Nikolai Andrianov

  • Soviet Union

In the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Andrianov added five more medals to secure his place as the most accomplished male Olympic athlete of all time, with 15 Olympic medals.

Induction Speech Video

By the time of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Andrianov was in his best form, as he won an amazing seven medals.

As a young man, Nikolai Andrianov was known as an unruly child. But under the discipline of his first coach, Nikolai Tolkachev, Andrianov became one of the world’s most accomplished athletes. 

Born in Vladimir, Russian, on October 14, 1952, Andrianov competed in his first major international meet in 1969. And by the time he finished his competitive career at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, nearly all of the records were broken.

In Munich in 1972, the first of his three Olympics, Andrianov won the floor exercise with impressive tumbling. His aggressive style and outrageous difficulty became his trademark. By the time of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Andrianov was in his best form, as he won an amazing seven medals. 

In the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Andrianov added five more medals to secure his place as the most accomplished male Olympic athlete of all time, with 15 Olympic medals — seven gold, five silver and three bronze.  

Along with his 13 World Championships medals, 10 World Cup medals, and 17 European Championship medals, Andrianov’s competitive legacy leads most of the records categories. 

Over the years, Andrianov continued to perform exhibition tours, promoting gymnastics to large crowds. In 1972, he married 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Ljubov Burda.

1972 OLYMPIC GAMES

  • Gold Medalist & Olympic Champion:
    • Floor Exercise
  • Bronze Medalist:
    • Vault

1976 OLYMPIC GAMES

  • Gold Medalist & Olympic Champion:
    • All-Around
    • Floor Exercise
    • Still Rings
    • Vault
  • Silver Medalist:
    • Parallel Bars
  • Bronze Medalist:
    • Pommel Horse (tie)

1980 OLYMPIC GAMES

  • Gold Medalist & Olympic Champion:
    • Vault
  • Silver Medalist:
    • All-Around
    • Floor Exercise
  • Bronze Medalist:
    • Horizontal Bar

1974 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Gold Medalist & World Champion:
    • Still Rings (tie)
  • Silver Medalist:
    • All-Around
    • Pommel Horse
    • Vault
    • Parallel Bars

1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Gold Medalist & World Champion:
    • All-Around
    • Still Rings
  • Silver Medalist:
    • Vault
    • Parallel Bars (tie)

1979 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Silver Medalist:
    • Vault

2001 INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTICS HALL OF FAME

  • Inducted as a member of the Class of 2001