Vasily Kuznetsov

Vasily Kuznetsov was the top European decathlete in the 1950s and was topped only by Americans Milt Campbell and Rafer Johnson and Chinese Taipei’s C. K. Yang during his prime. Kuznetsov took up athletics in the late 1940s and soon rose to be the top Soviet decathlete in the 1950s, winning a record 10 national decathlon titles (1953-60, 1962-63). Internationally Kuznetsov competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics, and the 1954, 1958 and 1962 European Championships, winning Olympic bronzes in 1956 (behind Campbell and Johnson) and 1960 (behind Johnson and Yang) and three consecutive European titles. Kuznetsov also won the pentathlon at the 1959 Universiade and decathlon at the 1961 Universiade.

Kuznetsov set two decathlon world records during his career. In May 1958, he was the first man to break the 8,000 points barrier on the 1952 scoring system, with 8,014 points (7,653 (1985)) in Krasnodar. Kuznetsov set his second decathlon world record in May 1959 with 8,357 (7,839 (1985)), and also set three pentathlon world records – 3,736 in 1956, 3,901 in 1958, and 4,006 in 1959. Kuznetsov finished his career after the 1964 Olympics and later worked as a coach, lecturer and research associate with Lomonosov Moskva State University. In 1987 the IAAF named Kuznetsov among the top 10 decathletes of all-time.

Personal Best: Dec – 7839 (1959).