Nikita Kryukov
Nikita Valeryevich Kryukov, born May 30, 1985, in Dzerzhinsky, Russia, is a former Russian cross-country skier who competed internationally from 2006 to 2018. He was a sprint specialist, known for his speed on flat sections and for his strong classic sprinting, though he could win in freestyle sprints as well.
Key career highlights
- World Cup: 12 seasons (2007–2018), 92 individual starts with 14 podiums and 5 wins; 14 team starts with 5 podiums and 1 win. His best overall World Cup finish was 21st in 2010.
- Olympics: Won a gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games in the individual sprint.
- World Championships: Won multiple sprint medals, including golds in 2013 (individual sprint and team sprint) and golds in other team sprint events.
- Doping and retirement: In 2017, Kryukov was linked to doping violations connected to the 2014 Sochi Olympics and was ordered to return a silver medal and was banned from future Olympics. In January 2018, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the lifetime ban and medal stripping. He retired from cross-country skiing on April 8, 2019.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:11 (CET).