Only sailor to win Olympic Gold medals in three classes dies at 75

by Richard Gladwell on 2 Jun 2014 The only sailor to win three Olympic Gold medals in three different classes has died in Viareggio, Italy. All told he won four Olympic medals.

Born in 1938, Valentin Mankin was initially from Kiev, before emigrating to Italy in 1988 where he worked as a yachting coach.

His first Olympic success under the flag of the USSR came at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico where he sailed in the Finn class, winning the Gold medal, winning three of the seven races sailed, and finishing in the top three in the other races that he counted for his final score. Mankin finished over 40 points ahead of the Silver medalist, Hubert Raudaschl (AUT) in the seven race series contested by 35 competitors sailing supplied boats.

His great win was a little over-shadowed by the win of Rodney Pattisson and Iain Macdonald-Smith (GBR) who dominated the Flying Dutchman class with five wins and a second place, also finishing 40 points clear of the second placed boat.

In the next Olympics, he teamed up with Vitaly Dyrdyra to win a second Gold medal in the Tempest class in 1972 Olympics sailed in Kiel, Germany. In Montreal in 1976 he had a new crew Vladyslav Akimenko, after his regular crew was injured just weeks before the start of the regatta. They finished second to win the Silver medal.

In the 1980 Olympics in Tallin, in his native Russia, Mankin (then 41 yrs old) won his third Olympic Gold medal In the Star class, sailing with a new crew Aleksandr Muzychenko. The series was only decided in the last race. Ironically he again beat Hubert Raudaschl (AUT) who finished second - the two great sailors had both won Gold and Silver in the Finn class in 1968.

In the late 1980's Mankin, emigrated to Italy, in Livorno, as technical director and coach of Italian Sailing Federation, where he trained top generation of sailors. in Livorno also founded Olympic Training Centre dedicated to Beppe Croce (Olympic Sailor and President of Italian Sailing Federation).

He died on June 1 in his adopted country, Italy.

Valentin Mankin was interviewed by the International Sailing Federation before the 2008 Olympics where he was a coach with the Italian team, whose uniform he had worn since the 1992 Olympics. 'Sailing teaches valuable life experiences. Even when I won the gold medal in Mexico [1968], I realized that I could still do better,' said the man who has three Olympic gold medals and one silver.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics is the 11th Olympic Games in which he has participated as a competitor or a coach, having won his first gold medal in the Finn in 1968, a second gold medal in 1972 in the Tempest, a silver in the Tempest in 1976 and his third gold at the age of 41 in the Star in 1980 when he was competing for the Soviet Union.

USSR boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, making it the only Games since 1964 that Mankin has not attended. As the USSR sailing coach in 1988, Mankin helped his team capture a gold and silver medal.

'I like teaching. I am happy when they have success. I would pay to do this if I were very rich. I love to see people smiling. I love life,' he said. 'I wish everybody success, but don't forget the Italians, my team.'

A true sportsman, Mankin has never filed a protest. 'In my career, I had four filed against me and I won all of them. My father always said, 'do what you want, but make sure that you can sleep well.'