Mikhail Astashov
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mikhail Yevgenyevich Astashov | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 16 October 1988 Khandagatay, Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||
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| Discipline | C1 pursuit, time trial | |||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mikhail Yevgenyevich Astashov (Russian: Михаил Евгеньевич Асташов; born 16 October 1988)[1] is a Russian Paralympic track cyclist and road cyclist, as well as a paratriathlete. He is a two-time Paralympic champion.
Biography
Astashov was born 16 October 1988 in the village of Khandagay. When he was a few days old, he was taken away from his parents, after physicians and aid workers urged them to send him to a baby house, wondering, why they need such a child without hands and feet and assuring them, he won't live long anyway. When he was five he was sent to an orphanage. The time which he spent in the orphanage was positive; Astashov learned all the regular tasks, including walking. Beside that, he practiced different kind of sports, the first one being badminton, which he had to abandon due to lack of support in Ulan-Ude. Then he tried swimming and table tennis, collecting success there, before switching to athletics, which he replaced with paratriathlon (swimming, cycling and walking).[2] He stayed in the orphanage until the age of 18, when he began searching for his family, whom he eventually found. His mother, father, and two brothers were proud and happy to welcome him back.[3]
Astashov enrolled at the East-Siberian Institute for Culture. In addition to being a successful cyclist, he is a junior national champion in badminton, a multiple-time national champion and record holder in swimming and athletics, and a 2016 World Paratriathlon silver medalist. However, despite these achievements, his results went largely unnoticed in Russia, and he did not receive a license to compete in the Paralympics.[3] Searching for financial support, he met Anton Shipulin, former biathlete and current State Duma deputy, in 2019. Shipulin found a solution to collect the needed money for the 2020 Summer Paralympics. However, to qualify, he needed to achieve results sufficient for the Paralympics; this was accomplished after he earned podium finishes in several national and world championships and cups. He also had the opportunity to compete in triathlon, but his classification, PTS2, is not a sanctioned category in the Paralympics.[2][4]
At the Summer Paralympics, held in Tokyo in August 2021, Astashov won gold in the 2020 individual pursuit C1 event, setting a World Record in the qualifying round and overlapping Tristen Chernove in the final.[1][5] He also finished fourth in the time trial C1–3 event.[6] However, in the road time trial event he again finished first.
References
- ^ a b "Cycling Track: ASTASHOV Mikhail". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ a b ""Говорили, что я не выживу": мощнейшая история героя Паралимпиады Асташова". Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ a b ""Бурятский Вуйчич" Михаил Асташов установил рекорд Паралимпиады. Прошлой зимой он работал доставщиком еды". sport-express.ru. 26 August 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Спортсмен без рук и ног работает курьером, чтобы поехать на Паралимпиаду". Ридус. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Russian cyclist Astashov sets world record at Tokyo Paralympics". TASS. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Велоспорт. Асташов стал четверым на Паралимпиаде в Токио. По ходу гонки он установил мировой рекорд". news.sportbox.ru. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.