Yevgeny Kulikov

Who is Yevgeny Kulikov?

Yevgeny Nikolayevich Kulikov is a former speed skater who specialised in the sprint.

Yevgeny Kulikov trained at Burevestnik Voluntary Sports Society. Competing for the Soviet Union he became the first to break the 38 seconds barrier on the 500 m in 1975 and over the course of the next two weeks he lowered his own 500 m world record three more times, finishing with a time of 37.00, exactly one second below the previous world record. He would remain the 500 m world record holder for 8 years. For his achievements he received the 1975 Oscar Mathisen Award.

At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, he won gold on the 500 m despite the fact that he had a cold and a fever during his race. As the defending 500 m Olympic Champion and world record holder, he won silver at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, being beaten by Eric Heiden.

At the World Sprint Championships, Kulikov won silver in 1975 and bronze in 1977. In 1981, Kulikov lowered his own 500 m world record once more, becoming the first man to break the 37-second barrier.