Career

He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a former Moldovan record holder in both 100 and 200 m breaststroke. Tatarov made his Olympic debut, as a 25-year-old, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Tatarov swam only in the 100 m breaststroke.

He established a Moldovan record of 1:04.12 to power past the entire field with an unexpected triumph in heat three, coming from an outside lane.

Tatarov"s first-place effort was not sufficiently enough to put him through the semifinals, as he placed thirty-sixth overall in the prelims.

Achievements

• He failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing thirtieth in the 100 m breaststroke (1:0487), and twenty-eighth in the 200 m breaststroke (2:2134). He achieved a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:05.53 from the Russian Open Championships in Saint St. Petersburg.