Valentin Mankin

Who is Valentin Mankin?

Valentyn Grigoryevich Mankin is a retired Soviet/Ukrainian sailor, three times Olympic champion for the USSR team.

Mankin is Jewish. He trained at VSS Vodnik and scored his first Olympic triumph at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, when he dominated his 35 opponents in the Finn class, finishing first or second in five of the seven races to win the gold medal.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Mankin switched classes and teamed with Vitaly Dyrdyra to win the Tempest class. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal he added a silver with a new partner, Vladyslav Akimenko. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow at the age of 41 years with Aleksandr Muzychenko and entered the Star class. The contest went down to the final race, but Mankin pulled off the victory and won the Gold Medal.

As of 2005, Valentyn Mankin remains the only sailor in Olympic history to win gold medals in three different classes..