Valentin Novikov
Valentin Jurjewitsch Novikov (Russian Валентин Юрьевич Новиков; born October 1, 1974 in Belgorod ) is a Russian orienteer. Novikov is a three time world and four times European Champion.
Novikov took part between 1992 and 1994 in the three Junior World Championships in Finland, Italy and Poland. 1994 in Gdansk, he won the gold medal with the Russian junior season. From 1996 he has also been used in the men's World Cup. The following year he took up in his first World Championships in Grimstad, Norway and came up with the Russian squadron to fourth place. After he was not nominated for the 1999 World Cup, he traveled in 2000 to the first European Championship since 1964 in the Ukraine. The 25 -year-old Novikov secured the ' victory on the center and on the long distance. But this power he could not confirm in the next few years. Only at the World Championships in Sweden in 2004, he ran on the middle distance to second place behind the Frenchman Thierry Gueorgiou. Even with the season he won a silver medal. In 2006 he won at the European Championships in Estonia Otepaeae bronze behind Thierry Gueorgiou and Mārtiņš Sirmais from Latvia. At the world championships in the same year he won together with Roman Efimov and Andrei Khramov Season gold, that the Russians were able to defend in Kiev in 2007 with the same lineup. In addition, Novikov won bronze in Kiev on the middle distance, once more behind Thierry Gueorgiou and the Finn Tero Fohr. In 2008, he won bronze middle distance, this time behind Thierry Gueorgiou and Michal Smola from the Czech Republic. At the European Championships in the same year he also won with Dimitri Tsvetkov and Andrey Khramov Season gold. In 2010, Valentin Novikov Europe champion middle distance and with Andrei Khramov and Dimitri Tsvetkov world champion in the season. At the European and the World Championships 2012, he won on the middle distance, respectively the silver medal. On the long distance he was at the European Championships of third parties. With the Russian squadron he was in 2013 for the fourth time world champion.
In 2004, he was the first winner of the O- rings in Sweden, not from Scandinavia. In 2008 he won the Jukola Relay with the Finnish team Delta.
He is married to the orienteer Julia Novikova ( born Sedina ). Leonid Novikov - 2013 world champion middle distance - is his younger brother.