Aleksandr Savin (volleyball player)

Aleksandr Borisovich Savin (Russian: Александр Борисович Савин; born 1 July 1957) is a Russian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Aleksandr Savin
Savin in 2018
Personal information
Born	(1957-07-01) 1 July 1957 (age 68) Taganrog, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Middle blocker
Number	3
National team
1975–1986  Soviet Union
Honours Men's volleyball Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1980 Moscow Team 1976 Montreal Team World Championship 1978 Italy 1982 Argentina 1986 France Team FIVB World Cup 1977 Japan 1981 Japan Goodwill Games 1986 Moscow Friendship Games 1984 Havana European Championship 1975 Yugoslavia 1977 Finland 1979 France 1981 Bulgaria 1983 East Germany 1985 Netherlands European Junior Championship 1975 West Germany Under-20

Early life and education

Savin was born in Taganrog. As a child, he moved with his parents in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga Oblast. He studied at the high school No.6 Obninsk. As a student in Obninsk, he began playing volleyball. He played club volleyball in 1967 for Obninsk Youth (in 2004 it was renamed Sports School, which bears Savin's name). His first coach was Vladimir Pitanov (1946–2016).^[1][2][3]

Career

In 1976, Savin was part of the Soviet team that won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament. He played all five matches. Four years later, he won the gold medal with the Soviet team in the 1980 Olympic tournament. He played all six matches.^[4]

Savin was a major part of the Soviet Union men's national volleyball team's success in the late 1970s to early 1980s by winning gold medals at the 1977 FIVB World Cup, 1978 FIVB World Championship, 1980 Olympic Games, 1981 FIVB World Cup, and 1982 FIVB World Championship.^[5][6][7]

Recognition

Awarded Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1976), Order of Friendship of Peoples (1985), Order of the Badge of Honour (1980).^[8]

On October 22, 2010, Savin was admitted to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke, United States).^[9][7]