(July 27, 1940 – March 14, 2011)
Gushchin was born in Motygino, Motyginsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and he trained at VSS Trud in Moscow Oblast,[3] gaining honours as a Master of Sports of the USSR, International Class.[1] He made his international debut for the Soviet Union in 1965 at that year's Summer Universiade and he was the bronze medallist in the shot put, an event which was won by 1964 Olympic runner-up Randy Matson.[4] He threw 18.23 m in the qualifying rounds of the 1966 European Athletics Championships, but did not perform as well in the final, ending the competition in 12th place.[2] The following year he competed at the 1967 European Indoor Games and claimed the silver medal with a throw of 18.96 m, finishing second only to the reigning USSR champion Nikolay Karasyov.[5]
He reached the peak of his career in 1968, beginning with a national shot put title outdoors with a put of 19.60 m.[6] This brought him selection for the event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. At the competition he broke the Soviet record with his first throw of the final, recording 20.09 m to become the first man from the USSR to clear the twenty-metre mark. This feat brought him the Olympic bronze medal behind Americans Matson and George Woods. After this he did not reach the same distances, managing only sixth place at the 1969 European Athletics Championships.[2] He took a second Soviet shot put national title in 1970.[6]
Following the end of his shot putting career, he worked in the athletics department of the USSR Sports Committee and also as a physiotherapist. He died on March 14, 2011 in Moscow at the age of 70.[2]
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