Andrey Lavrov

Status: National October 6, 2007

Andrei Ivanovich Lavrov (Russian: Андрей Иванович Лавров, scientific transliteration Andrei Ivanovich Lavrov, born March 26, 1962 in Krasnodar, USSR ) is a Russian handball goalkeeper.

The 1.98 m wide Lavrov has denied 320 caps for the Soviet men's national handball team, and later the CIS and in the end for the Russian men's national handball team and is - calculated by Title - as the most successful handball players in the world.

Lavrov started his career at SKIF Krasnodar, with whom he IHF Cup in 1990, 1991 and 1992 won the Soviet Cup in 1992 and the Soviet Cup. In 1992, he joined the German second division club TuS 04 Kaiserslautern Dansenberg. About the French clubs U.S. Ivry HB and Livry -Gargan handball he came in 1996 to the TV Niederwürzbach. After the withdrawal of the team from the Bundesliga in 1999, he moved to Zagreb Badel. There he was in 2000 and 2001 Croatian champion. When the club also ran into financial difficulties, he moved back to Krasnodar and 2002 for TuS Nettelstedt. On 5 March 2004 he went to relegation-threatened SG Kronau - Östringen, which he left after their relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga end of the season again. From 2004 to 2005 he was then at the MT Melsungen under contract.

Lavrov is the only athlete who won three Olympic gold medals for three different national teams: 1988 for the Soviet Union in 1992 for the CIS and 2000 for Russia. At the age of 42 years he won in Athens in 2004 his fourth Olympic medal when the Russian national handball team finished in third place.

Andrei Lavrov was for many years the captain of the Russian national team and helped the Russian flag at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney to the stadium. Two world titles in 1993 and 1997, and a European title in 1996 round out his track record.

He was elected to Russia for Handball Player of the Century in 2001. When in 2000 organized by the IHF election to the World Handball Player of the century he was third behind with 17% Magnus Wislander ( 20.4 %) and Talant Dujshebaev (18.7%).

In 2005 he returned to Russia. Lavrov is now active in the Russian Ministry of Sport, where he with his former companions Alexander Tutschkin tried together to make the sport of handball in Russia popular.

Achievements