Nikolay Balboshin
Soviet Olympic wrestler
니콜라이 발보신
- Born
- 8 June 1949, Potsdam
- Citizenship
- Soviet Union
- Sport
- amateur wrestling
- Occupation
- amateur wrestler
- Height
- 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Nikolay Fyodorovich Balboshin (Russian: Николай Фёдорович Балбошин; born 8 June 1949) is a retired Soviet heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler. He rarely lost a bout in the 1970s, winning five world titles, six European titles, and an Olympics gold medal in 1976. At the 1976 Olympics he pinned all his five opponents, in total spending less than 17 minutes on the mat. He was the Soviet flag bearer and a clear favorite at the Moscow Olympics, but injured an Achilles tendon in the second bout and withdrew from the tournament. He recovered by 1984, when he won his last Soviet title and was selected for the 1984 Games, but could not compete because of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott by the Soviet Union. He retired from competitions to become a wrestling coach n Moscow. In 2006 he was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 Summer Olympics | 1976 | |
| 1980 Summer Olympics | 1980 |
Awards and honours
- Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR
- Order of the Badge of Honour
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1973990 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.