Aleksandr DITYATIN

Handsome Aleksandr Dityatin first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1976, winning a silver medal in the gymnastics team event. He also placed fourth in the individual all-around event, missing a medal by only five hundredths of a point.

The home crowd for good luck

Competing before a hometown crowd in Moscow at the 1980 Olympic Games, Dityatin led the Soviet Union to the team championship and then won the individual all-around title. He also qualified for all six apparatus finals. On 25 July, 1980, Dityatin won six medals in one day, taking the gold on the rings and silvers on the horizontal bar, parallel bars and pommel horse and in the vault event. He also earned a bronze medal in the floor exercise.

A perfect score

Dityatin is the first athlete in Olympic history to win eight medals in one Olympic Games. He was also the first male gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of ten in an Olympic competition, a feat he accomplished in the long horse vault.