Yakov Grigoryevich Tolstikov (ru|Я́ков Григо́рьевич То́лстиков; born 20 May 1959 in Prokopyevsk) is a former Russian distance runner. Tolstikov rose to worldwide prominence following his surprise upset of favorite Gelindo Bordin in the 1991 London Marathon.[1] [2] He set a personal best of 2:09:17 hours at the race which went unbeaten as a Soviet record.[3] This time was the fastest by any European in the 1991 season, and the third fastest time in the world after Kōichi Morishita and Takeyuki Nakayama of Japan.[4] [5]
In international competition he represented the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, coming in a distant 22nd.[6] He twice ran at the World Championships in Athletics, coming eleventh in 1987 but failing to finish in 1991. He was a marathon bronze medallist at the 1986 Goodwill Games.[7]
In individual races, he won the Uzhhorod Marathon three times (1983, 1986, 1987), the 1984 Moscow International Peace Marathon, the 1995 Siberian International Marathon, and the 1990 Humarathon.[8] He was a one-time national champion, winning the marathon at the Soviet Athletics Championships in 1988.[9]
| Representing the | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Universiade | Edmonton, Canada | 6th | Marathon | 2:22:31 |
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 3rd | Marathon | 2:16:22 |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 11th | Marathon | 2:16:55 |
| 1988 | European Marathon Cup | Huy, Belgium | 9th | Marathon | 2:14:10 |
| bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon team | 31 pts | ||
| 1989 | World Marathon Cup | Milan, Italy | 4th | Marathon team | 6:39:18 |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | — | Marathon | DNF |
| 1991 | World Marathon Cup | London, United Kingdom | 8th | Marathon team | 6:40:09 |
| World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | — | Marathon | DNF | |
| Representing the | |||||
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 22nd | Marathon | 2:17:04 |
| Representing | |||||
| 1994 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 20th | Marathon | 2:15:32 |
| 1983 | Uzhhorod Marathon | Uzhhorod, Soviet Union | 1st | Marathon | 2:13:35 | |
| 1984 | Moscow Peace Marathon | Moscow, Soviet Union | 1st | Marathon | 2:10:48 | |
| 1985 | Soviet Championships | Mogilev, Soviet Union | 4th | Marathon | 2:13:14 | |
| 1986 | Uzhhorod Marathon | Uzhhorod, Soviet Union | 1st | Marathon | 2:11:43 | |
| 1987 | Uzhhorod Marathon | Uzhhorod, Soviet Union | 1st | Marathon | 2:11:05 | |
| Soviet Championships | Mogilev, Soviet Union | 7th | Marathon | 2:13:50 | ||
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan | 8th | Marathon | 2:12:31 | ||
| 1988 | Soviet Championships | Tallinn, Soviet Union | 1st | Marathon | 2:14:29 | |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 2nd | Marathon | 2:09:20 | ||
| 1989 | Beppu-Ōita Marathon | Beppu–Ōita, Japan | 2nd | Marathon | 2:12:35 | |
| Milano City Marathon | Milan, Italy | 19th | Marathon | 2:15:35 | ||
| 1990 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 6th | Marathon | 2:11:07 | |
| 1991 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 1st | Marathon | 2:09:17 | |
| Italian Marathon | Carpi, Italy | 11th | Marathon | 2:13:05 | ||
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan | 9th | Marathon | 2:12:07 | ||
| 1992 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 6th | Marathon | 2:10:49 | |
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan | 6th | Marathon | 2:12:06 | ||
| 1993 | Siberian International Marathon | Omsk, Russia | 2nd | Marathon | 2:13:31 | |
| 1994 | Vienna City Marathon | Vienna, Austria | 3rd | Marathon | 2:12:55 | |
| 1995 | Tokyo Marathon | Tokyo, Japan | 5th | Marathon | 2:11:34 | |
| Siberian International Marathon | Omsk, Russia | 1st | Marathon | 2:14:37 | ||
| 1997 | Siberian International Marathon | Omsk, Russia | 4th | Marathon | 2:17:46 |