Mikhail Iakovlev

Mikhail Iakovlev, also known as Mikhail Yakovlev (Hebrew: מיכאל יעקובלב; Russian: Михаил Сергеевич Яковлев; born 1 September 2000) is a Russian-born Israeli unofficial world-record-holding racing cyclist. He won the bronze medal in the keirin event at the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships representing Russia, and bronze medals in Sprint in the 2021 European Championship representing Russia, and in the 2024 European Championship representing Israel. In 2022 Yakovlev set a new unofficial world record in the 200m flying trial in 9.099 seconds. Iakovlev will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in cycling in the Men's sprint on August 7-9, and the Men's keirin on August 10-11, 2024.

Early and personal life
Iakovlev was born in Moscow, Russia, and is Jewish. He is Israeli, and lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Cycling career
In November 2023, UCI Track Champions League data showed Iakovlev had recorded a peak power of 2,840W, making him the most powerful sprinter on the sprint leaderboard. He is the tallest and heaviest rider in the field, at 199 cm (6 ft 6 in) and 106 kg (234 lb).

2020–22; Unofficial World record, and world and European championship bronze medals
In 2020 Iakovlev came in second in the European U23 Championship in Sprint, in Fiorenzuola d'Arda (Emilia-Romagna), Italy.

In 2021 he won gold medals in the European U23 Championship in both Keirin and Sprint, in Apeldoorn (Gelderland), the Netherlands, and in the Russian National Championship in Keirin, Sprint, and Team Sprint in Saint Petersburg. Iakovlev also won bronze medals in the 2021 European Championship in Sprint in Grenchen (Solothurn), Switzerland, and in the 2021 World Championship in Keirin in Roubaix (Nord-Pas-de-Calais), France, behind Dutch riders Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland.

In May 2022 Iakovlev set a new unofficial world record in the 200m flying track time trial in 9.099 seconds, at the Moscow Grand Prix.

2022–present; European championship bronze medal
In August 2022, at 21 years of age, Iakovlevv moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen. His sister, parents, and grandmother also moved to Israel, two months later, and live in Karmiel near Israel's northern border. Even before he emigrated to Israel, he had shared photos displaying the Israeli and Ukrainian flags on his social media. He said: "I am Jewish, and want to represent the Jewish people. I am not interested in whether Russia wants me back."

In November 2023, Iakovlev received clearance from the International Olympic Committee to represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics, after the Russian Olympic Committee, which had blocked his release, was suspended. The coach of the Russian national track cycling team, Sergey Kovpanets, said that "It is a shame that we lose such a talented rider like Mikhail."

In 2023 Iakovlev won a bronze medal for Israel at the 2023 International Cycling Union (UCI) Track Nations Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia in February. It was the first time an Israeli athlete took the podium in a competition in Indonesia, with the Israeli national uniform and the Israeli flag flying next to his name, as in the past the Muslim country had forbidden it. He then won gold medals in the Israeli National Championship in March, in both Keirin and Sprint. He also won a silver medal in the third round of the Nations Cup, in Cairo, Egypt, in Sprint, behind Harry Leverisen in the Sprint competition. He said: "For me, when I stood on the podium with the flag and the Star of David on my clothes, it felt the most natural in the world. It was as if I was born into it."

In 2024 Iakovlev won the bronze medal in the 2024 European Championship in Sprint, in Apeldoorn (Gelderland), the Netherlands, behind Harrie Lavreysen and Polish cyclist Mateusz Rudyk, while defeating Jeffrey Hoogland in the bronze medal race. It was Israel's first-ever medal in track cycling at the European Championships. In March 2024 he won the Israeli National Championship in both Keirin and Sprint, for the second straight year.

2024 Summer Olympics
Iakovlev will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in cycling in the Men's sprint on August 7-9, and the Men's keirin on August 10-11, 2024.