Boris Shakhlin
Boris Shakhlin in 1966
Personal information
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1932-01-27)27 January 1932 Ishim, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	30 May 2008(2008-05-30) (aged 76) Kyiv, Ukraine
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international
Club	Burevestnik
Retired	1966
Medal record Men's Artistic Gymnastics Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Team competition 1956 Melbourne Pommel horse 1960 Rome All-around 1960 Rome Pommel horse 1960 Rome Vault 1960 Rome Parallel bars 1964 Tokyo Horizontal bar 1960 Rome Team competition 1960 Rome Rings 1964 Tokyo Team competition 1964 Tokyo All-around 1960 Rome Horizontal bar 1964 Tokyo Rings World Championships 1954 Rome Team competition 1958 Moscow Team competition 1958 Moscow All-around 1958 Moscow Pommel Horse 1958 Moscow Parallel bars 1958 Moscow Horizontal bar 1954 Rome Horizontal bar 1962 Prague Team competition 1962 Prague Still rings 1962 Prague Parallel bars 1962 Prague Pommel Horse 1966 Dortmund Team competition 1962 Prague All-around 1962 Prague Vault European Championships 1955 Frankfurt All-around 1955 Frankfurt Parallel bars 1955 Frankfurt Pommel horse 1955 Frankfurt Horizontal bar 1963 Belgrade Still rings 1963 Belgrade Horizontal bar 1955 Frankfurt Still rings 1963 Belgrade All-around 1963 Belgrade Parallel bars 1963 Belgrade Pommel horse

Boris Anfiyanovich Shakhlin (Russian: Борис Анфиянович Шахлин; 27 January 1932 – 30 May 2008) was a Soviet gymnast who was the 1960 Olympic all-around champion and the 1958 all-around World Champion. He won a total of 13 medals including seven gold medals at the Summer Olympics, and was the most successful athlete at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He held the record for most Olympic medals by a male athlete record until gymnast Nikolai Andrianov won his 14th and 15th medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He also won 14 medals at the World Championships.^[1]

Career

Shakhlin was born in Ishim, Russian SFSR. He began gymnastics at the age of 12. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, he "set a career record of 10 individual titles in the world championships and also won gold medals at three successive Olympic Games. His tally of seven gold, four silver, and two bronze Olympic medals placed him among the most-decorated at the Games".^[2]

Shakhlin retired from competition at the age of 35 after suffering a heart attack. He joined the FIG Men's Technical Committee in 1968 and continued to work on the Committee until 1992. In the 1990s and 2000s (decade), he worked as a lecturer at the University of Kyiv.^[3]

He was awarded the Red Banner of Labor in 1956 and the Order of Lenin in 1960. He was named an honorary citizen both in his birth town Ishim and in Kyiv where lived for many years.^[1] In 2002, he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.^[3][4]

He died on 30 May 2008.^[5]

Philatelia

The Mongol Post issued a postage stamp - Boris Shakhlin (№525, 1969).