Alexander Dityatin : Ask Biography

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Alexander Nikolaevich Dityatin ( , born August 7, 1957 in Leningrad) is a Russian gymnast, three-time Olympic Champion, and Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR. Winning eight medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics, he set the record for achieving the most medals of any type at a single Olympic Games. The American swimmer Michael Phelps has now twice equalled this record, at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Dityatin still holds the all-time Olympic record for most individual medals at a single Games, at seven. Dityatin competed for the Leningrad Dinamo sports society.

Dityatin's first Olympic success was at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where he won two silver medals - on the rings and in the team competition. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow he won the all-around title and seven more medals, including two golds. He was the most successful athlete at the 1980 Summer Olympics. As of August 2008 he is the only athlete who won a medal in each of the eight gymnastics events at one Olympics. Shortly after the 1980 Olympics, Dityatin was seriously injured while training, which ended his career.

Dityatin graduated from Leningrad Lesgaft Institute of Physical Education. He was awarded Order of the Badge of Honor (1976), and Order of Lenin (1980, for guarding the State Border of the USSR). Between 1980 and 1995 Dityatin was the head coach of a sports team from Leningrad (Leningrad OKPP). Since 1995 he works as the chief inspector of the Pulkovo Airport checkpoint (Pulkovo-2 OKPP). He is a Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Border Service.

In 2004 Dityatin was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.