Leonid Grigorievich Geishtor (born October 15, 1936, in Homel, Homel, Belarus) is a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

-born Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

ian sprint canoer

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who competed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Life and career

Geishtor is Jewish. He trained at Vodnik

Vodnik (sports society)

Vodnik was the All-Union Voluntary Sports Society of Trade Unions of the sea and river transport. Established in 1938, when two VSS, Moryak and Vympel , were combined...

 in Gomel. Along with teammate Sergei Makarenko

Sergei Makarenko

Sergei Makarenko is a Soviet-born Ukrainian sprint canoer who competed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He won the C-2 1000 m gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome....

, Geishtor won the first Olympic gold medal by a Belarusian competitor. The two won the C-2 1000 m event at the 1960 Summer Olympics

1960 Summer Olympics

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

Geishtor was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor

Order of the Badge of Honor

The Order of the Badge of Honour was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.It was instituted on 25 November 1935 and conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in production, scientific research and social, cultural and other forms of social activity, for promotion of economic,...

 in 1960.

He also won a gold medal in the C-2 10000 m event at the 1963 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Jajce

Jajce

Jajce is a city and municipality located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...

.