Jörg and Bernd Landvoigt / Yuri and Nikolai Pimenov (rowing)

July 27, 1980 went down in Olympic history thanks to a unique event that took place at the Moscow Olympics. On this day, two pairs of twins fought for gold in the double swing race. Together with the rowers from the GDR Jörg and Bernd Landvoigt, Yuri and Nikolai Pimenovs took the start. As a result, the duets of their socialist countries took the top two steps of the podium.

Long before their arrival in Moscow, Landvoigts became legends of rowing. In 1972 they won the Olympic bronze in the eights race and soon decided to compete only together. At the next Games, they won their first gold and on the way to the second became four-time world champions. In total, the Germans took part in 180 competitions and suffered only one defeat - from the Soviet twin rowers.

This happened, however, not at the Moscow Olympics. The Pimenovs were seven years younger than the Landvoigts and could not compete with them at the main start of the fourth year. In the final on the channel in Krylatskoye, the German pair crossed the finish line first, while the Soviet pair was content with second place, 2.49 seconds back.

The Landvoigts ended their careers immediately after the Games, and the Pimenovs, without their main competitors, became three-time world champions. At their next Olympics in Seoul, the Soviet twins performed in the top four and were left without medals, which they could have won together. 

  • 06/01/1985. The winners of the Great Moscow Regatta on a two-swinging swing, twin brothers Yuri and Nikolai Pimenov. Rowing canal in Krylatskoye
  • RIA News
  • © Sergey Guneev

Anatoly and Sergey Beloglazov (freestyle wrestling)

Brothers Anatoly and Sergey Beloglazov from Kaliningrad were not only born almost at the same time, but also began to engage in freestyle wrestling together. They quickly began to achieve success, and the coaches decided to separate them into different weight categories so that they did not have to face each other in the same competition.

The boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow deprived the Beloglazovs of their main rivals from Japan and actually opened the way to gold. Anatoly had six fights in the weight category up to 52 kg and won the last four on a carcass, spending less than a minute on two of them.

And the next day, his brother also rose to the highest step of the podium. Sergei performed even more impressively in the weight category up to 57 kg, not gaining a single penalty point and winning five fights ahead of schedule. Later, the twins celebrated their success at the 1982 World Championship and the Friendship-84 competition, after which Anatoly took up coaching work and brought his brother to new successes - Sergei won the Olympics again in 1988 and became the six-time world champion.

Jozef and Kazimierz Lipień (Greco-Roman wrestling)

The Polish twins Jozef and Kazimierz Lipień had four more brothers and two sisters, but only the two of them managed to achieve success in Greco-Roman wrestling. To distinguish themselves on the carpet, they combed their hair in different directions. Like the Beloglazovs, the Lipeni brothers performed in different categories and achieved different successes.

Before arriving in Moscow, when the Polish wrestlers were already 31 years old, Jozef took part in three Olympics, but did not win medals at any of them. Only at his last competitions was the younger twin able to reach the silver medal, letting only the undisputed favorite Shamil Serikov go ahead.

Kazimierz, even before the Moscow Olympics, managed to be on the podium twice. In Munich, he won the bronze medal, and in Montreal he celebrated the victory. But at the next Games, he lost two of the first three fights and finished the fight for medals early. 

Sandra Cheek and Sonia Robertson (field hockey)

The Zimbabwe women's field hockey team was one of the biggest sensations in the Olympics, with the help of two twin sisters. Sandy Chick and Sandra Robertson were already 33 years old when they received an invitation to perform in Moscow. They were no longer actively involved in sports, but again picked up the clubs when there was a chance to compete for medals. By the way, they also played together in the Zimbabwe basketball team.

For two, Chick and Robertson scored one goal in five matches, and this was enough for them to become Olympic champions. As a reward for the victory, the athletes were promised a bull, but in the end, the wife of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe presented everyone with a ready-made set of meat.

Anne and Janet Osgerby (swimming)

Sisters Anne and Janet Osgerby were only 17 years old when they flew to Moscow for the Olympic Games. Both specialized in butterfly swimming, but Ann was a little better at it. At a distance of 200 meters, she took sixth place and was fourth at a hundred meters. Janet was only able to reach the final of the "short" swim, where she came to the finish line last. Before Osgerby, none of the twins had ever managed to take part in an Olympic swimming final together.

Anne then took part in the combined relay and was able to win the only medal for her family - the British came second behind the undefeated GDR team. Her younger sister soon stopped actively participating in swimming, and the silver medalist of the Moscow Olympics four years later went to the next Games in Los Angeles, but did not make it to the finals.

  • Anne and Janet Osgerby
  • Gettyimages.ru
  • © Tony Duffy