Michael Kolganov should not be confused with Mihail Kolganov.
Michael Kolganov | |
Native Name: | Михаил Калганов |
Native Name Lang: | ru |
Nickname: | Misha |
Birth Date: | 24 October 1974 |
Birth Place: | Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union |
Height: | 185 cm |
Father: | --> |
Sport: | Canoeing |
Event: | Canoe sprint |
Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, Hebrew: מיכאל (מישה) קולגנוב, Russian: Михаил Калганов; born 24 October 1974) is a USSR-born Israeli sprint kayaker and former two-time world champion (1998 & 1999). Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the K-1 500 m event at Sydney in 2000.[1] He was the flag bearer for Israel during the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.[2]
Mikhail Kolganov was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. He is Jewish.[3] [4] and took up canoeing at the age of 14. "I was a fat young boy," he recalled, "and my parents were looking for a hobby for me that would help me lose weight."[5] Kolganov's older brother Andrei also represented the Soviet Union, and was a Soviet youth champion at kayak competition. Kolganov immigrated to Israel in 1995.[4]
Kolganov has represented Israel in competition since 1997. Kolganov was K-1 200 m world champion in 1998 and 1999, and earned a K-1 500 m silver in 1998.
He represented Israel at the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the K-1 500 m bronze medal and finishing fourth in the K-1 1000 m event. He competed on behalf of Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and finished eighth in the second semifinal of the K-1 500 m. He competed on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China,[6] and failed to advance to the final in both the K-1 500 m and K-1 1000 m events.
He has also competed in the K-2. where at the 2006 European Championships in Račice, Czech Republic, he won the K2 200 m bronze medal with partner Barak Lufan. At the 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, Kolganov and Lufan finished fifth in the K-2 200 m and sixth in the K-2 500 m.
Kolganov served in the Israel Defense Forces.