Igor BADAMCHIN

Known mostly as a long distance skier, Igor Badamshin won his only major international medal in a relay, when he was a member of the Russian relay team that won bronze at the 1993 World Championships. His best individual finishes at major international tournaments were fifth, which he achieved twice – in 50 km freestyle at the 1989 World Championships and in 30 km classical style at the 1993 World Championships. During his career, Badamshin also competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1991 and 1995 World Championships. He had one podium position in a World Cup event, when he was second in the 50 km classical at Calgary in 1989. His best overall World Cup finish was 15th in the 1989/1990 season.

Domestically, Badamshin won the Soviet 50 km title in 1988, 50 km, 70 km and relay titles in 1989, a 15 km title in 1990, and CIS 50 km title in 1992. Badamshin retired from sports in 1997 and at the beginning of the 2000s he and his wife, Nina Gavrylyuk, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner in cross-country skiing, moved to Wisconsin in the United States, where they worked as cross-country skiing coaches. On 14 January 2014 Badamshin collapsed with an apparent heart attack on a ski trail near Hayward, Wisconsin, while training for a local race scheduled for next day, and died shortly thereafter.