Nikolay Semyonovich Zimyatov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Зимятов; born 28 June 1955), is a Soviet and Russian cross-country skier. He was the first man in the sport to win three gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, in the 30 km, 50 km and 4 × 10 km relay at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. In the 50 km race he finished two and half minutes ahead of the second place.[1] He also won the 30 km event at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and was awarded Order of Friendship of Peoples that year.[2]
At the world championships Zimyatov won only one medal, a silver over 30 km in 1978. Nationally he collected four Soviet titles: in the 30 km and 4 × 10 km relay in 1978, and in the 15 and 30 km in 1979. After retiring from competitions he had a long career as a cross-country skiing coach and prepared the Russian team for the 2002 Olympics. In 1980 he married a fellow international skier Lyubov Sykova.
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]
Note: 1 Until the 1994 Olympics, Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.