Kim Bukhantsov

Kim Bukhantsov joined the Soviet national athletics team in 1954, and one year later took his first medals at the national championships, with silver in the decathlon and the discus throw. It was the latter event in which he specialized, and he would go on to win Soviet titles in 1958 and 1963, another silver in 1961, and bronze in 1960 and 1964. He made his Olympic début at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he placed 12th, and went on to finish eighth and ninth in 1960 and 1964 respectively.

Although originally trained at Russian National Research Medical University, he later graduated from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism and became a coach. Among his domestic students was Faina Melnik, Olympic discus champion in 1972, but he also had an extensive career abroad. His students included Ghada Shouaa, the 1996 Olympic women’s heptathlon champion and Syria’s only gold medalist as of 2026, and 2012 Olympic silver medal-winning discus thrower Ehsan Haddadi of Iran.

Personal Best: DT – 59.47 (1962).