Gennady Bukharin

Gennady Bukharin was only a young boy when he became responsible for his family during World War II, as his mother had died several years prior and his father went off to fight during the conflict. It was not until the 1950s, therefore, that his canoeing career took off, but his international performances more than made up for lost time. At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, he won bronze medals in both the C1 1000 and C1 10000, and he upgraded both of those medals to gold at the 1958 World Championships. He retired in the 1960s, after having won four national titles in the C1 10000 (1955-1957 and 1959) and one in the C1 4x500 metres relay in 1960, and turned to coaching, including a nine-year stint in Bulgaria.