Igor Novikov

Igor Novikov was one of the most consistent performers in the modern pentathlon. At the 1952-1964 Olympics, he finished fourth, fourth, fifth, and second in the individual event. In the team event, Novikov won two gold medals (1956 and 1964) and a silver (1960). He was heavily favored to win the individual gold medal in 1960, based on his string of individual world titles (1957-1959, and later in 1961), but he finished fifth because of difficulty in the riding sequence. Strong at all five disciplines, Novikov set a world pentathlon best for the fencing section when he won the 1957 World Championship. Besides his four individual world titles, Novikov won individual silvers in 1962 and 1965 and bronze in 1963. Novikov was also the World team champion five times (1957-1959, 1961, 1962), while taking team silvers in 1955, 1963 and 1965. Domestically, Novikov won four Soviet titles (1953, 1956, 1959, 1964). After his sporting career, Novikov became a modern pentathlon coach and sports administrator. From 1977-1991, Novikov was the president of the Soviet Modern Pentathlon Federation and from 1988 to 1992 he was the president of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).