He was born in Ishim, halfway between Ukraine and Mongolia, where he attended Railway School 13. From those humble beginnings, he went on to ski in the 1956 Games’ 4x10 kilometer relay in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, bringing home gold for the Soviet Union in its debut on the Winter Olympics stage. As the torch is about to be lit in Italy again, Nikolai shines in my memory as the epitome of the Olympic spirit.