Gennady Komnatov

During his brief cycling career Gennady Komnatov became both a Soviet and Olympic champion in the team time trial. From 1970 to 1974 Komnatov was part of the quartet that won five back-to-back titles in the event at the Soviet Championships. In 1972 he was selected to ride in the same race at the München Olympics, winning gold along with his compatriots Boris Shukhov, Valery Yardy, and Valery Likhachov. Komnatov then won three successive silver medals in the team time trial at the UCI World Championships from 1973 to 1975.

Komnatov rode for one more year, winning the Tour of Jutland in Denmark, along with a stage of the Tour du Maroc. Tragically he was only 29-years-old when he was killed in a car accident in March 1979 in Omsk. Several memorial plaques were installed in the town where he lived, along with an annual cycling race being held in the region in his honour.