Vladimir Salnikov - Monster Of The Waves Who Broke The 15-Minute Barrier Over 1500 Free
The Soviet distance freestyle ace set 13 world freestyle records - 400m (6, including 1 equalled), 800m (4) and 1,500m (3) - remains the only man to reclaim the 1500m Olympic title eight years apart, and this day in 1983 set the last of his six 400m free global marks, a record to this day
If the defining moment of Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov’s career unfolded when he became the first man to race the 1,500m freestyle inside 15 minutes on July 22, 1980, an achievement that delivered one of three gold medals at a home Olympic Games in Moscow, then the Soviet ace's legendary status was sealed eight years later when he defied the disappointment of boycott in 1984 and claimed back the 30-length crown at Seoul 1988.
Given his pioneering career in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Salnikov's comeback was as spectacular as it was unexpected, at least by hose making predictions.
His feat found fame not only in swimming circles: when Salnikov walked into the athletes’ dining hall in the Olympic village in Korea a little shy of midnight on September 25, 1988 - medal ceremony, drug testing, media interviews and television appearances out of the way - some 300 fellow competitors, coaches and officials from a wide variety of sports spontaneously laid down their cutlery to honour the Soviet speedster with an impromptu standing ovation.
Salnikov's SOS Hall of Fame profile follows...
