List of flag bearers for the Soviet Union at the Olympics
Table:
#
Event year
Season
Flag bearer
Sport

18
1988
Summer
Aleksandr Karelin
Wrestling

17
1988
Winter
Andrey Bukin
Figure skating

16
1984
Winter
Vladislav Tretyak
Ice hockey

15
1980
Summer
Nikolay Balboshin
Wrestling

14
1980
Winter
Alexander Tikhonov
Biathlon

13
1976
Summer
Vasily Alekseyev
Weightlifting

12
1976
Winter
Vladislav Tretyak
Ice hockey

11
1972
Summer
Aleksandr Medved
Wrestling

10
1972
Winter
Vyacheslav Vedenin
Cross-country skiing

9
1968
Summer
Leonid Zhabotinsky
Weightlifting

8
1968
Winter
Viktor Mamatov
Biathlon

7
1964
Summer
Yury Vlasov
Weightlifting

6
1964
Winter
Yevgeny Grishin
Speed skating

5
1960
Summer
Yury Vlasov
Weightlifting

4
1960
Winter
Nikolai Sologubov
Ice hockey

3
1956
Summer
Aleksey Medvedev
Weightlifting

2
1956
Winter
Oleg Goncharenko
Speed skating

1
1952
Summer
Yakov Kucenko
Weightlifting

By analysing the following table as well as the supporting text provided at the end.

Provide an answer to this question: Which winter olympics has a defenceman as flag bearer ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

The 1988 Summer Olympics ( Korean : 서울 하계 올림픽 ; RR : Seoul Hagye Ollimpik [ sʌ.ul ɦaɡje olːimpʰik ] ) , officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event celebrated from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul , South Korea . In the Seoul Games , 159 nations were represented by a total of 8,391 athletes : 6,197 men and 2,194 women . 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics . 11,331 media ( 4,978 written press and 6,353 broadcasters ) showed the Games all over the world . These were the last Olympic Games for the Soviet Union and East Germany , as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games . The Soviets utterly dominated the medal table , winning 55 gold and 132 total medals . No country came close to this result after 1988 . The games were boycotted by North Korea and its ally , Cuba . Ethiopia , Albania and the Seychelles did not respond to the invitations sent by the IOC . Nicaragua did not participate due to athletic and financial considerations . The participation of Madagascar had been expected , and their team was expected at the opening ceremony of 160 nations . However , the country withdrew because of financial reasons .
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin ( kah-RE-lin , Russian : Александр Александрович Карелин , IPA : [ ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kəˈrʲelʲɪn ] ; born 19 September 1967 ) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler for the Soviet Union and Russia . Nicknamed the Russian Bear , Russian King Kong , Alexander the Great and The Experiment , he is considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time . Karelin won gold medals at the 1988 , 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games under a different flag each time ( Soviet Union , Unified Team and Russia respectively ) , and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games . His wrestling record is 887 wins and two losses , both by a single point . Prior to his farewell match versus Rulon Gardner in September 2000 , he had n't a point scored on him within six years . Karelin was the national flag bearer at three consecutive Olympics : in 1988 for the Soviet Union , in 1992 for the Unified Team , and in 1996 for Russia .
Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting , throws and takedowns , joint locks , pins and other grappling holds . The sport can either be theatrical for entertainment ( see professional wrestling ) , or genuinely competitive . A wrestling bout is a physical competition , between two ( occasionally more ) competitors or sparring partners , who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position . There are a wide range of styles with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern styles . Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems . The term wrestling is attested in late Old English , as wræstlunge ( glossing palestram ) .
The 1988 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , was a multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary , Alberta , Canada , between February 13 and 28 , 1988 and were the first Winter Olympics to be held over a whole two week period . The host city was selected in 1981 over Falun , Sweden , and Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy . Most events took place in Calgary while several skiing events were held in the mountain resorts of Nakiska and Canmore , west of the city . A then-record 57 nations competed and 1,423 athletes participated . As it had in Montreal in 1976 , Canada again failed to win a gold medal in an official medal event as the host nation . Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen and Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip were individual medal leaders with each winning three gold medals . The games are also remembered for the heroic failure of British ski jumper Eddie The Eagle Edwards , and the Winter Olympic début of the Jamaica national bobsled team , both of which would be subjects of major feature films about their participation in the games . The Calgary games were at the time one of the most expensive Olympics ever held , but the organizing committee turned record television and sponsorship revenue into a net surplus that was used to maintain the facilities built for the Olympics and develop the Calgary region into the heart of Canada 's elite winter sports program . The five purpose-built venues continue to be used in their original functions , and have helped the country develop into one of the top nations in Winter Olympic competition ; Canada more than quintupled the five medals it won in Calgary at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics .
Andrei Anatolievich Bukin ( Russian : Андрей Анатольевич Букин , born 10 June 1957 ) is a Russian former ice dancer who represented the Soviet Union in his competitive career . With his partner Natalia Bestemianova , he is the 1988 Olympic Champion , 1984 Olympic silver medalist , four-time World champion , three-time World silver medalist , and five-time European champion .
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals , duos , or groups perform on figure skates on ice . It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games , when it was contested at the 1908 Olympics in London . The four Olympic disciplines are men 's singles , ladies ' singles , pair skating , and ice dance . Non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating , Theater on Ice , and four skating . From intermediate through senior-level competition , skaters generally perform two programs ( short and free skate ) , which may include spins , jumps , moves in the field , lifts , throw jumps , death spirals , and other elements or moves , depending on the discipline . The blade has a groove on the bottom creating two distinct edges : inside and outside . Judges prefer that skaters glide on one edge of the blade and not on both at the same time , which is referred to as a flat edge . During a spin , skaters use the sweet spot of the blade , formally called a rocker , which is the roundest portion of the blade , just behind the toe pick and near the middle of the blade . Skates used in singles and pair skating have a set of large , jagged teeth called toe picks on the front of the blade . Toe picks are mainly used for the take-off on jumps . Ice dance blades have smaller toe picks . Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level ( senior ) at local , regional , sectional , national , and international competitions .
The 1984 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( French : XIVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ; Serbo-Croatian : XIV . zimske olimpijske igre / XIV Зимске олимпијске игре ; Macedonian : XIV Зимски олимписки игри ; Slovene : XIV olimpijske zimske igre ) , was a winter multi-sport event which took place from 8-19 February 1984 in Sarajevo , Yugoslavia , in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina . Other candidate cities were Sapporo , Japan ; and Gothenburg , Sweden . It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a socialist state and in a Slavic language-speaking country . It was also the second Olympics overall , as well as the second consecutive Olympics , to be held in a socialist and in a Slavic language-speaking country after the 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow , Soviet Union . Furthermore , it was the first Olympics held in the Balkans after the first modern Games in Athens . The Sarajevo games have also been the only Olympics so far to be hosted by a Non-Aligned Movement member .
Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak , MSM ( Russian : Владислав Александрович Третьяк , IPA : [ trʲɪˈtʲjak ] ; born 25 April 1952 ) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team . Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport , he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation 's ( IIHF ) Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries . He is the current president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia and was the general manager of the Russian 2010 Winter Olympic team .
Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice , usually in a rink , in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent 's net to score goals . The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical , with teams usually fielding six players at a time : one goaltender , and five players who skate the span of the ice trying to control the puck and score goals against the opposing team . Ice hockey is most popular in Canada , central and eastern Europe , the Nordic countries , Russia , and the United States . Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada . In addition , ice hockey is the most popular winter sport in Belarus , Croatia , the Czech Republic , Finland , Latvia , Russia , Slovakia , Sweden , and Switzerland . North America 's National Hockey League ( NHL ) is the highest level for men 's ice hockey and the strongest professional ice hockey league in the world . The Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe . The International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) is the formal governing body for international ice hockey , with the IIHF managing international tournaments and maintaining the IIHF World Ranking . Worldwide , there are ice hockey federations in 76 countries . In Canada , the United States , Nordic countries , and some other European countries the sport is known simply as hockey ; the name ice hockey is used in places where hockey more often refers to the more popular field hockey , such as countries in South America , Asia , Africa , Australasia , and some European countries including the United Kingdom , Ireland and the Netherlands . Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom and elsewhere . These games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed , such as shinny and ice polo .
The 1980 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad ( Russian : И́гры XXII Олимпиа́ды , tr . Igry XXII Olimpiady ) , was an international multi-sport event held in Moscow , Soviet Union , in present-day Russia . The 1980 Games were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Eastern Europe , and remain the only Summer Olympics held there , as well as the first Olympic Games to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country . They were also the only Olympic Games to be held in a communist country until 2008 in China . These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris , 3rd Baron Killanin . Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games - the smallest number since 1956 . Led by the United States , 66 countries boycotted the games entirely because of the Soviet-Afghan War . Some athletes from some of the boycotting countries ( they are not included in the list of 66 countries that boycotted the games entirely ) participated in the games under the Olympic Flag . The Soviet Union would later boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals , with the USSR and East Germany winning 127 out of 204 available golds .
Nikolay Fyodorovich Balboshin ( Russian : Николай Фёдорович Балбошин , born 8 June 1949 ) is a retired Soviet heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler . He rarely lost a bout in the 1970s , winning five world titles , six European titles , and an Olympics gold medal in 1976 . At the 1976 Olympics he pinned all his five opponents , in total spending less than 17 minutes on the mat . He was the Soviet flag bearer and a clear favorite at the Moscow Olympics , but injured an Achilles tendon in the second bout and withdrew from the tournament . He recovered by 1984 , when he won his last Soviet title and was selected for the 1984 Games , but could not compete because of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott by the Soviet Union . He retired from competitions to become a wrestling coach n Moscow . In 2006 he was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame . Balboshin was born in East Germany , where his father , a career military officer , was serving at the time . He is married to Nina Balboshina and has a son Nikolai ( born 1973 ) and a daughter Yelena ( born 1979 ) . He took up wrestling when his family moved to Moscow and trained together with his elder brother Vladimir . His career was marred by injuries . In the 1960s he broke his arm at a junior wrestling competition .
The 1980 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games , was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13 to February 24 , 1980 , in Lake Placid , New York , United States . This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games , after 1932 . The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi , British Columbia , Canada , which withdrew before the final vote ( though Vancouver would eventually win the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics . ) The mascot of the Games was Roni , a raccoon . The mask-like rings on a raccoon 's face recall the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports . The sports were played at the Olympic Center , Whiteface Mountain , Mt . Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run , the Olympic Ski Jumps , the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center , and the Lake Placid High School Speed Skating Oval .
Alexander Ivanovich Tikhonov ( Russian : Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ти́хонов ; born 2 January 1947 ) is a former Soviet biathlete .
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting . It is treated as a race where the contestant with the shortest total time wins . Depending on the competition , missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant 's total .
The 1976 Summer Olympics , officially called the Games of the XXI Olympiad ( French : Les XXIes olympiques d'été ) , was an international multi-sport event in Montreal , Quebec , Canada , in 1976 , and the first Olympic Games held in Canada . Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12 , 1970 , at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam , over the bids of Moscow and Los Angeles . It was the first and , so far , only Summer Olympic Games to be held in Canada . Calgary and Vancouver later hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 and 2010 , respectively . Twenty-nine countries , mostly African , boycotted the Montreal Games when the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) refused to ban New Zealand , after the New Zealand national rugby union team had toured South Africa earlier in 1976 in defiance of the United Nations ' calls for a sporting embargo . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals .
Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev ( Russian : Василий Иванович Алексеев ; 7 January 1942 - 25 November 2011 ) was a Soviet weightlifter . He set 80 world records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting and won gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics .
Olympic weightlifting , or Olympic-style weightlifting , often simply referred to as weightlifting , is a sport in which the athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates . The two competition lifts in order are the snatch and the clean and jerk . The snatch is a wide-grip , one-move lift . The clean and jerk is a close-grip , two-move lift . Each weightlifter receives three attempts in each , and the combined total of the highest two successful lifts determines the overall result within a bodyweight category . Bodyweight categories are different for male and female competitors . A lifter who fails to complete at least one successful snatch and one successful clean and jerk also fails to total , and therefore receives an incomplete entry for the competition . The clean and press was once a competition lift , but was discontinued due to difficulties in judging proper form . In comparison with other strength sports , which test limit strength ( with or without lifting aids ) , weightlifting tests aspects of human ballistic limits ( explosive strength ) ; the lifts are therefore executed faster - and with more mobility and a greater range of motion during their execution - than other strength movements . The lifts performed in the sport of weightlifting , and in particular their component lifts ( e.g . squats , deadlifts , cleans ) , are commonly used by elite athletes in other sports to train for both explosive and functional strength .
The 1976 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games ( French : XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver , German : Olympische Winterspiele 1976 ) , were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4-15 , 1976 in Innsbruck , Austria . It was the second time the Tyrolean city hosted the Games , which were awarded to Innsbruck after Denver , the original host city , withdrew in 1972 .
The 1972 Summer Olympics ( German : Olympische Sommerspiele 1972 ) , officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event held in Munich , West Germany , from 26 August to 11 September 1972 . The sporting nature of the event was largely overshadowed by the Munich massacre in the second week , in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer at Olympic village were killed by Black September terrorists . The 1972 Summer Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany , after the 1936 Games in Berlin , which had taken place under the Nazi regime . The West German Government had been eager to have the Munich Olympics present a democratic and optimistic Germany to the world , as shown by the Games ' official motto , Die Heiteren Spiele , or the cheerful Games . The logo of the Games was a blue solar logo ( the Bright Sun ) by Otl Aicher , the designer and director of the visual conception commission . The Olympic mascot , the dachshund Waldi , was the first officially named Olympic mascot . The Olympic Fanfare was composed by Herbert Rehbein . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals . The Olympic Park ( Olympiapark ) is based on Frei Otto 's plans and after the Games became a Munich landmark . The competition sites , designed by architect Günther Behnisch , included the Olympic swimming hall , the Olympics Hall ( Olympiahalle , a multipurpose facility ) and the Olympic Stadium ( Olympiastadion ) , and an Olympic village very close to the park . The design of the stadium was considered revolutionary , with sweeping canopies of acrylic glass stabilized by metal ropes , used on such a large scale for the first time .
Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Medved ( born 16 September 1937 ) is a Ukrainian-born Soviet Belarussian retired freestyle wrestler who competed for the Soviet Union and was named one of the greatest wrestlers in history by FILA , the sport 's governing body . Between 1962 and 1972 he won three Olympic gold medals , seven world and three European titles . He served as the Olympic flag bearer for the Soviet Union in 1972 and recited the Judge 's Oath at the Opening Ceremony of the 1980 Olympics .
The 1972 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games ( Japanese : 第十一回オリンピック冬季競技大会 , Dai Jūichi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai ) ( French : Les XIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , were a winter multi-sport event which was held from February 3 to February 13 , 1972 , in Sapporo , Hokkaidō , Japan . It was the first Winter Olympics to be held outside Europe and North America , and only the third game ( summer or winter ) held outside those regions overall , after Melbourne ( 1956 Summer Olympics ) and Tokyo ( 1964 Summer Olympics ) .
Vyacheslav Petrovich Vedenin ( Russian : Вячесла́в Петро́вич Веденин ; born 1 October 1941 ) is a retired Soviet cross-country skier . His silver medal over 50 km was the only medal won by a Soviet male skier at the 1968 Olympics , as his 4×10 km team placed fourth . At the next Olympics he was the Olympic flag bearer for the Soviet Union and won three medals , with golds in the 30 km and 4×10 km and a bronze in the 50 km . In the 4×10 km event Vedenin ran the last leg and won by 10 seconds , despite starting with a one-minute lag from Norway . His gold in the 30 km was the first individual win for a Soviet male skier at the Winter Olympics . Vedenin also won three medals at the 1970 World Championships with two golds ( 30 km , 4x10 km ) and one silver ( 50 km ) . After retiring from competitions he coached skiers at Dynamo Moscow , for which he competed through his entire career . Vedenin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour ( 1970 ) and Order of Lenin ( 1972 ) . Since 1989 a competition Vedenin 's Ski Track ( « Лыжня Веденина » ) is held yearly in Dubna , Dubensky District , in his honor .
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain , rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance . Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity ; however , some still use it as a means of transportation . Variants of cross-country skiing are adapted to a range of terrain which spans unimproved , sometimes mountainous terrain to groomed courses that are specifically designed for the sport . Modern cross-country skiing is similar to the original form of skiing , from which all skiing disciplines evolved , including alpine skiing , ski jumping and Telemark skiing . Skiers propel themselves either by striding forward ( classic style ) or side-to-side in a skating motion ( skate skiing ) , aided by arms pushing on ski poles against the snow . It is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes , including Northern Europe , Canada , Russia , the United States , Australia and New Zealand . Competitive cross-country skiing is one of the Nordic skiing sports . Cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship are the two components of biathlon , ski-orienteering is a form of cross-country skiing , which includes map navigation along snow trails and tracks .
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( Spanish : Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968 ) , officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City , Mexico , from October 12 to the 27th . These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America and the first to be staged in a Spanish-speaking country . They were the first Games to use an all-weather ( smooth ) track for track and field events instead of the traditional cinder track . The 1968 Games were the third to be held in the last quarter of the year , after the 1956 Games in Melbourne and the 1964 Games in Tokyo . The Mexican Student Movement of 1968 happened concurrently and the Olympic Games were correlated to the government 's repression . The United States won the most gold and overall medals for the last time until 1984 .
Leonid Ivanovych Zhabotynsky ( Ukrainian : Леонiд Іванович Жаботинський ; 28 January 1938 - 14 January 2016 ) was a Ukrainian weightlifter who set 19 world records in the superheavyweight class , and won gold medals at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games .
The 1968 Winter Olympics , officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble , France , and opened on 6 February . Thirty-seven countries participated . Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy won three gold medals in all the alpine skiing events . In women 's figure skating , Peggy Fleming won the only United States gold medal . The games have been credited with making the Winter Olympics more popular in the United States , not least of which because of ABC 's extensive coverage of Fleming and Killy , who became overnight sensations among teenage girls . The year 1968 marked the first time the IOC first permitted East and West Germany to enter separately , and the first time the IOC ever ordered drug and gender testing of competitors .
Viktor Fyodorovich Mamatov ( Russian : Виктор Фёдорович Маматов ; born 21 July 1937 ) is a former Soviet biathlete . At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble , he won a gold medal with the Soviet relay team . He was Flag Bearer at the 1968 Olympics . Mamatov received another gold medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo . He became World Champion in individual 20 km in 1967 , and three times with the Soviet relay team , in 1969 , 1970 and 1971 .
The 1964 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad ( Japanese : 第十八回オリンピック競技大会 , Hepburn : Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Kyōgi Taikai ) , was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo , Japan , from 10 to 24 October 1964 . Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics , but this honour was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan 's invasion of China , before ultimately being cancelled because of World War II . The 1964 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in Asia , and the first time South Africa was barred from taking part due to its apartheid system in sports . ( South Africa was , however , allowed to compete at the 1964 Summer Paralympics , also held in Tokyo , where it made its Paralympic Games debut . ) Tokyo was chosen as the host city during the 55th IOC Session in West Germany , on 26 May 1959 . These games were also the first to be telecast internationally without the need for tapes to be flown overseas , as they had been for the 1960 Olympics four years earlier . The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3 , the first geostationary communication satellite , and from there to Europe using Relay 1 . These were also the first Olympic Games to have color telecasts , albeit partially . Certain events like the sumo wrestling and judo matches , sports huge in Japan , were tried out using Toshiba 's new colour transmission system , but only for the domestic market . History surrounding the 1964 Olympics was chronicled in the 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad , directed by Kon Ichikawa . The games were scheduled for mid-October to avoid the city 's midsummer heat and humidity and the September typhoon season . The previous Olympics in Rome in 1960 started in late August and experienced hot weather .
Yury Petrovich Vlasov ( Russian : Юрий Петрович Власов ; born 5 December 1935 ) is a Soviet writer and retired heavyweight weightlifter and politician . He competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1960 and a silver in 1964 ; at both games he was the Olympic flag bearer for the Soviet Union . During his career Vlasov won four world titles and set 31 ratified world records . He retired in 1968 and became a prominent writer and later a politician . He was a member of the Congress of People 's Deputies of the Soviet Union ( 1989 ) and then of the Russian State Duma ( 1993 ) and took part in the 1996 Russian presidential election .
The 1964 Winter Olympics , officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les IXes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( German : Olympische Winterspiele 1964 ) , was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck , Austria , from January 29 to February 9 , 1964 . The Games included 1091 athletes from 36 nations , and the Olympic Torch was carried by Joseph Rieder , a former alpine skier who had participated in the 1956 Winter Olympics . The Games were affected by the deaths of Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and British luge slider Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski , during training , and by the deaths , three years earlier , of the entire US figure skating team and family members .
Yevgeny Romanovich Grishin ( Russian : Евгений Романович Гришин ; 23 March 1931 - 9 July 2005 ) was a Russian speedskater . Grishin trained for the largest part of his speedskating career at CSKA Moscow . He became European Champion in 1956 , and won Olympic gold in the 500 meter and 1500 meter events in both 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics ( sharing the 1500 meter victories with respectively Yuri Mikhaylov and Roald Aas ) , competing for the USSR team . Along with his compatriot Lidiya Skoblikova , he was the most successful athlete at the 1960 Winter Olympics . Grishin was the first to break the 40 second barrier on the 500 m , skating 39.6 in a test race in Squaw Valley in 1960 , just after the Winter Olympic Games at the same location . This result was not officially recognised as a world record . Three years later , on 27-28 January 1963 , he set officially ratified world records 39.6 and 39.5 at the Medeo track . He also won 2 bronze medals in the World Championships , in 1954 and 1956 . He had 12 single distance wins in his 14 starts in allround championships . Over the course of his career Grishin set seven world records ; the 1:22.8 time of the 1000 m lasted 12 years .
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 . In the Olympic Games , long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just speed skating , while short-track speed skating is known as short track . The ISU , the governing body of both ice sports , refers to long track as speed skating and short track as short track skating . An international federation was founded in 1892 , the first for any winter sport . The sport enjoys large popularity in the Netherlands , Norway and South Korea . There are top international rinks in a number of other countries , including Canada , the United States , Germany , Italy , Japan , Russia , Kazakhstan , China , Belarus and Poland . A World Cup circuit is held with events in those countries plus two events in the Thialf ice hall in Heerenveen , Netherlands .
The 1960 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( Italian : Giochi della XVII Olimpiade ) , was an international multi-sport event that was held from August 25 to September 11 , 1960 , in Rome , Italy . The city of Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics , but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 , Rome had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals .
The 1960 Winter Olympics , officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games , was a winter multi-sport event held between February 18-28 , 1960 , in Squaw Valley , California , United States . Squaw Valley was chosen to host the Games at the 1956 meeting of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) . It was an undeveloped resort in 1955 , so from 1956 to 1960 the infrastructure and all of the venues were built at a cost of US $ 80,000,000 . It was designed to be intimate , allowing spectators and competitors to walk to nearly all the venues . Squaw Valley hosted athletes from thirty nations who competed in four sports and twenty-seven events . Women 's speed skating and biathlon made their Olympic debuts . After a poll was taken indicating that only nine countries would send a bobsled team , the organizers decided the bobsled events did not warrant the cost to build a venue , so for the first and only time bobsled was not on the Winter Olympic program . Cold War politics forced the IOC to debate the participation of China and Taiwan . The United States supported Taiwan while the Soviet Union stood behind China . Given the fact that the 1960 Games were to be held in America , there was concern among IOC members that the United States would not allow China or any other Communist country to participate . In 1957 , IOC president Avery Brundage , himself an American , announced that if the United States refused entry to any country recognized by the IOC , then they would revoke Squaw Valley 's invitation to host the Games and he would resign the presidency . Bowing to international pressure , the United States allowed athletes from Communist countries to participate .
Nikolai Mikhailovich Sologubov ( Russian : Николай Михайлович Сологубов ; 8 August 1924 - 30 December 1988 ) was a Russian ice hockey defenceman who won a gold and a bronze medal with Soviet teams at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics , respectively .
The 1956 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event that was held in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia from 22 November to 8 December 1956 , with the exception of the equestrian events , which were held in Stockholm , Sweden in June 1956 . These Games were the first to be staged in the Southern Hemisphere and Oceania , as well as the first to be held outside Europe and North America . Melbourne is the most southerly city ever to host the Olympics . Due to the Southern Hemisphere 's seasons being different from those in the Northern Hemisphere , the 1956 Games did not take place at the usual time of year , because of the need to hold the events during the warmer weather of the host 's spring/summer ( which corresponds to the Northern Hemisphere 's autumn/winter ) . The Olympic equestrian events could not be held in Melbourne due to Australia 's strict quarantine regulations , so they were held in Stockholm five months earlier . This was the second time that the Olympics were not held entirely in one country , the first being the 1920 Summer Olympics , which were held in Antwerp , Belgium , with some events taking place in Ostend , Belgium and Amsterdam , Netherlands . Despite uncertainties and various complications encountered during the preparations , the 1956 Games went ahead in Melbourne as planned and turned out to be a success . The enduring tradition of national teams parading as one during the closing ceremony was started at these Olympics . Several teams boycotted the Games in protest of the IOC 's rejection to suspend the USSR after their invasion of Hungary . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals .
Alexey Sidorovich Medvedev ( Russian : Алексей Сидорович Медведев ; 9 October 1927 - 9 May 2003 ) was a Soviet heavyweight weightlifter who won a European title in 1956 and 1958 and a world title in 1957 and 1958 . On 15 March 1959 , he set a world record in the snatch . Medvedev served as the Soviet flag bearer at the 1956 Summer Olympics . He was not allowed to compete because Soviet officials expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal and did not trust Medvedev will do so . During World War II Medvedev started working at a factory , aged 14 . There he occasionally trained in cross-country skiing , athletics and football . He took up weightlifting in 1946 , and in 1949 , after placing second at the Soviet championships , was included to the national team . Later he became the first Soviet athlete to lift a total of 500 kg . Medvedev retired in 1962 to become the head coach of the Soviet national weightlifting team . He served as vice-president of the European ( 1969-1975 ) and International Weightlifting Federation ( 1969-1980 ) , and in addition acted as a judge . From 1997 until his death he headed the weightlifting department of the Russian State University of Physical Education , Sport , Youth and Tourism , his alma mater . Medvedev was married to Yelizaveta Medvedeva .
The 1956 Winter Olympics , officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les VIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ; Italian : VII Giochi olimpici invernali ) , was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy , from 26 January to 5 February 1956 . Cortina , which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics , beat out Montreal , Colorado Springs and Lake Placid for the right to host the 1956 Games . The Cortina Games were unique in that many of the venues were within walking distance of each other . The organising committee received financial support from the Italian government for infrastructure improvements , but the rest of the costs for the Games had to be privately financed . Consequently , the organising committee was the first to rely heavily on corporate sponsorship for funding . Thirty-two nations - the largest number of countries participating in the Winter Olympics until then - competed in the four sports and twenty-four events . Austrian Toni Sailer became the first person to sweep all three alpine skiing events in a single Olympics . The figure skating competition was held outdoors for the last time at these Games . Logistically , the only problem encountered was a lack of snow at the alpine skiing events . To remedy this , the Italian army transported large amounts of snow to ensure the courses were adequately covered . Politics did not affect the 1956 Winter Games - unlike the Summer Games in Melbourne , Australia later in the year which many nations boycotted after the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Revolution , and the Suez War . The Cortina Olympics were the first Winter Olympics televised to a multi-national audience .
Oleg Georgievich Goncharenko ( Russian : Олег Георгиевич Гончаренко , Ukrainian : Олег Георгійович Гончаренко ) ( 18 August 1931 - 16 December 1986 ) , Distinguished Master of Sports of the USSR , was the first male Soviet speed skater to become World Allround Champion . Born in Kharkiv , Ukraine , Oleg Goncharenko made his international debut in 1953 and promptly became World Allround Champion . He would win two more World Allround Championships after that , as well as two European Allround Championships . In 1958 , he won the triple , becoming World , European , and Soviet Allround Champion . At the 1956 Winter Olympics of Cortina d'Ampezzo , Goncharenko won bronze on the 5,000 m and on the 10,000 m. He also participated in the 5,000 m at the 1960 Winter Olympics of Squaw Valley , but finished only sixth . Both at home at abroad , Goncharenko was unusually popular for many years , even long after he had retired from speed skating . After winning his first World Championship in 1953 in Helsinki , he received dozens of telegrams in his hotel room there from all over the Soviet Union and from abroad . One of those telegrams he kept until the end of his life because it was particularly dear to him . It was a short message from the legendary Norwegian speed skater Oscar Mathisen , reading Congratulations . Oscar Mathisen . - written just one year before Mathisen 's death . Goncharenko 's achievements also prompted two cities , Denver and Oslo , to name him an honorary citizen .
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( Finnish : Kesäolympialaiset 1952 ; Swedish : Olympiska sommarspelen 1952 ) , officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad , were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki , Finland , from July 19 to August 3 , 1952 . Helsinki had been earlier selected to host the 1940 Summer Olympics , which were cancelled due to World War II . It is the northernmost city at which a summer Olympic Games have been held . These were the first games to be held in a non-Indo-European language speaking country . It was also the Olympic Games at which the most number of world records were broken until it was surpassed by the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing . The Soviet Union , the People 's Republic of China , Hong Kong , Indonesia , Israel , Thailand , and Saarland made their Olympic debuts in Helsinki 1952 . The United States won the most gold and overall medals .
Yakov Grigorievich Kutsenko ( Russian : Яков Григорьевич Куценко , 22 November 1915 - 13 August 1988 ) was a Ukrainian heavyweight weightlifter . Between 1946 and 1950 he won two European titles and two silver medals at world championships , both times losing to John Davis . He was the Soviet heavyweight champion between 1937 and 1952 , and in 1947 set three official world records in the clean and jerk . Kutsenko served as the Soviet flag bearer at the 1952 Summer Olympics . He was not allowed to compete because the Soviet officials expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal , and Kutsenko never won a world title .