heROeS OF the PASt
a SOVIEt LEGEnd

Major achievements (M1x)

Doing it the Ivanov way

Mention the best and the name Vyatcheslav ivanov will always come up. the Soviet Union rower dominated the men’s single sculls through the 1950s and into the ‘60s. in that time ivanov became the first to win three gold medals in the single at the Olympic Games. Since then, this accomplishment has only ever been achieved by Pertti Karppinen of Finland.

Ivanov began rowing as a 15-year-old in his home town of Moscow and two years later not only became Soviet Union junior champion but at the senior championships he beat Olympicchampion Yuri Tyukalov, when he finished third. The following year Ivanov began an 11-year winning streak of the Soviet championships in the single.

In 1956, Ivanov became an Olympic Champion; he was only 18. Competing at the Games in Melbourne, Ivanov unleashed his racing style on the unsuspecting finalists and seasoned single scullers, especially the known favourite and local Australian Stuart Mackenzie. Mackenzie had led for the entire race when Ivanov, from fourth place, let loose a phenomenal sprint to win the event by a huge five-and-a-half seconds.

Years later at the 1960 Games in Rome and 1964 Games in Tokyo, Ivanov used the same tactic to win his second and third Olympic gold medal. In 1964 the Soviet was down by seven seconds with 500m left to row but still managed to use his massive sprint to take the lead. Ivanov claimed he blacked out momentarily before the finish line from the effort.

This style of racing was to become legendary. It is sometimes called “doing an Ivanov” or a “Russian finish” when the opening part of a race is fast, the body of a race is at a normal pace, and it is concluded by a huge finishing sprint. He was also the first to break the seven-minute barrier in the single, setting a new World Best Time of 6:58.8 over 2,000m.