Alexei Sergeyevich Spiridonov

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Alexei Sergejewitsch Spiridonow ( Russian Алексей Сергеевич Спиридонов ; born November 20, 1951 in Leningrad , † April 9, 1998 ) was a Soviet athlete . Spiridonov, who is 1.92 m tall and weighed 117 kg when he competed, was European champion in 1974 and second in the Olympic hammer throw in 1976 .

Spiridonow was second in 1970 with 64.88 m at the European Junior Championships in hammer throw. In 1973 he won silver again at the Universiade . With 71.82 m he was 60 centimeters behind Valentin Dmitrijenko . At the Soviet championship in 1973 he was also second, this time behind Anatolij Bondarchuk .

Also in 1974 he was second in the Soviet championships behind Dmitrijenko. At the European Championships in Rome in 1974 , Spiridonov won an important competition for the first time. With 74.20 m he threw twenty centimeters further than Jochen Sachse from the GDR, the world record holder Reinhard Theimer was third ahead of Dmitrijenko. Four days later, Spiridonow managed a throw in Munich with 76.66 m, with which he exceeded Theimer's world record by six centimeters.

In May 1975, his world record was exceeded by Karl-Hans Riehm . At the Soviet championships Spiridonow was second behind Dmitrijenko. Spiridonov returned to Rome for the Universiade, held in 1975 as the student world championships. And again he was unbeatable in Rome. With 73.82 m he won ahead of Walter Schmidt and 20-year-old Jurij Sedych . Schmidt improved the world record to 79.30 m in August.

In 1976 Spiridonow increased his personal best to 78.62 m, but this performance did not even mean a Soviet record, as Sedych had meanwhile thrown 78.86 m. Sedych was also Soviet champion in 1976 ahead of Bondarchuk and Spiridonow. The final at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal turned into a great duel between the throwers from the Soviet Union and the Germans from East and West. Spiridonov took the lead in the first attempt with an Olympic record of 75.74 m, Sedych threw 77.52 m in the second attempt. Spiridonow rose 76.08 m in the last attempt and won silver ahead of Bondarchuk. The two West German Riehm and Schmidt, as well as Sachse from the GDR followed behind the medal ranks.

1978 Spiridonow was again third at the Soviet championships behind Sedych and Boris Saitschuk , but was not nominated for the 1978 European championships .

literature

  • ATFS (Ed.): USSR Athletics Statistics. London 1988.
  • Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 1999. Surbiton 1999, ISBN 1-899807-047 .