Russian athlete, first winner of 8 medals in a single Olympic Games, dies
By Gabriel F. Cordero
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 24 Oct 2025
Russian Olympic medalist Aleksandr Dityatin, 68, winner of eight medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, has died of heart problems, according to information from the International Gymnastics Federation, the Russian Olympic Committee, and the Russian Gymnastics Federation.
Dityatin became immortalized in the history of gymnastics and Olympic sport by being one of the few athletes to win eight medals at a single Olympic Games, a feat matched only by Michael Phelps, with his eight gold medals at Beijing 2008 and then eight more at Athens 2004 with six golds and two bronzes.
Dityatin is recorded as the first man to earn a perfect 10 in artistic gymnastics on the vault.
At the 1980 Moscow Games, Dityatin won three gold medals for the Soviet Union in the team, individual all-around, and another event, four silver medals in the horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, and vault, and a bronze medal in the floor exercise.
He is also recognized in world sports history as the first gymnast to reach the podium in all men's artistic gymnastics events at a single Olympics.
Dityatin also won four gold medals at the 1979 World Championships and three at the 1981 World Championships.
In retirement, he became a gymnastics coach in his hometown of St. Petersburg.
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