Norwegian Olav Jordet. Melanin also won three individual world titles in the 20 km, in 1959, 1962 and 1963.

Melanin started as a cross-country skier, but changed to biathlon while. His strong skiing base helped him win all his titles, as his shooting skills were mediocre. Because of poor shooting, he finished outside of the podium at his first Olympics in 1960. He improved a lot by the next Games, where he showed not only best skiing time, but also clean shooting. He finished more than 3 minutes ahead of his rivals, which remains the largest victory margin in any Olympic biathlon event. Domestically Melanin won only two titles, in the 20 km in 1959 and 1966. After retiring from competitions Melanin worked as a biathlon coach and managed a cross-country skiing and biathlon complex in Kirov Oblast. He received posthumously the International Biathlon Union Honorary Award.

Biathlon results

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All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[1]

Olympic Games

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1 medal (1 gold)

Event Individual
United States 1960 Squaw Valley 4th
Austria 1964 Innsbruck Gold

World Championships

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7 medals (6 gold, 1 silver)

Event Individual Team (time) Relay
Italy 1959 Courmayeur Gold Gold
Finland 1962 Hämeenlinna Gold Gold
Austria 1963 Seefeld Gold Gold
Norway 1965 Elverum 7th Silver
West Germany 1966 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 21st 4th
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**The team (time) event was removed in 1965, whilst the relay was added in 1966.

References

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  1. ^ "Search results". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
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