Andrey Perlov

In 1986, he graduated as a hydraulic engineer from the Novosibirsk Institute of Water Transport Engineers. Perlov started racewalking under coach V. I. Shvetsov in 1975. Since 1987, he was trained by V. B. Dorovskikh from Leningrad.^[2]

Perlov won the gold medal over 50 kilometres at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He also won the 1990 European Championships as well as silver medals at the 1991 World Championships and the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in 1985 and 1989.

At the 1991 World Championships, Perlov and his teammate Aleksandr Potashov attempted to cross the goal line simultaneously, resulting in a shared gold medal, but the officials declared Potashov the winner by 0.01 second.

Perlov's personal best time is 3:37:41 in the 50 kilometres, which places him 16th in the all-time performers list.^[3]

In March 2024, Perlov became a subject of an investigation into the embezzlement of funds from a football club which he managed as a director and was subsequently taken into custody. While in detention, Perlov was repeatedly offered to sign a contract to serve military duty in Ukraine, however, he rejected this offer, believing that the case itself was initiated illegally, and using such a method to avoid prosecution would have served as an admission of guilt for a crime he did not commit.^[4][5][1]

As the BBC notes, "Perlov has been detained for over six months, and his family says he is being pressured to fight in Ukraine, with the promise that the embezzlement charges would be frozen and possibly dropped after the war. Under the latest laws, prosecution and defense lawyers are now required to inform those charged with most crimes that they have the option to go to war instead of facing court".^[1]