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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Russian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 January 1966 (1966-01) (age 59) Vologda,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Speed skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 500 m: 36.84 (1989) 1000 m: 1:13.03 (1988) 1500 m: 1:52.70 (1988) 3000 m: 4:11.2 (1987) 5000 m: 6:51.28 (1987) 10 000 m: 14:28.45 (1987) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Nikolay Alekseyevich Gulyayev (Russian:Николай Алексеевич Гуляев, born 1 January 1966) is a formerspeed skater, considered among the world's best in the 1980s.
Nikolay Gulyayev trained atArmed Forces sports society inMoscow. Skating for theSoviet Union, his first international appearance was in 1986 at theEuropean Allround Championships inOslo. Gulyayev debuted with a 5th place in the tournament won byDutchmanHein Vergeer and impressed with a 2nd-place finish on the 1,500 metres.
In 1987, he was at the top of the international skating field. In January, he won the European Championships inTrondheim, in front ofMichael Hadschieff and Hein Vergeer. Gulyayev held his form until theWorld Allround Championships inHeerenveen. At these championships, the first to be held in a climate-controlled indoor stadium, he was the first to achieve an overall point total (samalog) below 160.000 points, finishing before fellow countrymanOleg Bozhev and theAustrian Michael Hadschieff. His samalogWorld Record of 159.356 stood for 4 years before being broken byJohann Olav Koss at the same venue. In Heerenveen he also set the 1,500 metres world record at 1:52.70. For his achievements that year, he received theOscar Mathisen Award.
His performance at the World Championships in Heerenveen put him in first place on theAdelskalender, the all-time allround speedskating ranking, displacing his compatriotViktor Shasherin, until, at the1988 Winter Olympics, Austrian skater Michael Hadschieff took over first place, followed a few days later byEric Flaim from theUnited States. Gulyayev was number one in the Adelskalender for 364 days and in the top 10 from February 1987 until January 1994.
For the1988 Winter Olympics inCalgary, he was a favourite for the 1,500 metres and he was also considered to have a chance for a medal in the 1,000 metres, especially after he won both distances at the World Cup inInzell, one month before the start of the games. But in the same month, he got caught trying tosmuggle 700 capsules ofDianabol, ananabolic steroid. Because of this, he did not defend his European and World titles. Since he never tested positive for steroid use, theIOC could not refuse Gulyayev participation in the 1988 Winter Olympics. He then did compete in Calgary, but under close scrutiny.
In the first distance he participated in, the 500 metres, Gulyayev did not finish because of a fall. Four days later, in the 1,000 metres, despite a strong field of sprinters, he won the gold medal by setting the Olympic 1,000 metre record at 1:13.03, leavingUwe-Jens Mey andIgor Zhelezovski behind. Two days later, he was favoured at the 1,500 metres, but he finished only 7th. After those Olympics, Gulyayev found himself incapable of competing at the top level of international allround speed skating, so he switched his focus to the shorter sprinting distances. At the1992 Winter Olympics inAlbertville he tried to defend his 1,000 metres title, but he did not get further than the 8th place. In March 1992, he became the Russian Sprint Champion inKolomna in front of the youngSergey Klevchenya.
Gulyayev had to end his speed skating career because of back problems. These days, he is vice-president of the Russian Speed Skating Federation. His reorganisations may have contributed to Olympic medals at the2006 Winter Olympics forDmitry Dorofeyev enSvetlana Zhurova. His aim was to sign onPeter Mueller as the new coach of the Russian team after the Olympics.
Over the course of his career, Gulyayev skated 2world records:
| Event | Time | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 m | 1.52,70 | 15 February 1987 | Heerenveen |
| Big combination | 159.356 | 15 February 1987 | Heerenveen |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[1]
To put these personal records in perspective, the last column (WR) lists the official world records on the dates that Gulyayev skated his personal records.
| Distance | Result | Date | Location | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 36.84 | 22 December 1989 | Medeo | 36.45 |
| 1,000 m | 1:13.03 | 18 February 1988 | Calgary | 1:12.58 |
| 1,500 m | 1:52.70 | 15 February 1987 | Heerenveen | 1:53.26 |
| 3,000 m | 4:11.2 | 17 December 1987 | Leningrad | 3:59.27 |
| 5,000 m | 6:51.28 | 14 February 1987 | Heerenveen | 6:49.15 |
| 10,000 m | 14:28.45 | 15 February 1987 | Heerenveen | 14:12.14 |
| Big combination | 159.356 | 15 February 1987 | Heerenveen | 160.807 |
Gulyayev has anAdelskalender score of 158.956 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a 1st place.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Oscar Mathisen Award 1987 | Succeeded by |
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