Mikhail Burtsev

Mikhail Burtsev took up fencing in 1965 and was on the Soviet national team from 1976-88. Competing in sabre, he won Olympic team golds in 1976 and 1980, an individual silver in 1980 and a team silver in 1988. He likely missed more Olympic medals when the Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Olympics, but Burtsev competed at the 1984 Friendship Games, a replacement games held by the Soviet Union and other socialist countries that had boycotted the 1984 Olympics, where he won both the individual and team sabre competitions. At the World Championships, Burtsev won six team titles (1977, 1979, 1983, 1985-87), individual silver in 1978 and team silvers in 1978 and 1981, and individual bronze in 1979 and team bronze in 1982. Burtsev also won the team World Cup in 1983 and the team European Cup in 1978, 1979, and 1983-85. Domestically Burtsev won the individual Soviet sabre title in 1986 and team titles in 1977-84 and 1986. After finishing his sporting career, Burtsev worked as a sabre coach in Moskva. In 1992 he was the head coach of the Unified Team’s Olympic sabre fencers.