Vladimir Mikhailovich Melanin (Russian: Владимир Михайлович Меланьин; 1 December 1933 – 10 August 1994) was a Soviet biathlete.
 Vladimir Melanin on a 2013 Russian stamp from the series "Sports Legends". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Vladimir Mikhailovich Melanin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 December 1933 Sovetsky District, RSFSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 August 1994 (aged 60) Kirov, Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Biathlon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | VS Kirov | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 2 (1960, 1964) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (1 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 5 (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 7 (6 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Life and career edit
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 edit
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[1]
Olympic Games edit
1 medal (1 gold)
| Event | Individual |
|---|---|
 1960 Squaw Valley
|
4th |
 1964 Innsbruck
|
Gold |
World Championships edit
7 medals (6 gold, 1 silver)
| Event | Individual | Team (time) | Relay |
|---|---|---|---|
 1959 Courmayeur
|
Gold | Gold | — |
 1962 Hämeenlinna
|
Gold | Gold | — |
| 1963 Seefeld
|
Gold | Gold | — |
 1965 Elverum
|
7th | Silver | — |
 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 edit
- ^ "Search results". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
External links edit
- Vladimir Melanin at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
