Viktor Kosichkin, the 5,000 meter speed skating gold medalist from the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley, has died, the Russian Skating Union said Friday. He was 74.
Kosichkin won that gold on his 22nd birthday and also triumphed in the the world allround championships of 1962, which were held at Moscow's Luzhniki arena in front of 100,000 Soviet spectators.
He marked the 50th anniversary of that victory by opening this year's championships, which also took place in Moscow, as guest of honor.
The skating union said in a website statement that Kosichkin passed away "after a short illness."
