Michail Kolganov

Career

He was the flag bearer for Israel during the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Born Mikhail Kolganov in the former Soviet Union, he is Jewish, and took up canoeing at the age of 14. He has represented Israel in competition since 1997.

He represented Israel at the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the K-1 500 m bronze medal and finishing fourth in the K-1 1000 m event.

He competed on behalf of Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and finished fourth in the K-1 500 m. He competed on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and failed to advance to the final in both the K-1 500 m and K-1 1000 m events.

He has also competed in the K-2. At the 2006 International Coach Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, Kolganov and Lufan finished fifth in the K-2 200 m and sixth in the K-2 500 m.

Kolganov served in the Israel Defense Forces.

Achievements

• Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the K-1 500 m event at Sydney in 2000. "I was a fat young boy," he recalled, "and my parents were looking for a hobby for me that would help me lose weight." Kolganov"s older brother Andrei also represented the Soviet Union, and was Soviet youth champion in kayak competition. Kolganov was K-1 200 m world champion in 1998 and 1999, and earned a K-1 500 m silver in 1998. At the 2006 European Championships in Račice, Czechoslovakian Republic, he won the K2 200 m bronze medal with partner Barak Lufan.