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Nikolai is born in Vladimir, Russia. He had three siblings, all girls. He was raised by a single mother and grew up poor.
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Important events in Nikolai Andrainov's life.
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His friend got him to join. He eventually became a star pupil. His coach filled the void in his life of his father. His slacker attitude vanished and he became more friendly.
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Nikolai competes in his first Olympics for Soviet Russia. He wins three medals, one of each. He competes in gymnastics.
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He got married to Lyubov Burda (another gymnast). She was a two-time Olympic winner. They had two sons.
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He competed again for Russia. He won 4 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal. That brought his medal total up to 10 Olympic medals.
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He competed for Russia again. He won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal. This brought his medal total up to 15, which made him the most decorated male Olympic athlete.
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This was one year after he retired from the Olympics. He bought a gym in his hometown of Vladimir, Russia. His star pupil, Vitaly, went on to be an Olympic gymnast.
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He stopped coaching an only male team in 1992. He made his gym open to everyone. He quit after the next two years.
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He started coaching gymnastics in Japan. He is said to be one of the reasons Japan made a comeback in Olympic gymnastics. He remained here until 2002.
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He stopped working in Japan in 2002. After earning Japan their title in gymnastics back, he and his wife moved back to Vladimir. He would spend the rest of his life here.
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Nikolai was diagnosed with a degenerative nerve disease that would lead to his death. It slowly made him weaker and weaker. Many people believed that if anyone could beat the disease though, it would be Nikolai.
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He died at 58 in Vladimir, Russia. In his final months, he had been unable to speak or move his limbs. The sports world mourned the death of the greatest Olympic gymnast.
