Andrey Ivanovich Lavrov ' onMouseout='HidePop("19810")' href="/topics/Krasnodar">Krasnodar

Krasnodar

Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...

) is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n (and former Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

) handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

 goalkeeper and the only three times Olympic handball

Handball at the Summer Olympics

Team handball was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, again on German territory...

 champion.

Lavrov is also the only athlete to have won Olympic gold medals for three different nation's teams, winning gold for Soviet Union

Soviet Union national handball team

The USSR national handball team was the national handball team of the Soviet Union.-World Championships Record:-Summer Olympics Record:-National teams of the former Soviet republics:-See also:*Soviet Union women's national handball team...

 in 1988, the Unified Team

Unified Team

The Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe Unifiée...

 in 1992

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

, and for Russia

Russia national handball team

The Russia national handball team is the national handball team of Russia and is controlled by the Handball Union of Russia. Russia is designated by IHF and EHF as the inheritor of the record of USSR until 1990 and the Unified Team during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.-History of handball...

 in 2000

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. Four years later, at the age of 42, he won his fourth olympic medal, another unique feat for a handball player, when his Russian team earned third place and the bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic games

Handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics had a men's and a women's team competitions with the preliminary rounds taking place in the Sports Pavilion at the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex...

.

Lavrov was a long time captain for the Russian handball team, and he was Flag Bearer for the Russian athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

Opening ceremony

An opening ceremony is the official opening of a building or event. The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are huge events involving thousands of participants and watched by a massive worldwide audience. On a much smaller scale, some ceremonies mark the opening of a...

 of the Sydney Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

.

Lavrov has also won two World Championships

World Men's Handball Championship

The World Championship in team handball for men has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1938.- History :In 1938, the first indoor handball world championship was played in the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany on 5 February and 6 February...

 for Russia, in 1993

1993 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1993 World Championship for men in team handball was the 13th World Handball Championship. It was held in Sweden.-Teams:- Group A:-Group B:-Group C:-Group D:- Group 1:-Group 2:-3rd / 4th place:* - In Stockholm...

 and in 1997

1997 World Men's Handball Championship

- Final standings :# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # - External links :*...

, as well as the European Championship

European Men's Handball Championship

The European men's handball championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe, and takes place every two years. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the World Championship...

 in 1996

1996 European Men's Handball Championship

-Final ranking:...

.

In 2001, Andrey Lavrov was voted "Russian handball player of the century" in his home country.