Nikita Kriukov

Nikita Kryukov Valeryevich (Russian: Никита Валерьевич Крюков; born 30 May 1985 Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Oblast, Soviet Union ) is a Russian cross-country skier and Olympic gold medalist who has specialized in Spintwettbewerbe.

Life and career

Kryukov launched at the beginning of the 2006/07 season for the first time in the Cross Country World Cup. However, the sprint in Kuusamo, he failed as a 31 just to qualify for the finals. After he won the silver medal at the Russian Championships in the sprint, he was again nominated for the World Cup. In domestic Rybinsk he survived the Qualification and won with his first World Cup points in 25th place. The following year he was able to convince with several successes in Eastern Europe Cup and surprised at the World Cup in Kuusamo, when he reached the final run and finished fifth and was able to celebrate his first top- ten finish in the World Cup. In the U23 World Cup in times he but been eliminated in the semi-finals, finishing in eleventh place overall. End of the season, he secured the Russian championship in the sprint competition. In the final statement of the season 2007/ 08 Kryukov finished in 22nd place in the Sprint Cup and won with four victories this season, the overall standings in the Eastern Europe Cup. Also in the 2008/ 09 season, Kryukov, asserted in the advanced world leaders and ersprintete multiple top ten results in the World Cup so that he could improve at the end of the season in tenth place in the overall standings of the Sprint Cup. In the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009, he reached the final along with Andrei Parfyonov in the team sprint. However, the duo had to settle for fourth place. In the following winter he went regularly to the semi-finals of the sprint races and finished third in Kuusamo he achieved his first podium finish, even in Rybinsk Otepaeae and he finished third. He thus secured his nomination for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. There was the Norwegian Ola Vigen Hattestad favorite together with Petter Northug and Øystein Pettersen and the fastest in qualifying, Krjukows compatriot Alexander Panschinski. Although Panschinski was clearly in the lead in the beginning, Kryukov managed on the final straight connection, the two Russians had the advantage of längereren resting phase after the first semi-final. Northug was nine seconds back, Hattestad had been involved in a crash with the Kazakhs Alexei Poltaranin and Pettersen was back. Kryukov beat his compatriot after a photo finish and was Olympic champion. At the beginning of the 2010/11 season came Kryukov only at the World Cup in Dusseldorf used fifth in the team sprint with Parfyonov was there for him to book.