| Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Ivanov |
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Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Ivanov, best known simply as '''Vyacheslav Ivanov''' (; born 1938 , Moscow ) was one of the most accomplished Rower of his generation. He rowed for the Soviet Union, and he won the Olympic Gold medals in the single scull at 1956 Melbourne Games , 1960 Rome Games and 1964 Tokyo Games . Ivanov was the first man to win the single scull event three times in the Olympics. At the time, only Americans John B. Kelly, Sr. and Paul Costello and Briton Jack Beresford had won three Olympic Gold Medals in the sport of rowing (since surpassed by Steven Redgrave and others), but the single scull is generally regard as the premier event in rowing. The only other person to match Ivanov's achievement and win three Gold Medals in the single scull is Finland 's Pertti Karppinen . ROWING CAREER Vyacheslav Ivanov won his first gold medal in rowing's single sculls event in 1956 Olympics as an 18 year old. He was in fourth place at the 1,500 meter mark. With only 500 meters left, he began a devastating sprint, first catching Poland 's Teodor Kocerka , then American John B. Kelly, Jr. Finally, with 200 meters to go, he blew past fellow teenager Stuart Mackenzie of Australia who had led the entire race. Mackenzie had momentarily stopped rowing and according to his account Mackenzie believed that he had won the race. When Mackenzie realized his error, he was unable to regain his form. Ivanov went on to win by a 5½ seconds. When Ivanov collected his medal he was so excited he jumped for joy and he unfortunately lost the medal which flung from his hand and into the rowing lake. The American Kelly who finished third is noteworthy as he gave his bronze medal to his sister Grace Kelly , Princess of Monaco as a wedding present. He was also the son of triple gold medalist John B. Kelly, Sr. , whose feat Ivanov would eventually match. In both 1957, and 1958, as a prelude to the 1960 Summer Olympic Games , Mackenzie had defeated Ivanov in the Diamond Challenge Sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta . At the 1960 Olympics , Ivanov won a second time, again with a blistering sprint, defeating East Germany 's Achim Hill by 6¼ seconds to claim his second gold medal. Poland 's Teodor Kocerka won the bronze medal. Australia 's Stuart Mackenzie who had been Ivanov's prime competitor in 1956 withdrew because of illness, spoiling a much anticipated matchup, but in no way diminishing Ivanov's achievement. In 1962, Ivanov won the first ever World Rowing Championship , again by rowing through the field, and defeating long time rival Stuart Mackenzie , now rowing for Great Britian , and American newcomer Seymour "Cy" Cromwell who placed third. Ivanov faced the East German Hill again in the 1964 Olympics . This time he trailed Hill by 7 seconds with 500m to go, but finished so powerfully that he closed the gap and moved ahead. Ivanov made such a tremendous effort that he briefly blacked out. He regained awareness fifty meters before the finish line to find himself still in the lead and went on to win by 3.73 seconds. In 1966, Ivanov tasted defeat, finishing sixth and last in the finals of the World Rowing Championship. LEGACY As a consequence of this bizarre turn of events it has now widely accepted that with the exception of fainting, sprinting the first section of a course, returning to normal pace for the race body and than sprinting the final straight is regarded as "doing an Ivanov" or alternatively "a russian finish," and is practiced by many international crews. A training routine was also adapted from this form of rowing. The Ivanov Technique is practiced by some teams in the United Kingdom . As rowing is a sport usually associated with the use of sight as the primary sense, rower's are taught via this technique to rely on their other senses more by closing their eyes and still attempting to maintain a good pace and rhythm using their remaining senses and the directions given to them by their Coxswain who naturally does not close his or her eyes. RECORD Olympics
World Championships
Henley Royal Regatta
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