Russian swimmer who won four Olympic gold medals and was the first to break the 15-minute barrier in the 1,500-metre freestyle.

Salnikov became the first Soviet swimmer to excel at the international level, winning the European championship at 1,500 metres in 1977 and the world championship at 400 metres and 1,500 metres in 1978. At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, he won the 1,500 metres in a world-record time of 14 min 58.27 sec and then went on to win golds in the 400 metres and the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay. From 1979 to 1986, Salnikov set six world records in the 400 metres, four in the 800 metres, and three in the 1,500 metres and also repeated his triumphs in the 400 metres and the 1,500 metres at the 1982 world championships. The Soviet boycott, however, prevented him from continuing his Olympic success at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Salnikov returned to form at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, where, at age 28, he again won the 1,500 metres, becoming the oldest Olympic swimmer in 56 years to win a gold. The performance marked only the third time in history that an Olympic swimmer had won gold medals eight years apart.