Nikita Lobintsev

Nikita Lobintsev is a Russian swimmer, specializing in freestyle events. He competed the past two Olympics: in the 2008 Olympics, he won silver medal at the 4x200-m freestyle relay event; in 2012 Olympics he won bronze in the 4x100-m freestyle relay. 

Born: November 21, 1988 in Sverdlovsk, Russia
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 179 lbs
Twitter: twitter.com/LobintsevNikita


Career Highlights:

• placed 8th in the final of the 2012 Olympics 100-m freestyle event (won by Nathan Adrian, who beat James Magnussen by 0.01 seconds)
• won silver, 2009 World Championships, 4x200-m freestyle relay long course
• won 5 medals in 2010 World Championships short course: a gold, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes
• won 2 golds and 1 silver at the 2010 European Championships

Andrey Arshavin

Andrey Arshavin, nicknamed Shava, is a Russian professional soccer player. His team is Zenit St. Petersburg, currently on loan from Arsenal FC. His playing position is winger/forward. 

Arshavin joined the Russian national team in May 2002; he played his first match in a friendly vs. Romania in February 2003. He became the captain for the team in 2008, leading the team to a semifinal appearance in the Euro 2008. He also also captained the team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. 

He is married and has 2 children. 

Born: May 29, 1981 in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Soviet Union 

Height: 5'7.5" 

Weight: 69 kg 

Website: www.arshavin.eu/en, Twitter

Achievements/Career Highlights: 

• signed up by Arsenal in 2009 for £15 million, then the most expensive for the team 
• in 2007 he played 30 matches for Zenit, scoring 11 goals and guiding the team to a title in the Russian Premier League 
• Russian Footballer of the Year, 2006 
• Premier League Player of the Month, April 2009 
• Russian Premier League Player of the Year, 2006 
• UEFA Cup top assist, 2007-08

Dmitry Tursunov

Dmitry Tursunov is an American-trained Russian professional tennis player. The right-handed baseliner came to the United States when he was 12 years old to train. He represented his mother country in group competitions, leading his team to win the 2006 Davis Cup and helping it reach the 2007 Davis Cup finals.

He reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2008, his best showing in a Grand Slam. His first ATP singles titles was won in Mumbai in 2006. He has reached a career high of no.20 in the rankings (achieved in October 2, 2006)

Born: December 12, 1982 in Moscow
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 180 lbs
Website: www.dmitrytursunov.com , Twitter

Achievements/Career Highlights

• Career ATP Tour singles titles: 7
• Career ATP Tour doubles titles: 5
• Career prize money: $4,036,893 (as of March 2012)
• won the Hopman Cup (with Nadia Petrova) in 2007
• Career win-loss record: 181-153 (as of March 2012)

Marat Safin

Marat Safin is a Russian tennis player. He reached the world no. 1 ranking in November 2000, a few weeks after winning his first Grand Slam, the 2000 US Open, where he defeated Pete Sampras. The fiery-tempered Russian held the no. 1 spot for a total of nine weeks.

Safin, who turned pro in 1997, won the Australian Open in 2005 to clinch his second Grand Slam. He also reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros in 2001, and Wimbledon in 2008. He has a total of 15 career titles, including 5 Masters Series tournaments. He plays right-handed.

Safin retired in 2009. He ran for and won a post in the Russian parliament, representing the Nizhny Novgorod region. 

Born: January 27, 1980, in Moscow, Russia
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 195 lbs

Achievements/Career Highlights:

• Won ~$14.37 million career prize money
• Career win-loss record: 421-266
• he and his sister Dinara both held the no. 1 ranking 
• won his first ATP Tour title at age 19
• Due to his fiery temper on court, he managed to break 1055 rackets during his entire career