Yuriy Borzakovskiy is a Russian middle distance runner who won gold in the 800m at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He started playing football at age 10 and went to a sports school in Zhukovsky, Russia, which led him to pursue athletics. Borzakovskiy first found international success winning the 2000 European Indoor Championships at age 18. He later won gold at the 2004 Olympics by using his signature late charge to pass the leader in the final meters. Borzakovskiy currently lives in Zhukovsky with his family and trains with the VSFO Dynamo sports club.