Background
Nikolay Strunnikov was born in Sknyatino and quickly became a very enthusiastic and highly disciplined athlete, training daily.
Nikolay Strunnikov was born in Sknyatino and quickly became a very enthusiastic and highly disciplined athlete, training daily.
In addition, he was also successful as a cyclist. During the summer, he trained on bicycle and during the winter, he trained in speed skating and played bandy. After returning from work, he would always be on the ice at the same time every day to skate his rounds, regardless of weather conditions.
Even at times the temperature was −40 °C (equal to −40 °F), he would still go through his entire training programme.
Two weeks later, he participated in the 1910 World Allround Championships of Helsinki. In 1911, Strunnikov travelled to Norway in preparation for the European Championships there.
During his preparations, he set a new world record on the 5,000 m, beating Jaap Eden"s world record that had stood for 17 years. Much was expected from Strunnikov in 1912, but a disagreement with the sports association to which he belonged resulted in his retirement from speed skating.
He remained active in sports, though, cycling for many years afterwards.
In the 1920s he also became a coach and he would remain a coach until his death in 1940 in Moscow. Over the course of his career, Strunnikov skated one world record:
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com
To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Strunnikov skated his personal records. Strunnikov has an Adelskalender score of 198.743 points.
His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a second place.
Nikolay Strunnikov at SpeedSkatingStats.com
Nikolay Strunnikov. Deutsche Eisschnelllauf Gemeinschaft e.V. (German Skating Association).
Evert Stenlund"s Adelskalender pages
Short biography of Nikolay Strunnikov (in Russian)
Results of Championships of Russia and the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics from SpeedSkating.ru
Historical World Records. International Skating Union.