Viktor Fyodorovich Markin

Viktor Fjodorowitsch Markin ( Russian Виктор Фёдорович Маркин , English transcription Viktor Markin ; born February 27, 1957 near Novosibirsk ) is a former Soviet sprinter and Olympic champion , whose special course was the 400-meter run .

Markin did not begin training in athletics until the age of 19, and was internationally unknown until the Moscow Olympics. On April 27, 1980, he ran a personal best of 46.96 s in Sochi . Shortly before the Games, he improved his time to 45.34 seconds.

In the final of the 400-meter run at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow , he was in fifth place after half the distance, and at the start of the home straight he was only about three meters behind the leading Frank Schaffer from the GDR. With a great final sprint he overtook it, won the gold medal and set a European record. The Australian Rick Mitchell achieved silver and Frank Schaffer only got a bronze medal. His second victory was the gold medal in the 4 x 400 meter relay , together with his teammates Remigijus Valiulis , Michail Linge and Nikolai Tschernezki , ahead of the teams from the GDR (silver) and from Italy (bronze).

After the Games, Markin said goodbye to athletics for the time being to finish his medical studies. In 1982 he reported back at the European Championships in Athens and won bronze in both the 400 meters and the 4 x 400 meter relay. At the World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 , he won another gold medal in the 400-meter relay. He ended his sporting career when the Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles .

Web links

• Viktor Fjodorowitsch Markin in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )