Vyacheslav IVANOV

Vyacheslav Ivanov won his first gold medal in rowing's single sculls event in 1956. He trailed Stuart Mackenzie of Australia for 1,800m and then made a sensational sprint over the last 200m to win by 5½ seconds. In 1960, Ivanov won a second time, defeating East Germany's Achim Hill by 6¼ seconds.

Ivanov faced Hill again in 1964. 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 lost consciousness fifty metres before the finish line. He awoke to find himself still in the lead, and went on to win by 3.73 seconds.