Yevgeny Kulikov

Yevgeny Kulikov
Personal information
Native nameЕвге́ний Кулико́в
Birth nameYevgeny Nikolayevich Kulikov
NationalityRussian
BornMay 25, 1950 (1950-05-25) (age 74)
Bogdanovich, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Country Soviet Union
SportSpeed skating
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Innsbruck 500 m
Silver medal – second place 1980 Lake Placid 500 m
World Sprint Championships
Silver medal – second place 1975 Gothenburg Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Alkmaar Sprint

Yevgeny Nikolayevich Kulikov (Russian: Евге́ний Никола́евич Кулико́в, born 25 May 1950 in Sverdlovsk Oblast) is a former speed skater who specialised in the sprint.

Yevgeny Kulikov trained at Burevestnik Voluntary Sports Society. Competing for the Soviet Union he became the first to break the 38 seconds barrier on the 500 m in 1975 and over the course of the next two weeks he lowered his own 500 m world record three more times, finishing with a time of 37.00, exactly one second below the previous world record. He would remain the 500 m world record holder for 8 years. For his achievements he received the 1975 Oscar Mathisen Award.

At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, he won gold on the 500 m despite the fact that he had a cold and a fever during his race. As the defending 500 m Olympic Champion and world record holder, he won silver at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, being beaten by Eric Heiden.

At the World Sprint Championships, Kulikov won silver in 1975 and bronze in 1977. In 1981, Kulikov lowered his own 500 m world record once more, becoming the first man to break the 37-second barrier.