Pavel Kolchin
Pavel Konstantinovich Kolchin was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed during the 1950s and 1960s, training at Dynamo in Moscow. He was born in Yaroslavl.
He competed in two Winter Olympics, earning a total of four medals. His bronze in the at the 1956 Winter Olympics was the first ever medal awarded to a non-Scandinavian in cross-country skiing. Kolchin also won at the Holmenkollen ski festival, winning both the and events in 1958. His wife, Alevtina Kolchina, was also an Olympic champion in cross-country skiing in 1964.
Kolchin also found success was at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, where he won three silver medals in 1958 and a bronze medal in 1962.
Kolchin was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour and Order of the Badge of Honor. For his successes at the Winter Olympics, the Nordic skiing World Championships and the Holmenkollen, Kolchin received the Holmenkollen medal in 1963. Kolchin and Kolchina are the first husband and wife team to ever win the Holmenkollen Medal. Kolchin died on 29 December 2010.
