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JWR VerifiedJWR-2026-000188

First Jewish Olympic Champion in C-2 1,000 m Canoe

Record holder

Leonid Geyshtor (Geishtor)Person

Record value

Gold — 29 August 1960

Country represented: Soviet UnionAchievement location: Castel Gandolfo, ItalyAchievement date: 29 August 1960Current record

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Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Portrait of Olympic canoe champion Leonid Geyshtor.

Leonid Geyshtor, Olympic canoe sprint champion.Andrei Suslov / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY-SA 3.0

Official record definition

The earliest Jewish athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in the men’s C-2 1,000 m canoe sprint event.

Measurement methodology

Chronological comparison of verified Jewish Olympic medalists in the defined sport/discipline, using official Olympic event dates and results.

Measurement point: Men’s C-2 1,000 m Olympic canoe sprint final at Castel Gandolfo on 29 August 1960, won by Leonid Geyshtor and Sergey Makarenko in 4:17.04.

Record story

Leonid Geyshtor of the Soviet Union became the first Jewish Olympic champion in the men’s C-2 1,000-metre canoe sprint at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games. Competing with Sergey Makarenko, he won the final on 29 August 1960 at Castel Gandolfo, Italy. The pair finished in 4:17.04, recorded by Olympedia as an Olympic best. JWR defines this record specifically for the C-2 1,000-metre event; it does not claim that Geyshtor was the first Jewish Olympic champion in canoeing overall. That distinction matters because canoeing contains multiple boat classes, crew sizes and distances with separate Olympic histories. Jewish sports sources identify Geyshtor as a Jewish Olympic gold medalist, while the event chronology confirms the Soviet pair as the 1960 champions. The measurable record value is therefore their C-2 1,000-metre gold on 29 August 1960.

Media

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
26 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

Olympedia records Leonid Geyshtor and Sergey Makarenko as winners of the men’s C-2 1,000 m final on 29 August 1960 in 4:17.04, an Olympic best.

Superiority evidence

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame lists Leonid Geishtor as a Jewish Olympic gold medalist in canoeing. The C-2 1,000 m event chronology shows the Soviet pair won the 1960 edition; the record is intentionally event-specific.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Leonid Geishtor — International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • Canoe Doubles (C2), 1,000 metres, Men — Rome 1960 — Olympedia
  • Geishtor Leonid Grigorievich — Wikimedia Commons

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • Jewish Olympic Medalists — International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

  • Canoe Doubles (C2), 1,000 metres, Men — Rome 1960

    Independent publicationOlympedia

    What this proves: Confirms Geyshtor/Makarenko won the C-2 1,000 m final on 29 August 1960.

  • Leonid Geishtor

    Independent publicationInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

    What this proves: Documents Geishtor as a Jewish sports hall of famer and his Rome 1960 C-2 1,000 m gold.

  • Jewish Olympic Medalists

    Independent publicationInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

    What this proves: Lists Geishtor’s 1960 canoe gold within the Jewish Olympic chronology.

  • Geishtor Leonid Grigorievich

    Holder-controlled websiteWikimedia Commons

    What this proves: Documents the portrait, creator and CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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